Spandau Ballet: Martin Kemp Talks While I Mostly Just Stare In Awe At His Stunning Beauty!

Originally published in Rave-Up #3 (Spring 1982)

Interview by Devorah Ostrov

Spandau Ballet (publicity photo - Martin Kemp on the right)

Snobby, arrogant, pompous, vain, elitist socialites... Are these the adjectives that spring to mind when you think about Spandau Ballet? Well, you're wrong! "It's not very true at all," responds bassist Martin Kemp to the above charges. We're sitting in Rumors (his favorite Covent Garden pub), sipping cokes while he talks (and I mostly just stare in mute awe at his stunning beauty) about why the negative publicity surrounding the band's image is entirely unfounded.

"All that press came about when we were just doing the odd shows here and there. We weren't advertising in the music press or different magazines which every group used, obviously because they couldn't get enough people into their shows to fill them up."

Martin on the cover of The Face - March 1981

"We had quite a lot of friends anyway," Martin continues. "We didn't have to advertise because with all our friends coming to see us, the places that we played were packed out anyway. If we had advertised, there would have been too many people and they wouldn't have been able to get in." 

In fact, British music papers still seem unsure whether to love Spandau Ballet or condemn them. For the most part, the writers appear somewhat perplexed about the band and the vibrant New Romantic scene which has sprung up around them.

"When they saw the kind of people we were..." Martin flashes a flawless smile as he trails off. Luckily, he quickly picks up where he left off because he really is so drop-dead gorgeous, I need to check that my jaw hasn't fallen open. "At first, there was a big thing about how all we did was go to champagne parties and things like that. They were guessing what type of background we came from. It's rubbish!"

Now that Martin's on a roll, I'm momentarily saved from having to make any sort of coherent comment and can return to simply staring at him. "They thought it was all a joke. They didn't think the music would turn out to be any good. When we brought out the first single, everyone said, 'It won't last. They won't be able to write another one.' We brought out the next one, and they said, 'Well, it won't last for long anyway.' Brought out another record, 'Well, it's not bad...'"

You would not believe the commotion this publicity 
photo caused when it arrived at Rave-Up HQ!

I somehow manage to nod appropriately at this point, and at the same time display my fabulous wit by mumbling, "Uh-huh." At any rate, Martin is encouraged to carry on.

"When we started turning out the records, we knew what the opinion would be. If we turned out a slightly bad record, they would write, 'RUBBISH! Chuck it out the window!' So, we make sure that everything we put out is perfect, a really good record. That way, they can't just slag it off."

Spandau Ballet's live debut took place in November 1979, when they played to an invited audience at a private rehearsal studio, only days before their official first show at the Blitz. But tales are told of a teenage power pop outfit that included Gary Kemp (Martin's older brother) and Steve Norman.

However, Martin maintains that other members of the group had no prior musical experience. "The first thing I played was bass for Spandau Ballet," he states. "I learned the lines half by heart, and then I just worked things out in my head. The first thing Tony [Hadley] ever really sang was 'To Cut a Long Story Short.'"

He also doesn't deny that Spandau's look took shape before its sound. Which doesn't mean the music isn't important to them, merely that their style-conscious stance wasn't invented for the first photo session.

Spandau Ballet (publicity photo)

L-R: John Keeble, Gary Kemp, Tony Hadley, Martin Kemp & Steve Norman

"It's never been contrived," Martin asserts. "Before we ever dreamed of getting a group together, we use to go to clubs every night. If you're mixing with those sorts of people, obviously the main thing in life is to get your clothes right. If your clothes aren't right, you can't mix with the people in the clubs, can you?" I shake my head to indicate, "No, of course not!" His eyes are the most incredible shade of blue.

"There are loads of people that have been dressing in a similar way," he resumes. "It was just us who got the look together. Plus, when we got the group together, we knew we weren't going to dress like everybody else in leather jackets and jeans. We just stuck to the same thing we've done since we were 14 — dressing up and having fun. But now we played music."

Martin & Gary Kemp on the cover of

 Smash Hits - 1982

Where do the Spandau boys get their clothes? It's my first articulate question!

"It depends... I might pick something up at the jumble sale, which is just as good as having something made. You can get a shirt for 50p or you can get a shirt for £50. It's exactly the same. If you can wear clothes well, it doesn't matter how much you paid for it or where you got it from. It will look good once you put it on."

So, how responsible is Spandau Ballet for setting the New Romantic fashion trends?

"Not at all in London; not with the people that we mix with. There isn't one person who sets the clothing trends and everyone else follows. But outside London... People who are my age have got the initiative to dress in their own style. They follow Spandau, but not in the sense that they copy us piece-for-piece. They all dress differently. When we go up north, we can see the differences, and that's good. That's the way it should be! The kids that are buying our records, like 14-year-olds, obviously they haven't really sussed it yet. They copy us, but that's all right."

Spandau Ballet recently issued the soul-infused single "Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)" ahead of their forthcoming second album (due to be released in early 1982). The song peaked at #3 in the charts, and the band undertook a handful of live dates. But according to Martin, no full-scale tour is currently planned.

Spandau Ballet (publicity photo)

"We haven't played in ages," Martin observes. "We hardly ever play, but when we do, we try to make it special. The last time we played, we did Ibiza. A lot of English kids go to Ibiza for their holidays, and we thought by doing that, it would be pretty special. We played a great club and went on just as the sun was coming up. It was terrific!"

Martin won't divulge too many details about the new LP. But he does tell me, "The next album is going to be completely different from Journeys To Glory because we're doing a lot more in the studio. We had the material for the first album a year previous to recording it because we were playing the songs at gigs. It only took us about six weeks to record it. We tried to capture the sort of atmosphere we had at the live shows — like the HMS Belfast — and put it on the album. It's a timepiece."

