John Cutliffe

John Cutliffe is an Irish musician from Buncrana, County Donegal. He was born on February 8th, 1962. He started his work in 1977 and ended his musician career in 2007. However in 2012, he returned and started making people aware of the conflict between Israel and Palestine until early 2014. Then in October of the same year, he worked with many people on a song called "Shyma Smiled for Me". He currently works for an NGO in Myanmar

John Cutliffe was born on February 8, 1962 in Buncrana, Ireland, to parents Kevin Cutliffe and Ailish Cutliffe. He attended Scoil Mhuire secondary school in his home town.

John has played Irish traditional and bluegrass music in the many pubs that dot the Irish countryside and has played with many pop and rock bands over the years. In London his Irish bluegrass band The Pyros teamed up with Frank Tovey (AKA Fad Gadget) and recorded albums on Mute Records.

Cutliffe helped formed The Pyros in his home town of Buncrana. The group developed a following in the North West of Ireland. Various lineups included Kevin Doherty (Four Men and a Dog) and Ciaran Tourish (Altan). During this time John played with well-known musicians, including Altan, Gerry O Connor, Ted Hawkins and former Wings guitarist Henry McCullough.

Cutliffe is the owner and editor of JigTime, a website that chronicles Irish and American roots music and was the Tour Manager and general U.S. "man on the ground" for Irish traditional band Altan. He is a keen photographer and his pictures can be seen on websites including Rosanne Cash's site and the MerleFest site and on album covers both in Ireland and Nashville.

In 2005 Cutliffe teamed up with Andrea Zonn to produce the Hands Across The Water CD, a 16 track collaboration album between Celtic and American artists for children who were orphaned in the south east asian tsunami.

In October 2014, John and Rory Gallagher teamed up to work on "Shyma Smiled For Me" which was released on December 5th, 2014 with all proceeds going to children's charities in Gaza. The song was written by John and Rory and featured many well known Irish and UK artists as well as a choir of children from Jerusalem and his son Kevin. The full lineup included; Rory Gallagher. John Cutliffe, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Liam O Maonlai, Donogh Hennessy, Honor Heffernan, Martin Tourish, Wee Glee Singers, Jerusalem Children’s Choir, Brian Mullan, Laurence Doherty, Clare Lindley, Claire McDaid, Kevin Cutliffe, Sophia Brock, Caroline Cutliffe. The song made a brief appearance in the Irish download charts in 2015.

• The Pyros, AKA The Pyrotechnicos - bass, guitars
• Pluto - bass
• Fiveskin - bass
• Shandrum - guitar
• Frank Tovey and the Pyros- bass, guitar
• The Other Brothers - bass, guitar
• Beware of the Dog - guitar
• The Barry McGuigan Band - bass guitar
• The Whiskey Priests - bass
• The Bordercollies - bass, guitar
• No River City - bass

• Grand Union with Frank Tovey and the Pyros (musician, bass and guitars) (1991)
• Worried Men In Second Hand Suits with Frank Tovey and the Pyros (musician, bass and guitars) (1992)
• Travelling Home - Rory Mcleod (Musician, bass) (1991)
• Beware of the Dog - Beware of the Dog (musician, guitar, vocals, songwriter)
• Barr Trá - Mary Custy and Quentin Cooper (inside cover photograph)
• New Kid in Town - Ryan Holladay (cover photography)
• Hands Across The Water (2005) (Producer, photography)
• Down the Line - Ciaran Tourish (cover photography, liner notes)