Stan Kelly-Bootle
Encyclopedia
Stan Kelly-Bootle is an author
of nine books and numerous magazine articles, and songwriter. His most famous song is the Liverpool Lullaby (Oh you are a mucky kid), which Cilla Black
recorded in 1969 as the B-side to her pop hit Conversations. He is also notable for achieving the first postgraduate diploma in computer science (1954).
. He spent 1948-1950 as a conscript in the British Army
, achieving the rank of Sgt. Instructor in RADAR
. He then attended Downing College, Cambridge
, graduating with a degree in Numerical Analysis and Automatic Computing in 1954.
As a folk song author and singer, he performed under the name "Stan Kelly". He wrote some of his own tunes and also wrote lyrics set to traditional tunes. In the course of his musical career, he made over 200 radio and television appearances, and released several recordings, as well as having his songs recorded by others.
Several of his recordings were done with Kelly singing and Leon Rosselson performing on guitar.
Other audio recordings include:
computer, designed and built at Cambridge University. He worked for IBM in the United States and the UK from 1955 until 1970. From 1970 until 1973, he worked as Manager for University Systems for Sperry-UNIVAC
.
Kelly-Bootle is well known in the computer community for his books The Devil's DP Dictionary and its second edition, The Computer Contradictionary
. These are sarcastical/cynical lexicographies in the vein of Ambrose Bierce
's The Devil's Dictionary
.
He also authored or coauthored several serious textbooks and tutorials on subjects such as the Motorola 68000
family of CPU
s, programming languages including various C
compilers, and the Unix
operating system. His texts have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Korean, and Chinese.
He authored the "Devil's Advocate" column in UNIX Review
from 1984 until 2000, and also had columns in OS/2 Magazine ("End Notes", 1994–1997) and Software Development ("Seamless Quanta", Oct 1995 - May 1997). He contributed columns and articles to several other computer industry magazines as well.
His articles for magazines such as ACM Queue
, AI / Expert, and UNIX Review contain stunning examples of word-play, criticism of silly marketing and usage (he refers often to the computer "laxicon") and commentary on the industry in general. Kelly-Bootle has also written an online monthly column posted on the Internet (see external links, below).
While most of his writing has been oriented towards the computer industry, he has also written a few books relating to his other interests. These include:
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of nine books and numerous magazine articles, and songwriter. His most famous song is the Liverpool Lullaby (Oh you are a mucky kid), which Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
recorded in 1969 as the B-side to her pop hit Conversations. He is also notable for achieving the first postgraduate diploma in computer science (1954).
Education
Stan Kelly-Bootle was schooled at the Liverpool InstituteLiverpool Institute for Boys
The Liverpool Institute High School for Boys was an all-boys grammar school in the English port city of Liverpool.The school had its origins in 1825 but occupied different premises while the money was found to build a dedicated building on Mount Street. The Institute was first known as the...
. He spent 1948-1950 as a conscript in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, achieving the rank of Sgt. Instructor in RADAR
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
. He then attended Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1800 and currently has around 650 students.- History :...
, graduating with a degree in Numerical Analysis and Automatic Computing in 1954.
Folk singing career
In 1950, Kelly-Bootle helped found the St Lawrence Folk Song Society at Cambridge University.As a folk song author and singer, he performed under the name "Stan Kelly". He wrote some of his own tunes and also wrote lyrics set to traditional tunes. In the course of his musical career, he made over 200 radio and television appearances, and released several recordings, as well as having his songs recorded by others.
Appearances with
Performers Kelly has appeared with (in audio recordings, television, radio, or live), or who have recorded his compositions include:- Paul RobesonPaul RobesonPaul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
- Pete SeegerPete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
- Peggy SeegerPeggy SeegerMargaret "Peggy" Seeger is an American folksinger. She is also well known in Britain, where she lived for more than 30 years with her husband, singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl.- The first American period :...
- The Clancy BrothersThe Clancy BrothersThe Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music singing group, most popular in the 1960s, they were famed for their woolly Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States. The brothers were Patrick "Paddy" Clancy, Tom Clancy, Bobby Clancy...
- Spike MilliganSpike MilliganTerence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
- The DublinersThe DublinersThe Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
, recorded I Wish I Was Back in Liverpool on Seven Deadly Sins - The SpinnersThe Spinners (UK band)The Spinners were a 1960s folk group from Liverpool, England formed in September 1958. They consisted of:* Hughie Jones...
- Sir Bernard MilesBernard MilesBernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
- Willie RushtonWillie RushtonWilliam George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the Private Eye satirical magazine.- School and army :William George Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in the family home at Scarsdale Villas,...
