Screaming Lord Sutch

David Edward Sutch
Born 10 November 1940 (1940-11-10)
Hampstead, London, England
Died 16 June 1999 (1999-06-17) (aged 58)
South Harrow, Greater London, England
Occupation musician, politician

David Edward Sutch (10 November 1940 – 16 June 1999), also known as "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", or simply "Screaming Lord Sutch", was a musician from the United Kingdom. He was the founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and served as its leader from 1983 to 1999, during which time he stood in numerous parliamentary elections.

Contents

Musical career

Sutch was born at New End Hospital, Hampstead, northwest London. In the 1960s, inspired by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, he changed his artist name to "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", despite having no connection with the peerage. His legal name remained David Edward Sutch.

After his career as an early-'60s rock 'n' roll attraction, it became customary for the UK press to refer to him as "Screaming Lord Sutch", or simply "Lord Sutch". Early works included recordings produced by audio pioneer Joe Meek.

During the 1960s, Screaming Lord Sutch was known for his horror-themed stage show, dressing as Jack the Ripper, pre-dating the shock rock antics of Alice Cooper. Accompanied by his band, the Savages, he started by coming out of a black coffin. Other props included knives and daggers, skulls and "bodies". Sutch booked themed tours, such as 'Sutch and the Roman Empire', where Sutch and the band members would be dressed up as Roman soldiers.

Despite self-confessed lack of vocal talent, he released horror-themed singles during the early to mid-'60s, the most popular "Jack the Ripper", covered live and on record by garage rock bands including the White Stripes, the Gruesomes, the Black Lips and the Horrors for their debut EP.

In 1963, Sutch and his manager, Reginald Calvert, took over Shivering Sands Army Fort, a Maunsell Fort off Southend and in 1964 started Radio Sutch, intending to compete with other pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline. Broadcasts consisted of music and Mandy Rice-Davies reading Lady Chatterley's Lover. Sutch tired of the station, and sold it to Calvert, which was renamed 'Radio City', which lasted until 1967. In 1966 Calvert was shot dead by Oliver Smedley over a financial dispute. Smedley was acquitted on grounds of self-defence. About this time Ritchie Blackmore left the band. Roger Warwick left to set up an R&B big band for Freddie Mack.

Sutch's album Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends was named in a 1998 BBC poll as the worst album of all time, a status it also held in Colin Larkin's book The Top 1000 Albums of All Time, despite the fact that Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Jeff Beck, Noel Redding and Nicky Hopkins performed on it and helped write it.

For his follow-up, Hands of Jack the Ripper, Sutch assembled British rock celebrities for a concert at the Carshalton Park Rock 'n' Roll Festival. The show was recorded (though only Sutch knew), and it was released to the surprise of the musicians. Musicians on the record included Ritchie Blackmore (guitar); Matthew Fisher (keyboard); Carlo Little (drums); Keith Moon (drums); Noel Redding (bass) and Nick Simper (bass).

In the Rolling Stones song "Get Off of My Cloud", the guy who shows up "All dressed up just like a Union Jack" was Lord Sutch uninvited in Mick Jagger's room.

Political activities

In the 1960s, he stood in parliamentary elections, often as representative of the National Teenage Party. His first was in 1963, when he contested the by-election in Stratford-upon-Avon caused by the resignation of John Profumo. He gained 208 votes. His next was at the 1964 General Election when he stood in Harold Wilson's Huyton constituency. Here he received 518 votes.

He founded the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 1983 and fought the Bermondsey by-election. In his career he contested over 40 elections, rarely threatening the major candidates, but often getting a respectable number of votes. He was easily recognisable at election counts by his flamboyant clothes. It was after he polled several hundred votes in Margaret Thatcher's Finchley constituency in 1983 that the deposit paid by candidates was raised from £150 to £500. This did little to deter Sutch, who increased the concerts he performed to pay for campaigns.

His most significant contribution to politics came at the Bootle by-election in 1990. He secured more votes than the candidate of the Continuing Social Democratic Party (SDP), led by former Foreign Secretary David Owen. Within days the SDP dissolved itself. In 1993, when the British National Party gained its first local councillor, Derek Beackon, Sutch pointed out that the Official Monster Raving Loony Party already had six.

He appeared as himself in the first episode of ITV comedy The New Statesman, coming second in the 1987 election, ahead of the Labour and SDP, which saw Alan B'Stard elected to Parliament.

Adverts in the 1990s for Heineken Pilsener boasted that "Only Heineken can do this". One had Sutch at 10 Downing Street after becoming Prime Minister.

Private life

Sutch suffered from depression and committed suicide by hanging on 16 June 1999, following the death of his mother the previous year. At the inquest, his fiancée said he had "manic depression".

