ROCK AND ROLL SHOES: "Stuart played in Billy Fury's backing group for a while. He told me he was fascinated when Billy produced an immaculate leather case which had highly polished brass hinges. Whilst Billy opened the case, Stuart looked on with fascination, expecting to view something exotic, like a pair of duelling pistols, but was surprised that it revealed - surrounded by scarlet felt - a pair of beautifully polished winkle pickers."


STUART, THE WRITER: "Apart from his songs, and brilliant one panel cartoons, Stuart also had a hand in writing fiction. This is how I believe he got started:


"Stuart and I had a job writing songs for a kid's puppet series on TV. No money offered, but the ever-present promise of eventual 'performing rights' kept up my enthusiasm. Most writing time in thinking up songs consists of sitting around doodling, waiting for a premise or a hook to emerge. I draw a little (nowhere near the standard of Stuart). I had an idea that in between musical inspiration we could come up with a comic book strip, rather than sit twiddling our thumbs, 'And maybe we could sell it' (we were both underground comic book fans). 


"'That will be a waste of time' was Stuart's reply, which was his usual immediate response to being offered a new project. I set up a drawing board and eventually nagged him into action, and in a while, whilst turning out some songs, we finished three or four comic stories. (Generally, he pencilled and I inked). We also found time to throw in a screenplay for one episode of the puppet series that we co-wrote, which was actually filmed and broadcast, and we were paid. So I think this was the first broadcast item that both of us ever had.


"A friend viewed one of the strip cartoons we had come up with, (Zap Zarkon and his Mum) and suggested we write it up as a TV pilot - another 'Waste of time - there'll never be any money in it' quote from Stuart. We never got round to selling any of the strips, though Stuart had two strips of his own published later, but after some nagging from me, we did write up the Zap Zarkon outline and sold the idea, and got an advance. Stuart couldn't believe it when we were given the cheque." 'They must be stupid paying us for this.'


"Eventually we were paid a basic fee to turn out six episodes. Not a great amount, but worth the effort, especially for Stuart as he had no other income at the time. 'I'll believe it when I see it!' Stuart remarked on the production of our show. By the fourth episode Stuart had packed in writing. 'This won't ever get on the air.' I concurred that if it wasn't finished it would never get on air, so I finished the last two episodes of the 'waste of time' on my own. Stuart was proved right to a degree, for the show was never aired, although it earned three separate consecutive advances from three other TV companies, which I certainly found not to be a waste of time.


"A while later, Jonathan Hodge, a man with a far stronger personality than I, wrote 'The Fiddeley Foodle Bird' with Stuart. A cartoon series.


"When I heard of this I congratulated Stuart. He assured me that the whole project was a 'Waste of time, and would never get anywhere.' I bumped into him later when the series had been aired several times on network television, and I asked him if it was still a waste of time. He replied, 'You wait and see it's early days yet.'


Toward the end of his life Stuart was writing a book for children. I had the privilege of reading an early draft. It was full of wit, fun and contained flashes of brilliance. He was well on his way to becoming an author. When I asked him if he had approached a publisher, I was surprised by his reply - he HAD approached a publisher, but of course, he topped the statement by reminding me that it was a 'Waste of time.' We'll never know now, but there is one thing of which I can assure you, from my point of view it was never a waste of time knowing Stuart."


Gary Sulsh, Stu's songwriting partner, tells us: "Stuart died on 31st January 2004. He had been ill for some time and was admitted to hospital early in the New Year. I believe that his general health was poor and he succumbed to a complete organ shut down despite all that the hospital could do for him.

Editor's Note: Some of the information on Stuart's early life was gained for us by Janine Nicholson who spoke to Stuart's mother on our behalf.


Stu was Mersey Beat's main cartoonist, supplying lots of cartoons and illustrations to the publication. He was a former pupil at Birkenhead Art College and at the time he told me, 'I've been doing cartoons for as long as I can remember and I find that being a member of a beat group is a tremendous help in finding ideas for cartoons.


"Every group find themselves in humorous situations and the things that happen in our group provide me with lots of ideas - the scene is a very good subject for a cartoonist to concentrate on."

I must also thank Stuart's mother for providing us with photographs. Stuart was a unique talent and the testaments from his friends above indicate how much he was loved and appreciated.

Return to main section