- Dominic BehanDominic BehanDominic Behan was an Irish songwriter, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also a committed socialist and Irish Republican...
- Adrian HenriAdrian HenriAdrian Henri was a British poet and painter best remembered as the founder of poetry-rock group The Liverpool Scene and as one of three poets in the best-selling anthology The Mersey Sound, along with Brian Patten and Roger McGough. The trio of Liverpool poets came to prominence in that city's...
- Leon RosselsonLeon RosselsonLeon Rosselson is an English songwriter and writer of children's books. After his early involvement in the folk music revival in Britain, he came to prominence, singing his own satirical songs, in the BBC's topical TV programme of the early 1960s, That Was The Week That Was...
, a frequent collaborator - Brian JacquesBrian JacquesJames Brian Jacques was an English author best known for his Redwall series of novels and Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series. He also completed two collections of short stories entitled The Ribbajack & Other Curious Yarns and Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.-Biography:Brian Jacques was born...
, who appeared on Echoes of Merseyside - Seamus EnnisSéamus EnnisSéamus Ennis was an Irish piper, singer and folk-song collector.- Early years :In 1908 James Ennis, Séamus's father, was in a pawn-shop in London. Ennis bought a bag of small pieces of Uilleann pipes. They were made in the early nineteenth century by Coyne of Thomas Street in Dublin. James worked...
- Shirley CollinsShirley CollinsShirley Elizabeth Collins MBE is a British folksinger who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s...
- Fritz SpieglFritz SpieglFritz Spiegl was born at Zurndorf, Austria, the son of an agricultural merchant and his Jewish wife. He became a musician, journalist, broadcaster, humorist and collector who lived and worked in England from 1939....
- Alex CampbellAlex Campbell (singer)Alex Campbell was a Scottish folk singer. Described by Colin Harper as a "melancholic, hard-travelling Glaswegian", he was influential in the British folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s and was one of the first folk singers to tour the UK and Europe...
- Roger McGoughRoger McGoughRoger Joseph McGough CBE is a well-known English performance poet. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme Poetry Please and records voice-overs for commercials, as well as performing his own poetry regularly...
- Rosalie SorrelsRosalie SorrelsRosalie Sorrels is an American folk singer-songwriter who resides in the mountains near Boise, Idaho. She began her public career as a singer and collector of traditional folksongs in the late 1950s. During the early 1960s she left her husband and began traveling and performing at music festivals...
- Hedy WestHedy WestHedy West was an American folksinger and songwriter.West was of the same generation as Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and others of the American folk music revival. Her most famous song "500 Miles" is one of America's best loved and best known folk songs...
- Jasper Carrot
- The High Level RantersHigh Level RantersThe High Level Ranters are a Northumbian traditional musical group founded in 1964, best known for being one of the first bands in the revival of the Northumbrian smallpipes....
- A. L. LloydA. L. LloydAlbert Lancaster Lloyd , usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English folk singer and collector of folk songs, and as such was a key figure in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s....
- Jacquie & Bridie
- Rory MacEwan
- Ewan MacCollEwan MacCollEwan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
- Bill Connolly and the HumblebumsBilly ConnollyWilliam "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
. - Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
- Judy CollinsJudy CollinsJudith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
, recorded Liverpool Lullaby on In My Life
Several of his recordings were done with Kelly singing and Leon Rosselson performing on guitar.
Discography
Solo releases include:- I Chose FridenFriden, Inc.Friden Calculating Machine Company was an American manufacturer of typewriters and electronic calculators. It was founded by Carl Friden in San Leandro, California in 1934. Friden electromechanical calculators were robust and popular....
-- Songs for Cybernetic Lovers, Transatlantic Records. Computer humor songs. - Liverpool Packet, Topic Records release TOP27, 1958. Songs about Liverpool.
- Songs for Swinging Landlords, Topic Records release TOP60. Rent protest and anti-landlord songs.
- Wrote and produced a sound and song depiction of MerseysideMerseysideMerseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
called Echoes of Merseyside]] ((Transatlantic Records, LPDE 101) for the Liverpool EchoLiverpool EchoThe Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
newspaper. - O Liverpool We Love You, Transatlantic Records XTRA 1076, released 1976. This album was a tribute to the Liverpool Football Club, prepared with the team's cooperation. While creating the album, Kelly traveled with the team for both UK and European games for several years, and also for two seasons managed several players: Kevin KeeganKevin KeeganJoseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
, Tommy SmithTommy Smith (footballer born 1945)Thomas "Tommy" Smith MBE was a long-serving footballer with Liverpool, known for his uncompromising defensive style. Manager Bill Shankly once said of him: "Tommy Smith wasn't born, he was quarried."-Life and playing career:...
