Jilted John was a character invented by Graham Fellows, a 19-year-old from Sheffield, while he was studying at drama school in Manchester in 1977.
He enjoyed a one-hit-wonder in August 1978 with a song also titled Jilted John (but which everyone knows as “Gordon is a moron”, thanks to the oft-repeated phrase in the song) which hit #4 in the UK charts.
An album followed, True Love Stories, but after college Fellows moved into repertory, TV and radio work, including roles in Coronation Street and a northern stage production of a play concerning John Lennon.
In 1986 Fellows created the character of John Shuttleworth, an aspiring singer-songwriter from Sheffield, with a quiet manner and slightly nerdish tendencies. He released a number of albums and singles as John Shuttleworth.