Perhaps not surprisingly, Spandau's sound is more influenced by club-going rather than listening to records by other bands. "I'm usually more aware of records in clubs," notes Martin, "like when I'm talking to people and records are playing in the background. That's where I hear records."

Martin Kemp (publicity photo)

Also, probably not surprisingly, Spandau Ballet doesn't feel like they're in competition with other New Romantic-type bands.

"It's not really a competition because, for us, it's fun! There's groups like Duran Duran... There's no competition because what we're doing is pretty much in front of what they're doing. It's like watching ourselves in the mirror; they're just copying everything that we did three months back. It doesn't worry us."

Bitchiness? Perish the thought! Spandau has no reason for such pettiness.

"In England, we sell more 12-inch singles than any other group," Martin remarks. Have I mentioned that his eyes are the most amazing shade of blue? I think I probably have.

Oh dear, I've lost my focus (again). When I come back down to earth, Martin's still talking about their sales figures or sound or something. I'm sure they've unnecessarily turned up the heat in this pub.

"With our experience in clubs, we know what a good club sound is, whereas other groups don't. They're more interested in their live performance, and they make their records like that. For us to make 12-inch singles is easy! It's no trouble. We know what people want to hear at clubs, and we just do it."

I feel a teeny bit guilty for not holding up my end of this conversation, so before Martin hurries off to his next appointment, I ask about the band's recent (May 1981) New York show at the Underground Club, Spandau's only Stateside appearance to date.

Chrysalis Records advert for Journeys To Glory

"New York was great!" he enthuses. "The best thing I've ever seen! Everyone was dressed up. I popped out about five minutes before we went on, and there were 600 people dressed up over the top. It was a really big place, and there were still people queuing up to get in. It's the same as it is over here. People are ready to slag us off, bury us — but our records are so good they can't put it out of their heads, so they have to take notice of it. There's no way we're going to stop making good records. So, they'll just have to keep on listening!"

Sigh... He's so dreamy.

Specimen Become Americanized! Ollie Wisdom Talks About The Shake-Up Of Death Rock's Most Glamorous Group.

Published in Rave-Up #11 (1986)
By Devorah Ostrov

Specimen - San Francisco lineup circa 1985

L-R: Kimba, Ollie Wisdom, Smeg, Tim Huthert & Gere Fennelly

(photographer unknown)

The original Specimen was formed some years ago in England. Looking like rejects from a less than B-grade horror movie, they made a name for themselves amongst fashion conscious UK club-goers. And between their image, their records, and their club (The Batcave), they gave the music press (who labeled the innovative new scene "Death Rock") plenty to write about.

When things got beyond their control, lead singer and mastermind Ollie Wisdom moved operations to San Francisco. Since all the other British members chose to stay in London, Ollie reconstructed the band with musicians from the Bay Area: Gere Fennelly on keyboards, Smeg on guitar, Kimba on bass, and Jeffrey St. Pierre (who recently replaced Tim Huthert) on drums. Once again, Specimen is going full force!

* * *

"Indestructable" b/w "Brainburst!" picture sleeve 45

(Rampant Records 1986)

Ollie Wisdom's flat resembles a Specimen show. Multi-colored crepe paper and plastic beads dangle from the ceiling; various parts of baby dolls are strewn about the floor. As we make ourselves comfy amid the rubble, Ollie switches on the tape player and the final mix of the new Specimen demo blasts forth...

Ollie: We're doing four singles right now. The first is "Indestructable"/"Brainburst!" The other songs on the tape are "Pink and Perfect," "Red Velvet Crush on You," and "Miss You" — which is the ballady one. We're also making a film for it. When 

we finish the record, we'll edit the film to it, and it should be shown on MTV. We've also got alternative videos, in which we've been doing animation and stuff, which will go out to the clubs.

Rave-Up: Are you producing the record yourself?

Ollie: Yeah, I've done all the production on it and written all the songs for it. And it's come out great! I'm really pleased with it. I've never had the chance to do that in the studio before.

Rave-Up: The previous Specimen records were all done by producers telling you what to do?

Flyer for Specimen at Perkins Palace

March 3, 1984

Ollie: Very much so! It was a very necessary thing to go through, as well. When you first get let loose in a 24-track recording studio, which costs like $70 an hour, you've got to have some idea of what you're going for. Without what I learnt from past experiences, good and bad, I couldn't have done it.

Rave-Up: Is it because you're producing it yourself that the songs sound poppier?

Ollie: I don't know if it sounds poppier. It's not so guitar-oriented; it's more song-oriented. The songs I played you are most likely going to be the singles, so they're the more poppy of the songs anyway.

Rave-Up: What made you move to San Francisco? Were you bored with London?

Ollie: Yeah, I was really bored. There's nothing happening in London at the moment. Everybody just tries to make out like there is.

Rave-Up: Why San Francisco over anywhere else?

Ollie: I would never even consider living in Los Angeles. New York presents a whole load of problems that San Francisco doesn't. And San Francisco's got sunshine. Unfortunately, the process of moving split the band up somewhat.

Rave-Up: You mean like all the original band members are still over there, and you're over here?

Specimen - San Francisco lineup circa 1986

L-R: Jeffrey St. Pierre, Smeg, Ollie Wisdom, Kimba, Gere Fennelly

Ollie: But they're all over there not doing very much, unfortunately.

Rave-Up: So, what happened?

Ollie: Well, we had just issued an EP ["Sharp Teeth"] on a brand-new label [The Trust] in England. We'd spent a year getting out of our London Records deal; we wouldn't let them make us into the pop band they wanted us to be. And I said, "Look, I'm not going to do an album with Trust," which is what they wanted us to do. Other people wanted to go for it. They said, "Stay here and do this album." I said, "If that's what you want, keep it." I don't regret it in the slightest.