, and Larry Hughes.
Other audio recordings include:
- Kelly performed the part of "the Rambler" in the BBC's 1958 production The Ballad of John AxonJohn AxonJohn Axon GC was an English train driver from Stockport who died while trying to stop a runaway freight train on a 1 in 58 gradient near Buxton in Derbyshire after a brake failure. The train consisted of an ex-LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No...
. This broadcast won the Italia Prize, and excerpts were subsequently released on a highlights LP. This was the first BBC "Radio ballad". - Two tracks (Liverpool Town and The Ould Mark II) on Revival In Britain, Vol 1, produced by Ewan MacColl, Folkways Records FW 8728, Library of Congress R62-1246.
- One track (The Young Sailor Cut Down In His Prime) on Topic Sampler #2, Topic Records, TPS 145, 1966
- Performing on Stan HugillStan HugillStan Hugill was a folk music performer, artist and sea music historian, known as the "Last Working Shantyman" and described as the "20th Century guardian of the tradition".-Biography:...
's "Shanties of the Seven Seas", HMV 1970
Computing career
He started his computing career programming the pioneering EDSACEDSAC
Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator was an early British computer. The machine, having been inspired by John von Neumann's seminal First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC, was constructed by Maurice Wilkes and his team at the University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory in England...
computer, designed and built at Cambridge University. He worked for IBM in the United States and the UK from 1955 until 1970. From 1970 until 1973, he worked as Manager for University Systems for Sperry-UNIVAC
Sperry Corporation
Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the twentieth century...
.
Writing career
In 1973, Kelly-Bootle left Sperry-UNIVAC and became a freelance consultant, writer and programmer.Kelly-Bootle is well known in the computer community for his books The Devil's DP Dictionary and its second edition, The Computer Contradictionary
The Computer Contradictionary
The Computer Contradictionary by Stan Kelly-Bootle is a satirical list of definitions of computer industry terms. It is an example of "cynical lexicography" in the tradition of Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary. It was originally published as The Devil's DP Dictionary, in New York, by...
. These are sarcastical/cynical lexicographies in the vein of Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist...
's The Devil's Dictionary
The Devil's Dictionary
The Devil's Dictionary is a satirical "reference" book written by Ambrose Bierce. The book offers reinterpretations of terms in the English language, lampooning cant and political doublespeak, as well as other aspects of human foolishness and frailty. It was originally published in 1906 as The...
.
He also authored or coauthored several serious textbooks and tutorials on subjects such as the Motorola 68000
Motorola 68000
The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor...
family of CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
s, programming languages including various C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
compilers, and the Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
operating system. His texts have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Korean, and Chinese.
He authored the "Devil's Advocate" column in UNIX Review
UNIX Review
UNIX Review was an American magazine covering technical aspects of the UNIX operating system and C programming. Recognized for its in-depth technical analyses, the journal also reported on industry confabs and included some lighter fare....
from 1984 until 2000, and also had columns in OS/2 Magazine ("End Notes", 1994–1997) and Software Development ("Seamless Quanta", Oct 1995 - May 1997). He contributed columns and articles to several other computer industry magazines as well.
His articles for magazines such as ACM Queue
ACM Queue
ACM Queue is a computer magazine published by the Association for Computing Machinery . Steve Bourne helped found the magazine when he was President of the ACM and he is now Chair of the Advisory Board. The magazine is produced by computing professionals and is intended for computing professionals...
, AI / Expert, and UNIX Review contain stunning examples of word-play, criticism of silly marketing and usage (he refers often to the computer "laxicon") and commentary on the industry in general. Kelly-Bootle has also written an online monthly column posted on the Internet (see external links, below).
While most of his writing has been oriented towards the computer industry, he has also written a few books relating to his other interests. These include:
- Liverpool Lullabies, The Stan Kelly Songbook, SING Publications, 1960. Second edition, 1976.
- Lern Yourself ScouseScouseScouse is an accent and dialect of English found primarily in the Metropolitan county of Merseyside, and closely associated with the city of Liverpool and the adjoining urban areas such as the boroughs of south Sefton, Knowsley and the Wirral...
-- How to Talk Proper in Liverpool, Scouse Press, 1961, written with Fritz Spiegl and Frank Shaw. Sixteen editions published through 1991. - The Terrace Muse, An Anthology of Soccer Songs and Chants, serialized in the Daily ExpressDaily ExpressThe Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
in 1970.
External links
- Stan Kelly-Bootle's homepage
- Son of Devil's Advocate aka SODA – Kelly-Bootle's online monthly column (2000–2004)
- Curmudgeon columns at ACM Queue (by Stan Kelly-Bootle and others)