Bill in action at Herne Bay Cartoon Festival. Photo © Karole Steele
Pete Dredge writes:
Although I had long admired the work of Bill Stott in Punch I only met Bill for the first time, I think, at the Birkenhead Cartoon Festival in 1998. I say “think” because it was very much a case of “If you can remember the Birkenhead Cartoon Festival, you weren’t there”. This was a huge, boozy, massively sponsored weekend event organised by a Birkenhead design company embracing all the comic artforms and attended by local dignitaries, celebs, tv stars and loads of cartoonists from all over Europe and the UK. Tim Leatherbarrow had a hand in the organising. (“Leatherbarrow” and “organising” are two words I would never have expected to see in the same sentence.)
Bill’s hand drawn biog from the Birkenhead Cartoon Festival 1998 brochure.
I was there along with Noel Ford, Dave Follows, Terry Christien and Steve Chadburn promoting our College of Cartoon Art distance learning course.
Sadly, the Birkenhead Festival was a one-off . The organiser’s health suffered and maybe the decision to go that big proved a step too far.
The next time I definitely met Bill was at Nottingham’s Big Grin Cartoon Festival in 2004 because I was there and I can definitely remember it. Bill had contributed some of his brilliant cartoons and had popped down to visit.
Cartoon © Bill Stott
Big in stature but softly spoken, Bill would craft his speech and sentences with the same incisive precision employed on his cartoon captions. Thanks to Glenn Marshall for recently reminding us of a blog interview piece with Bill where these following words effortlessly masked a simpering resentment for how contemporary publishing looked upon cartoons and cartoonists:
“Where have I been published? Well, lots of places, but increasingly in recent years, fewer.”
Pure Stott!
At Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival
I like to think that Bill’s experiences at Birkenhead and Nottingham incentivised his mission to hammer home the message that “People like cartoons”, initially with his sterling efforts with Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival and later with the creation of the PCO.
I served on one of the first PCO committees and those interminable committee meetings at Birmingham’s Custard Factory location were pretty much held together by Bill’s calm, stoical, Zen-like demeanour while others frothed at the mouth, succumbed to brain fog or full-on comatosis.
From Punch magazine.
Bill was many things, prolific being one of them, and he leaves a large legacy. Hopefully that long cherished Chris Beetles One Man Exhibition will come about one day. [Ed: More Stott cartoons can be see here on the Chris Beetles Gallery website]
Thanks for the memories Mr. Stott.
Cartoon © Bill Stott
Cathy Simpson writes:
I can’t express how much of a devastating loss this is, to cartooning in general, the PCO – which was so important to him for all those years – and to his close friends. He was already taking a step back from the PCO when he had his stroke, which saw him retire from most of his public appearances online, but his presence still loomed large for all who knew him.
Spreads from ‘Foghorn’ magazine, photo by Cathy Simpson
I worked with Bill for years on Foghorn and then the online version, The Pangolin, until life got in the way and it gradually dwindled away. I’ll never forget his speech to the then PCO Committee when he had just taken over as Foghorn editor, announcing that he intended to fill it with “Stupid… Rubbish”. Which we did, in spades.
One of Bill’s drawing for the PCO ‘Gagged’ exhibition about the persecution of cartoonists around the world.
Rupert Besley writes:
Multi-talented, Bill could do everything. He could speak. With that deep, rich, gravelly voice, made for radio, he could hold any audience, all primed for the next punchline. And he was no mean crooner with it.
He could write. Boy, he could write. His flights of comic fantasy that found a home in the PCO’s publication Foghorn (that, happily, Cathy Simpson was able to keep going as Pangolin online) were humorous writing of the first order. Bill’s many emails on matters of PCO business were always so witty, you’d have thought him incapable of writing anything that did not have you spluttering into your coffee. But when it came to the serious stuff, of which there was plenty (the Charlie Hebdo murders, the detention of Eaten Fish and more), he had always exactly the right words.
Bill’s produced many books. This is from the ‘The Crazy world of…’ series.