Rave-Up: Did you think about not calling the new group Specimen?

Ollie: It had occurred to me to change the name of the band, but I didn't see much point. When the original Specimen played Perkins Palace in LA, Jon [Klein, guitarist] and I went out to do a radio interview just after the soundcheck. There was a queue right around the block. We walked right past this whole lot — not one person recognized us!
     I figure that they still don't really know the difference. You've got to use whatever you have to your advantage. There's no point in cutting your wrists for integrity's sake.

Rave-Up: Don't you think it's superficial for your fans not to notice the difference?

Ollie: No, not if they come to enjoy the show anyway. The people that really got into us early on, they know the difference. Some of them whisper, "It's not the same band..." Of course, we're not the same band. We're not trying to be the same band. But it doesn't stop it from being a lot of fun!

Rave-Up: The personalities of the new band members must be vastly different from the old members. Are American musicians easier to work with?

Ollie Wisdom

(photographer unknown)

Ollie: In some ways. I find that Americans are a bit more open to suggestion and a bit more excitable when something excites them. The British have seen it all before, or think they have, so they're not going to appear to be excited, even if they are.

Rave-Up: I wonder how the new members feel stepping into a sort of inherited image? What people expect Specimen to be as opposed to what they are...

Ollie: But you see, it's not like they have to step into something. They've just got to be themselves. If they tried to step into something, it would look really awkward. Because they're the right people for the job, so to speak, there's no transformation needed.

Rave-Up: I always saw Specimen as a fun, almost cartoonish group. But the British press always wrote about you guys as the leaders of the death-rock scene, which made you sound a bit doomy and dark.

Ollie: Yes, well, you saw much more what it was. People just took the name, The Batcave, and misconstrued it. It was never serious. It was never an "Oh, we're death-rock" kind of thing.

Rave-Up: Do you resent having your creative, fun ideas turned into what the press wanted you to be?

Ollie: No, not really. I mean, you don't think about it. You just carry on and try to put a few people right along the way.

Rave-Up: Have you thought about doing a club here, along the lines of The Batcave?

Poster for the 25th-anniversary 

celebration of the London Batcave
July 11, 2008

Ollie: I don't want to do anything as regular as a nightclub. It's something I could always fall back on if I need the money! But no, I don't really want to. The Batcave was great. Let it rest in peace.

Rave-Up: One last question, did you have any trouble getting through immigration? Or did you try to look "normal"?

Ollie: Even when I try to look normal, I don't! But I have a "gimp" outfit — it's my disguise to get past immigration. It consists of a pair of corduroy trousers, a little jacket, tennis shoes, a beige shirt, no nail varnish, no make-up at all, no jewelry. No "un-manly" things in my suitcase. It's such a performance, but it worked!  

Rave-Up: What if someone had recognized you?

Ollie: Even you wouldn't recognize me!

Sex Gang Children: A Cup Of Tea & A Chat With Andi Sex Gang

Originally published in Rave-Up #10 (1985)
Interview by Devorah Ostrov & Sara Brinker
Photos by Devorah Ostrov

Sex Gang Children at the time of this interview.
L-R: Kevin, Andi, Cam & Terry
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Andi Sex Gang is soooo nice! How nice is he? Not only did he sneak two fanzine journalists into Sex Gang Children's London Lyceum show last summer (along with several other kids waiting expectantly outside the backstage entrance), but he also found relatively comfortable hiding places for everyone, and mapped an escape route for us into the main hall. Our hero!

A couple of days later, Sara and I "bumped into" Andi again (some might say we'd been stalking him for hours!) on Carnaby Street, and he invited us round to his place for a cup of tea. He's polite as well as nice! We swooned while he spoke of Édith Piaf and old movies, and while we waited for the rest of the group to turn up for rehearsal, we asked Andi a few questions.

My photo of Andi was used in
the 2007 Cherry Red reissue of Blind!

Rave-Up: We really admire Sex Gang Children's attitude towards the fans that come to see you. Is it important to you to take care of your fans?

Andi: That's human nature. You're either a cunt or you're not. It's not a selling point of the band. Our selling point is our music, the live shows, and our records.

Rave-Up: Sex Gang Children tends to be categorized as a doom and gloom/ gothic/death rock band. Do you ever feel a bit trapped by the cult following for that genre of music?

Andi: It's not a matter of being trapped so much by a cult following... I think most of our followers are basically big fans and have great faith in the band. You just want to be able to prove to everyone that you're not as limited a band as everyone thinks you are.

Rave-Up: There seems to be a great desire in the music press to limit you and label you.

Andi: There is. It gives you a feeling of being picked apart and exposed. It can make you feel incredibly naked.

Rave-Up: From some previous conversations we've had, you guys seem to be great fans of a variety of music and still able to get excited over other people's work.

Kevin Matthews & Cam Campbell
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Andi: Yeah, it's true! We are fans of music and excited about what we do, excited about the people and the things in life. I'm excited by the fact that Steven Spielberg is in the position to do what he wants to do, and at the same time, he's offering entertainment for millions of people. That's brilliant! It gives us faith.

Rave-Up: Who are your heroes?

Andi: I like a lot of film stars — Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Robert De Niro. I like Divine as well; he's a person of incredible style. I like the real stars, old film greats. They have no grand illusions about themselves.
   You know who I really like and admire? Billy Joel! He doesn't go around saying, "I've got an image." Or "I'm a Batcave artist." He doesn't need to sell himself with cheap slogans. He says it all with his music.

