Jack the Ripper (song)

"Jack the Ripper" is a song by English musician Screaming Lord Sutch, released as a 7" single in the UK and Germany in 1963 on Decca. It was produced by Joe Meek and recorded in his Holloway Road studio in Islington, England. The song was banned by the BBC upon its release.^[1]

1 Musical composition
2 Personnel
3 Cover versions
4 Notes

[edit] Musical composition

"Jack the Ripper" is two minutes and forty-eight seconds long, in the key of B-flat major, and 4/4 time.

The song begins with the sound of footsteps and a woman screaming, followed by a rendition of the "Danger Ahead" motif by the guitar and drum kit, accompanied by a ghoulish moan from Screaming Lord Sutch. The song itself is a three-chord song, with a vamp played by guitar and bass, with accompaniment by piano and drum kit, which is repeated throughout.

[edit] Personnel

Screaming Lord Sutch – singer
Roger Mingay – electric guitar
Ken Payne – bass guitar
Andy Wren – piano

Pete Newman – saxophone
Carlo Little – drum kit
Joe Meek – producer

[edit] Cover versions

In 1986, Canadian garage punk band The Gruesomes covered the song and released it on the Jack the Ripper EP.
Detroit rock duo The White Stripes have performed a cover of "Jack the Ripper" live, incorporating the guitar riff from the "Peter Gunn" theme by Henry Mancini.^[2]
In 2006, English garage rock band The Horrors covered the song for the B-side of their debut single, "Sheena Is a Parasite", later included on their 2006 debut EP, The Horrors EP. A rerecorded version was later included on their 2007 debut album, Strange House.
Others: The Fuzztones (1993), The Vice Principals (2000), Casey Jones and the Govenors, The Revillos, The Phantoms