Cartoon © Bil Stott
But it is as cartoonist that Bill will be best remembered. Art, like humour, was in his blood. He had served his time as art teacher (and a HMI Inspector of Schools no less) in Liverpool and turned out abstract paintings as a sideline. As a cartoonist, he was top notch and prolific, churning out gags that filled bestselling books and calendars and brightened galleries and magazines from Punch, Private Eye and The Oldie to the specialist hobby magazines that were his forte. Cars he particularly enjoyed (until some ratty owner took Bill to court, alleging, incorrectly, that a Stott cartoon was a damaging representation of himself. The case was rapidly dismissed.)
Cartoon © Bill Stott
Bill had brilliant ideas, often exploring the wild tensions and absurdities that lurked just beneath the surface of respectable gentility. His execution was every bit as good. In other cartoons you look to the faces to see what each character is thinking. Bill’s wonderful creations and immediately recognisable types (done with a few deft lines) had all that, of course, but more besides. The pent-up feelings of Bill’s figures, crouching with menace, nonchalantly strolling, relaxed or hurtling through air, were there in every poise and posture, in every limb and fibre of their being. That’s what made them so funny.
One of Bill’s contributions to Herne Bay Cartoon Festival 2013
Modest always about his input, Bill was mightily generous with his time and his talents. Passionate about cartooning, Bill worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the success of everything he joined in on (or helped initiate) from the PCO to Shrewsbury and other cartoon festivals. At the PCO Bill was forever thinking about ‘the next big thing’ while keeping his feet firmly on the ground of practical realities. He led from the front, always the first to respond when contributions of any kind were called for and was there discreetly for any colleague having difficult times. Bill had a real interest in all forms of cartooning and gave much back to the profession in which he excelled. We all owe him something. He was a huge figure in cartooning and we all looked up to him. Just waiting for the next punchline.
Caricature by © Steve Bright
Steve Bright writes:
I think it’s all been said above one way or another, and all beautifully done. So I’ll just echo all of that if I may, and simply add that there have been three people in my lifetime who have made my face hurt so much from laughing that I had to switch off to what I was witnessing and hearing. One was Billy Connolly in concert in Perth. The second was Victor Borge in concert in Dundee. And the third was, of course, Bill Stott entertaining a (tough) crowd of cartoonists on one of my few visits to The Cartoonist public house in That London.
I can’t remember a single thing about Bill’s performance (and performance it was… unscripted and relentless) other than it hurt. Certainly one of the most naturally funny people I’ve ever met, if not the funniest.
[Ed: To hear Bill ‘orating’ here he is talking to PCO patron Libby Purves on BBC’ Radio 4’s ‘Midweek’ in 2013, – about 32 mins in. Thanks to Chris Williams for sharing this link]
Cartoon © Bil Stott
Andy Davey writes:
Oh boy, he was such a lovely, smart, funny, irreverent, compassionate fellow. I could break into tears of joy simply recounting one of his cartoon ideas to baffled listeners [B Stott: “don’t be so daft!”]. I understand these things are not about the writer but I can’t help saying what an absolute privilege it is to have known Bill – and to have called him a friend. As everyone says, a funny, funny man both on paper and in person. As others here will know, committees (Shrewsbury, PCO) were made actually enjoyable with his presence – he would pass little gag drawings as I was trying to feign some kind of gravitas.
Another of Bill at Shrewsbury this in 2015 (with Noel Ford, Roger Penwill and Pete Dredge) Photo © Mika Schick
Some people (e.g. me) have to build ideas the hard way. Bill just turned the tap on. I know which produces the better result. He was “old-fashioned” in that sense – pure creative humour out of nothing; the art of the gag cartoon. But there’s nothing old-fashioned about making people laugh. What a talent to bring to the world.
I miss Bill already and will do into the future. He leaves a big gap.
Cartoon © Bil Stott
Ed: Bill’s own website. The blog is well worth reading.
Drawn for the ‘Mona Lisa – Not Happy’ exhibition at One New Street Gallery.
RIP Bill and thanks for all the smiles.