Rave-Up: Are you guys working on any videos?

Andi: We did a video for the Édith Piaf song ["Les Amants D'un Jour"]. Graham Bentley, who does our lights and works with us behind the scenes, set up an appointment with Radio Luxembourg because they were greatly interested in us and they had a European cable network. We went up to Northampton, chose a location, and made a video on the spur of the moment. Then we stayed up for four nights editing and sussing things out. We went back to London, went to Radio Luxembourg, and the video was flown out to their cable network in Europe to show that very night.

Andi proves he loves Billy Joel by posing with one of his albums.
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Rave-Up: Is it true that you finance everything yourselves?

Andi: Everything we do is self-financed. We keep everything to a minimum. We have to!

Rave-Up: So, you don't need the limos or the big hotel rooms?

Andi Sex Gang & Terry MacLeay
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Andi: No, we aren't spoiled by the money. 

   I remember the first time we got involved in a huge festival [Futurama 4, 1982]… 

   We drove up there in a shitty old van that leaked, and we were hungry, and we just jumped onstage. We showed them the best of ourselves, while everyone else had this complacent attitude. 

   It was supposed to be the festival of the year. When we got there, we had never seen such a lethargic atmosphere. Everyone was just waiting for something to happen.

Rave-Up: Nothing was happening, so you made it happen!

Andi: Yeah... That sounds like such a cheap thing to say, but it's true! We blew a lot of bands off the stage. In fact, the only two bands that stood out that night were us and Southern Death Cult. Everyone else just went through the motions. We were the only two bands that gave it something!✨

The Dirty Strangers: They're Just A Really Good Rock 'N' Roll Band From Shepherd's Bush!

The Dirty Strangers were like a bunch of big brothers to me and Rave-Up photographer Sara Brinker during our 1984 London holiday. They became very special to us, and we hoped that readers of our 'zine back home would feel the same way.

Originally published in Rave-Up #10, 1985
Interview by Devorah Ostrov/Photos by Sara Brinker & Devorah Ostrov

The Dirty Strangers

Photo: Sara Brinker

Brian James, guitarist for the Lords of the New Church, and a man whose opinion we highly value at Rave-Up HQ, recommended that Sara and I see the Dirty Strangers while we were in London. And he proved to be right — we fell in love with the Dirty Strangers' sweaty, unpretentious, good-time brand of rock 'n' roll!

Basically, the Dirty Strangers are a band of working-class guys from the Shepherd's Bush section of London. They've been playing their hearts out to anyone who'll listen for the last four years, and hopefully, they'll never change or stop!

Crime And A Woman - the fourth album from the Dirty Strangers

Released 2016

Q: So, how would you guys describe the Dirty Strangers' sound?

Alistair: We're just a real good rock 'n' roll band. Let people draw their own conclusions, really.

Q: Do you think there's a lack of real rock 'n' roll bands in London at the moment?

Alan Clayton
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Alistair: There's a lot of rock 'n' roll bands, but I mean...

Alan: We're the best!

Alistair: Yeah, well... That's it, isn't it? Without sounding sort of, uhmm... Y'know what I mean?

Scotty: Rock 'n' roll has been unfashionable recently, but I think it's going to come back because there's no pretense about it. Nobody's trying to give you a message or be political. It's just for people to enjoy. We get up onstage and have a good time, and the crowd have a good time. That's all we really want. And I think it's gonna pay off. Well, I hope it does!

Q: Have you had a hard time getting your style across to record companies?

Alistair Symons
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Everyone: Very hard!!!

Scotty: They don't want to know about us.

Alistair: I think they also realize that it would be very difficult for them to try to change us in any way. We are pretty resolute in what we do.

Alan: We've had A&R people say that they really like us and want to sign us, but every time that it gets back to the company, it gets blocked. They don't see us as a marketable product.

Q: I know you're working on an independent EP. What songs are going to be on it?

Alan: "Survival Dance," "Hands Up," "Are You Satisfied?" and a live version of "Shepherd's Bush City Limits."

Alistair: You might have heard that tune before.

Q: Yeah, but it didn't sound right. It's supposed to be something else!

Poster for a 2017 Dirty Strangers show at the Bungalow in Paisley

Scotty: Yeah, well... it is, but we added our own words.

Q: And I've heard that Radio 1 is going to be recording you guys.

Alan: We're doing a session called "The Rock Show." We're doing five or six songs.

Alistair Symons & Brian James in SF - 1986

Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Scotty: It's the first time we've been on the radio. It might change a few people's minds, y'know.

Alistair: I'm glad as well, 'cause there's people up north [Northern England] who are into rock 'n' roll, and they deserve to at least know that there's a band in London playing rock 'n' roll.

Scotty: Half of Europe... nearly all of Europe gets Radio 1, so potentially it could be a very big audience.

Q: Is it true that the Rolling Stones are big fans of the Dirty Strangers?

Alistair: I'll tell you what, Keith Richards told us he was gonna sign us to Rolling Stone Records, but at the time something went wrong... I dunno. Anyway, he really likes us. He thinks we're the best band in Britain.

Alan: When the Rolling Stones played Wembley, one of them had a Dirty Strangers t-shirt on! We get accused of being like the Stones in a way, but it's never been intentional, and our songwriting has never gone in that direction. But it's the nearest thing that people can hang on us, y'know. There's only been one really good rock 'n' roll band up to now — the Rolling Stones. They really cornered the market. So, that's the nearest tag people can put on us. But Keith don't think we're like them and I mean, he should know!

Alan Clayton
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Scotty: Rod Stewart and the Faces is the other comparison we get.