Sutch is survived by a son, Tristan Lord Gwynne Sutch, born in 1975 to the American model Thann Rendessy.[1]

In 1991, Sutch's autobiography Life as Sutch: The Official Autobiography of a Raving Loony (written with Peter Chippindale) was published but recalled by publishers. In 2005 Graham Sharpe, who had known Sutch since the late 1960s, wrote the first biography, The Man Who Was Screaming Lord Sutch.

Discography

Sutch released records from 1961 onwards. Later works include:

Elections fought

Election Type Constituency Party Vote % vote Place Candidates
15 August 1963 BE Stratford-on-Avon National Teenage 209 0.6 5th 5
31 March 1966 GE Huyton 1 National Teenage 585 0.9 3rd 3
18 June 1970 GE Cities of London and Westminster Young Ideas 142 0.4 5th 5
10 October 1974 GE Stafford and Stone Go to Blazes 351 0.6 4th 4
24 February 1983 BE Bermondsey Official Monster Raving Loony 97 0.3 6th 16
23 March 1983 BE Darlington Official Monster Raving Loony 374 0.7 4th 8
9 June 1983 GE Finchley 1 Official Monster Raving Loony 235 0.6 5th 11
28 July 1983 BE Penrith and The Border Official Monster Raving Loony 412 1.1 4th 8
1 March 1984 BE Chesterfield Official Monster Raving Loony 178 0.3 5th 17
4 July 1985 BE Brecon and Radnor Official Monster Raving Loony 202 0.5 5th 7
10 April 1986 BE Fulham Official Monster Raving Loony 134 0.4 5th 11
17 July 1986 BE Newcastle-under-Lyme Official Monster Raving Loony 277 0.7 4th 7
14 July 1988 BE Kensington Official Monster Raving Loony 61 0.3 7th 15
10 November 1988 BE Glasgow Govan Official Monster Raving Loony 174 0.6 7th 8
15 December 1988 BE Epping Forest Official Monster Raving Loony 208 0.6 7th 9
23 February 1989 BE Richmond (Yorks) Official Monster Raving Loony 167 0.3 6th 9
4 May 1989 BE Vale of Glamorgan Official Monster Raving Loony 266 0.6 8th 11
15 June 1989 BE Vauxhall Official Monster Raving Loony 106 0.4 10th 14
22 March 1990 BE Mid Staffordshire Official Monster Raving Loony 336 0.6 7th 14
24 May 1990 BE Bootle 2 Official Monster Raving Loony 418 1.2 6th 8
27 September 1990 BE Knowsley South Official Monster Raving Loony 197 0.9 6th 7
8 November 1990 BE Bootle 3 Official Monster Raving Loony 310 1.1 5th 7
7 March 1991 BE Ribble Valley 3 Official Monster Raving Loony 278 0.6 6th 9
4 April 1991 BE Neath Official Monster Raving Loony 263 0.8 7th 8
16 May 1991 BE Monmouth 4 Official Monster Raving Loony 314 0.7 4th 7
4 July 1991 BE Liverpool Walton Official Monster Raving Loony 546 1.4 5th 6
9 April 1992 GE Huntingdon 1 Official Monster Raving Loony 728 1.0 6th 10
9 April 1992 GE Islwyn 5 Official Monster Raving Loony 547 1.3 5th 5
9 April 1992 GE Yeovil 6 Official Monster Raving Loony 338 0.6 5th 6
6 May 1993 BE Newbury Official Monster Raving Loony 432 0.7 7th 19
29 July 1993 BE Christchurch Official Monster Raving Loony 404 0.8 5th 6
5 May 1994 BE Rotherham Official Monster Raving Loony 1,114 4.2 4th 5
9 June 1994 BE Bradford South Official Monster Raving Loony 727 2.4 4th 5
9 June 1994 BE Eastleigh Official Monster Raving Loony 783 1.4 5th 14
16 February 1995 BE Islwyn Official Monster Raving Loony 506 2.2 5th 7
25 May 1995 BE Perth and Kinross Official Monster Raving Loony 586 1.4 5th 9
27 July 1995 BE Littleborough and Saddleworth Official Monster Raving Loony 782 1.9 4th 10
1 February 1996 BE Hemsworth Official Monster Raving Loony 652 3.0 5th 10
11 April 1996 BE South East Staffordshire Official Monster Raving Loony 506 1.2 5th 13
31 July 1997 BE Uxbridge Official Monster Raving Loony 396 1.3 4th 11
20 November 1997 BE Winchester Official Monster Raving Loony 316 0.6 5th 8

Notes:-

References

  1. ^ Getty Images - Sutch Is Life on Getty Images

External links

Party political offices
New creation Official Monster Raving Loony Party Leader
1983–1999		 Succeeded by
Howling Laud Hope and Cat Mandu

Cat Mandu · Howling Laud Hope · Screaming Lord Sutch · Mad Cow-Girl