STROUD’S prodigal son, Ted Milton, returns to the town with his iconic eighties band, Blurt.
Milton, like his namesake the poet, is a man with his own unique creative expression. Puppeteer-turned-eccentric saxophonist, he is perhaps the epitome of warped genius.

His nearly tuneful squawks and lyrics shouted like a newspaper seller are as  inspired as his song titles, which include My Mother Was a Friend of an Enemy of the People.

Founded in Stroud in 1979, the band were one of the early Factory records signings, and shared bills with Joy Division and A Certain Ratio before falling out of favour with Tony Wilson for likening the label to the lifestyle-chain Habitat. They were also championed at the time by John Peel.

The band have been through a number of line-up changes but never really went away, and continued to release albums and singles on a number of different labels, the most recent being Cut It! in 2010.

Blurt are playing at  SVA, 4 John Street, Stroud on Saturday at 8.30pm.

Tickets available from Trading Post.

Watch Ted in action