Alan: A lot of people try to conjure up an image that they want people to copy — which a lot of people do. But we don't force anyone to copy us. The only reason [our fans] go out is to be entertained, and that's what music is for. And we come from Shepherd's Bush — the home of rock 'n' roll! The Who, the Sex Pistols, and us!

Find out more about the Dirty Strangers on Facebook: facebook.com/thedirtystrangers

Please enjoy this video for "Shepherd's Bush City Limits"

Screaming Lord Sutch: A Legend Of Rock 'N' Roll And British Politics

Published as a two-part interview in Rave-Up issues #12 & #13 (1987/1988) 
A condensed version was later published in American Music Press

Screaming Lord Sutch poses for Rave-Up
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Interview by Devorah Ostrov & Sara Brinker/Story by Devorah Ostrov

The manifesto for the Monster Raving Loony Party lists some serious and some not-so-serious matters its candidate, Screaming Lord Sutch, would pursue on the off-chance he was voted into Parliament:

1) Launch a national franchise of Jellied Eels and Tripe: We've had enough of the American Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald's. What we need is a national franchise of good old English food.

2) Harness the energy of joggers: Instead of having them run around in circles, I would put them on a conveyor-belt so that they could conduct free electricity for OAPs (Old Age Pensioners).

The Official Monster Raving Loony
 Party Manifesto

3) National Health System: We must cut back on wastages. Nursing staff and doctors should be given a decent wage just as they would if they were privately employed by say, BUPA or PPP.

4) Licensing laws: We believe that the pre-war licensing laws are outdated, and the decision as to when a pub should open or close should be left to the discretion of the landlord.

5) Vote at 16: If a 16-year-old is able to get married, have children, and fight wars for our country, then surely, they are responsible enough to vote for the government of their choice.

6) Common Market: Withdrawing from the EEC may not be the answer to the country's problems. However, if we are to remain in the common market, Britain needs a much better "deal" than what we have at the moment.

But before Screaming Lord Sutch the Raving Loony, there was Screaming Lord Sutch the eccentric pop star. While we were in London, Sara and I met up with the amiable Mr. Sutch at his surprisingly sedate suburban home to chat about his legendary life.

Part 1: Rock 'n' Roll

Born simply David Edward Sutch on November 10, 1940, he began developing his alter ego at the age of 16. "I first got interested in the early black and white horror films, like Frankenstein and Dracula," he remarks. "But I also liked rock 'n' roll music, so I thought why not combine the two?"

An early publicity photo of Screaming Lord Sutch
 and the Savages 

His Lordship's mother was not entirely pleased with her son's career plans. "She freaked out! She thought I was completely mad. And when I started to grow my hair long, I was treated like an outcast. I was the local freak."

According to Sutch, when he first began performing in the 1950s, the London music scene was focused on only one entertainer.

"All the local pubs used to have talent nights," he reflects, "and in those days everyone was copying Elvis Presley. There must have been 10,000 Presley lookalikes walking the street! I figured since nobody could top Presley, I would just do my own stuff."

From the beginning, Sutch dubbed himself with the pseudo-royal title of "Lord" because he always wore a top hat and tails. (He did eventually change his name officially to Lord Sutch, although some reports will have you believe he was of hereditary royalty). At various times, he tells us, he was also known as the 3rd Earl of Harrow, and Lord of Horror and Macabre.

Last of the Teenage Idols vocalist Buttz says, 
"This show was a highlight of my career." 

"Then because I screamed a lot at shows, I was nicknamed 'the Screamer' and that title stuck," he explains.

With a set comprised of self-penned horror-pop tunes, covers of '50s standards and other novelties, Sutch and his back-up band, the Savages, debuted at the Parkhouse Hotel in 1958.

"It was a big old pub on the North Circular Road," he recollects of the venue. "We went onstage with earth-shattering screams coming from the back of the crowd, with the death march playing. Then I came out and started grabbing the first two rows of people. It gave them heart attacks! They weren't used to things like that."

The group's next job was at the trendy 2i's Coffee Bar. "At that time Cliff Richard, Johnny Steele and Gary Glitter (then known as Paul Raven) were all playing there," he recalls. "But they were all either copying Elvis, Eddie Cochran or Gene Vincent. The club's manager said, 'You don't copy Elvis, Eddie or Gene, do you?' I said, 'No. I come out of a coffin and sing my own songs.' He said, 'Oh, that sounds a bit different.'"

The coffin shtick was a direct pinch from Screamin' Jay Hawkins, who had been doing the same gimmick in America for several years. And while some of his coffins came from legitimate undertakers, Sutch reveals: "I've gone to cemeteries and been handed them!"

Lord Sutch poses in the back garden of his
surprisingly sedate suburban home.
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Sutch's onstage costumes have utilized Dracula-style capes, Halloween masks, and horror movie makeup, while his props have included skulls, axes, daggers, blood, and fire. Even live animals have been incorporated into the act, with a Himalayan bear and a twenty-foot long alligator making appearances.

Meanwhile, his flair for self-publicity kept Lord Sutch constantly in the British press throughout the '60s. He made headlines with his first Parliamentary run as the leader of the National Teenage Party in 1963 (he won just over 200 votes). He established his own pirate radio station (Radio Sutch) off the coast of Southend. And he was chased at gunpoint by a girlfriend's irate father.

Sometimes he even got attention without trying...

"I lost a coffin once," he laughs. "I was driving down the M4 to a gig, and there were a lot of people honking and waving at me. I thought nothing of it at the time, but when I pulled in for service, I noticed the coffin was gone. I'd had it strapped to a rack on top of the car — and the rack, everything, was gone! I was watching TV later that night, and there was the Inspector of Transport talking to the Commissioner of Police saying, 'It's amazing what we find on these motorways — hats, umbrellas... Today we even found a coffin!'"

The Cramps, The Meteors, and Screaming Lord Sutch

Poster for a Hammersmith Palais show on June 22, 1980 

But getting a recording contract proved tougher than getting headlines. "My music was so uncommercial that they wouldn't give me a record deal," declares Sutch. "They figured, what's the point? It probably won't get played on the radio."

Sutch's first 45, "Till the Following Night" b/w a cover of "Good Golly Miss Molly," was issued by HMV POP (catalog #953) in 1961.

Lord Sutch and his Heavy Friend Jeff Beck

Cotillion Records publicity photo used

on the back cover of the LP.

Produced by Joe Meek (as were all of Sutch's early 45s), the A-side (a corny ditty along the lines of Bobby Boris Pickett's "Monster Mash") was originally called "My Big Black Coffin." However, Sutch's label didn't think the BBC would appreciate that title.

"The record company had someone rewrite it and they retitled it," he asserts. "The BBC still banned it straight away. In those days, if it didn't say Cliff Richard or Elvis Presley on the label, the BBC banned it."

Although the BBC refused to play "Till the Following Night," Radio Luxembourg picked it up, and it became something of a hit.

"It got played a lot on Radio Luxembourg," observes Sutch. "The record did well, and we built up a cult following by playing the colleges and universities, night clubs, and leisure halls."

Sutch's next single, "Jack the Ripper" (1963 Decca Records), became his signature tune. Written by the team of Stacy/Haggin/Simmons and first recorded by Clarence Stacy in 1961, the ghoulish ode was tailor-made for Sutch's over-the-top histrionics, and he turned it into a bona fide showstopper.

Look out Torquay! Screaming Lord Sutch is in town!

"Ah-ha-ha, aaah!

The Ripper, Jack the Ripper

The Ripper, Jack the Ripper

There's a man who walks the streets of London late at night

The Ripper, Jack the Ripper

With a little black bag that's oh-so tight

The Ripper, Jack the Ripper

He's got a big black cloak hangin' down his back

The Ripper, Jack the Ripper

Well, that's a one big cat I just a hate to fight

The Ripper, Jack the Ripper

When he walks down the streets

To every girl he meets, he says  
Is your name Mary BLOOD?

The Ripper, Jack the Ripper

The Ripper, Jack the Ripper..."

"We had a whole routine worked out for that song," he points out. "We'd recreate a London scene with smoke and green lights — imagine a dark street in Whitechapel. We'd have girls dressed in Victorian clothes and chase them around the stage and 'stab' them! Then we'd rush about the audience and 'stab' someone who was in their seat. They loved it!"

Following the relative success of "Jack the Ripper," Decca issued Sutch's version of Leiber and Stoller's "I'm a Hog for You" (which had been a Top 40 hit for the Coasters a few years earlier). And in 1964, Oriole Records released two further 45s — "She's Fallen in Love with the Monster Man" and "Dracula's Daughter."

Oriole Records advert for

"She's Fallen in Love with the Monster Man"

The Oriole singles "did very well," notes Sutch. And in 1965, CBS issued his cover of the R&B standard "The Train Kept A' Rollin'."  The Savages that played on this record included future Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and no less than four saxophone players.

If Lord Sutch's memory serves him correctly, by this point in his career he'd already made his first forays to America. He dates his initial visit to "about 1962."

"I went over to look around and see what the scene was like," he says. "I went back in 1964 and played in New York and did a lot of the seaside/ beach places."

Over the next couple of years, Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages played in Germany, France, and Italy. In February 1966, they took part in a whirlwind UK package tour that also featured the Who and the Graham Bond Organization. And later that year, they played alongside the Yardbirds, the Small Faces, and Simon & Garfunkel at the Tour de César music festival.

With the money he was earning, Sutch bought a Rolls Royce and had it customized with a Union Jack paint job — the same Rolls Royce on which a very dandified and very blond Lord Sutch plants his stylish boot on the famous album cover for Lord Sutch And Heavy Friends.

Lord Sutch and another heavy friend -

the Who's Keith Moon.

"There was a big I'm Backing Britain campaign at the time," he muses. "Everyone was waving British flags, so I thought I'd do one better and stick it over the whole car! When it was done, I put it on the Queen Mary to tour America in. We did a few gigs around New York, Milwaukee, and Chicago. And from there, we made our way out to California."

Arriving in Los Angeles in 1968, Lord Sutch settled in for a while and signed with Cotillion Records (a division of Atlantic Records). "I played the Whisky and made all the scenes," he emphasizes.

Recording sessions for the Heavy Friends LP — which featured contributions from Sutch's pals Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Noel Redding, and Nicky Hopkins — took place at Hollywood's Mystic Studios over the space of twelve days from April 24 - May 5, 1969. Page and Bonham likely showed up in early May, when Led Zeppelin's US tour rolled into Irvine and Pasadena.

"I had laid down some tracks with Jeff Beck and Noel Redding," Sutch remembers, "when Jimmy Page called and said, 'I'll do some stuff for you.' In the end, he co-produced it and played on all the tracks." (It seems that Page has a very different take on Heavy Friends and has since distanced himself from the project.)

Lord Sutch And Heavy Friends LP (Cotillion/Atlantic 1970)

"John Bonham got involved when I picked up Jimmy to take him to the studio," Sutch continues. "Bonham was there, and he said, 'I'd like to have a go as well. Do you mind if I play on it?' John Paul Jones wanted to do something as well, but their manager said it was turning into the second Led Zeppelin album, and it had to stop somewhere."

The liner notes to Heavy Friends boldly announced that "Screaming Lord Sutch is about to wake up Southern California." But when it was released in 1970, the record flopped. A review in Rolling Stone called Sutch's shouted and growled vocals "absolutely terrible."

My autographed Screaming Lord Sutch 45

The Rolls and props were put into an LA garage and Sutch returned to England. But he wasn't quite done with rock 'n' roll just yet.

In April 1970, Screaming Lord Sutch invited Ritchie Blackmore and other former Savages (including his original drummer Carlo Little) as well as a few more "heavy friends" (Keith Moon, Noel Redding, and keyboardist Matthew Fisher from Procol Harum) to jam on some standard rockers and horror-pop numbers at the Country Club in Hampstead, London.

The show was taped (apparently to the astonishment of everyone except Sutch), and in 1972 Atlantic released the (somewhat tweaked) live album Hands Of Jack The Ripper. The LP failed to set the world alight, and as far as recorded output, Sutch was finished for the next decade.

Part 2: Politics

It was during this time that he picked up the pieces of the National Teenage Party (rechristened as the Monster Raving Loony Party) and challenged the aged and boring Parliament on issues ranging from the youth vote to the preservation of Liverpool's Cavern Club.

Vote for Screaming Lord Sutch!
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Q: Was there a particular reason, or a need that you saw, which first got you interested in running for Parliament?

Sutch: I first formed the National Teenage Party because I was interested in politics, and you couldn't vote over here until you were 21. There were people walking around married with kids, and they couldn't vote. It was ridiculous! I also campaigned for commercial radio. All we had over here was the BBC, and they only played chamber music, orchestras, or big bands. At one time, I ran a "pirate" radio station called "Radio Sutch" from an old fishing boat!

Q: What made you start again with politics in the '70s?

Sutch: I found that 30% of the population didn't bother to vote. We needed a party just for them — a protest party! That's why I formed the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.

Q: How close have you come to winning a Parliamentary election?

Sutch: I came close with the National Teenage Party. I had thousands of people doing marches. We got lots of publicity, and in the end, we were accepted.

Publicity photo for the Monster Raving Loony Party

Q: So, the British public does take your campaigns seriously?

Sutch: Oh, yeah! Because I've been doing it for so many years now. I've stood against former Prime Minister Harold Wilson twice in Liverpool. I told them, "You've got the world-famous band, the Beatles, and this city looks like a bloody mess." People are starving; there are a lot of derelict areas. There's nothing there. Where is all that tax money going? It should be pumped back into the town! And then some guy on the Liverpool council decided they should knock down the Cavern [the club where the Beatles played] and on the space, they could park two cars. That's a real brainwave!

His Lordship looking like a proper
rock star. (Photo from the back cover
 of Hands Of Jack The Ripper.)

Q: Instead of tearing it down, they should have turned the Cavern into a Beatles museum.

Sutch: Of course, they should have! And they could have charged a £1 entrance fee. They would have made £1000 a day! You couldn't charge that much to park two cars. Now they've got a whole industry like they have in Memphis for Elvis — a whole museum dedicated to the Beatles, the Searchers, the Swinging Blue Jeans... all of the bands that came out of that era. Now they're talking about rebuilding the Cavern, but it won't be the same. What are they going to build it out of? Plastic? Modern brick? It's not the same. It's sheer madness! That's why you've got to keep going.

Q: Do you know how many people belong to the Monster Raving Loony Party?

Sutch: A few thousand!

Q: What's up next on your political agenda?

Sutch: We have by-elections where a seat comes up because a lot of the MPs are too old. Most are in their late sixties or seventies. Some of them, when they win, fall over and croak from the excitement! What we're saying now is that there should be an age limit of say 55. What do these 70-year-old MPs have in common with someone on the dole? With a skinhead or a rocker? They're just a bunch of hooligans to them. There should be a department just to study youth, to find out why they riot, why they smash up telephone boxes, why there is all this vandalism.

Screaming Lord Sutch with four saxophones

and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore

And what about Lord Sutch's musical career? He still brings his original "horror rock" show to clubs and the occasional outdoor festival in England, but can we ever expect to see him Stateside again?

"I'd like to do a few more gigs in America," he nods, "and maybe pick up my stuff. The storage bills are outrageous!"

* * *

Promotion for "I'm a Hog for You"

Some rock historians think that Screaming Lord Sutch's foremost legacy will be as an early employer to some of rock's biggest stars. During the interview, we asked if it was true that AC/DC was once his back-up band...

Sutch: Oh, yeah! When they first came to England, they were just playing small pubs, getting £20 a night. Someone told me to go down and see this band — "They're great!" It was an absolute natural because I always had a wild guitarist in the band. You know, Page... Blackmore... My band has always been popular as a "band's band." Other groups would always come and see us whenever we played because I'd always use top musicians. The Rolling Stones used to come to my gigs in the early days. They actually nicked the drummer from my first band — Carlo Little. He did one show with them at the Flamingo Club, and Jagger offered him to stay permanently. But the Flamingo Club was more of a jazzy club, and the Stones just died a slow death there. The club manager asked Carlo what he was doing with this group of scruffy bastards? Carlo got embarrassed and said he didn't want to do it anymore. He gave them Charlie Watts' phone number!

* * *

Update: Sadly, Screaming Lord Sutch was found hanged at his home on June 16, 1999. Reports say he had suffered from a prolonged battle with depression.

Lords Of The New Church: Hanging Out On Portobello Road

Originally published in Rave-Up #9 (1985)
By Devorah Ostrov

The Lords of the New Church engage in deep and meaningful conversation while drinking heavily on Portobello Road.

Brian, Stiv & Nick pose with a reasonable facsimile of Dave.
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

I've interviewed Stiv Bators many times over the last eight years or so, and he's always provided some very entertaining banter. This exchange with Stiv and the other Lords of the New Church was extra special because it was done on their home turf — a wine bar on Portobello Road in London, England.

Rave-Up: I'm so used to talking to you guys in hotels and backstage. It's weird to actually see you outside during the day, in public.

Stiv: We actually sometimes go out in the streets!

Nick: We're usually shopping for haddock or something, Grape-Nuts...

Rave-Up: The last time you played in San Francisco, there were all these 13- and 14-year-old girls at the front of the stage. Is that the influence of MTV showing "Dance with Me"?

Stiv: I think so.

Rave-Up: And then they all ran away when they saw what you guys were really like!

Stiv & Nick ham it up on Portobello Road.
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Stiv: Did they? You're that ugly, Nicky! No, it must have been Dave kicking the girl in the face. Scared the shit out of 'em!

Rave-Up: Are you going to do more videos?

Stiv: Yeah! We're supposed to do one with just a... I won't even say. Godley and Cream... But he mentioned someone... I don't know. Don't ask me.

Rave-Up: Earlier, Nick was saying that you want to open for some big heavy metal act when you come back to the States.

Stiv: Yeah, that would be fun! We could reach a bigger audience for one thing. America isn't as diversified as it is over here. Over here, heavy metal kids won't go to punk shows. The only difference between punk and heavy metal is the haircut, anyway. They dress the same. And now everybody's growing their hair long so...

Rave-Up: So, tell me about the album you're working on [it was released last October and is called The Method To Our Madness]. I've heard it's going to be much more over the top than your last one. Were you getting slagged off for being too commercial with "Dance with Me"?

Stiv: Yeah, in a way. It was too diversified. This next one's going to be sort of like Donovan, you know, songs about peace and love and flowers.

Rave-Up: Yeah, nobody will buy that one!

Stiv: We'll be in the Guinness Book of World Records as the band who sold the least albums. It's us and Wind in the Willows [pre-Blondie Debbie Harry]. Nah, it's gonna be much more rock 'n' roll.

Rave-Up: More like the first album?

Stiv: Yeah, but even more so rock 'n' roll. The first album still varied off a little. This one's based around a lot of guitar riffs. The eternal E chord!

Peek-a-boo! Brian & Nick try to hide
behind the wine bar's signage.
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Rave-Up: Will it be as political as the first LP? Or more personal songs?

Stiv: I don't know yet. No, there won't be any personal songs 'cause nothing happened in my life this year. It's been boring. No tour.

Rave-Up: You lived out at Stonehenge for a while. That must have been exciting!

Stiv: Yeah, that's true. It was! Stepping in cow shit, you know... I just decided that some stuff is okay personally, but unless you read into it, and it really conveys the emotion, it gets boring. It's really just self-satisfying. Politically, you gotta watch what you say too. I've already said a lot, and I don't want to repeat myself. So, I don't know what the hell we're gonna write about!

Rave-Up: The first time I interviewed you after you formed the Lords, you said that England was anti-rock 'n' roll bands, and you felt that the Lords would have a hard time making it in England. Has that changed in the last couple of years?

Stiv: Yeah. We thought... Well, we were playing places like the Marquee and not even filling it. When our first album came out and we went on tour, we wouldn't even play London. About a year later, we played the Hammersmith Palais with the Damned. We thought we might fill it, you know. And it ended up that they turned away 3,000 kids! And most of them that came to see us had Lords' t-shirts on. We didn't even know where to get the t-shirts! It really surprised us. We see the trend now moving away from techno-pop. It's like everybody's growing their hair... We didn't realize how many people are into what we're into. We thought we were going to get all these punks and skinheads coming to see us, but it was all these kids that are into leather now and have grown their hair. They're the ones into the Stooges and the Dolls and Alice Cooper. I didn't realize that there were so many here.

Rave-Up: All you need now is the press.

Brian & Stiv pose with a special friend.
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Stiv: Yeah, good PR. In one way, it's good that it didn't happen before because it would have been too early maybe. See, a lot of bands get a lot of press in the beginning with their first album, and they're just a flash in the pan. You get everything they've got and that's it. They're gone. The Stones didn't do it till their 10th album. People don't realize that, but for a long time, they only had a cult following. That's how we prefer to do it, build up a grassroots following.

Rave-Up: Are the Lords bigger in Europe than Britain?

Stiv: Oh, yeah! We were voted the #1 band in Finland.

Rave-Up: Weren't you voted the best singer as well?

Stiv: Yeah, that was 2nd for best song.

Brian: Best live band in Spain.

Rave-Up: Does that surprise you?

Stiv: Yeah, it does! In France, we're almost like the #1 new band.

Rave-Up: Why is it though, that rock 'n' roll is so much bigger in Europe than England?

Stiv: The English kids follow the press too much. They're confused, they don't know what they want. They're like sheep. The journalists more or less choose the trends and program their way of thinking. The kids in France and Finland, and all that, are more suppressed. They're like the Midwest in a sense — they're not like that, but you know, in a way — they don't have these music papers coming out every week telling them what to listen to.

Rave-Up: Is it true that the English kids weren't into the Lords because all of you used to be in other groups?

Stiv Bators & Nick Turner

Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Stiv: In the beginning, yeah. The press gave us a real hard time about that — "outcast bands" and all that shit! But then they did an about-face 'cause we had such a strong grassroots following. The kids demanded it! So now we're getting real good reviews and they're taking us seriously. They thought we'd break up after one album. They thought we were just getting together to make a buck. But now they see we're serious.

Rave-Up: Weren't you getting flack about being a "punk rock supergroup" as well? [Stiv was in the Dead Boys; Brian was in the Damned; Dave was in Sham 69; Nick was in the Barracudas.]

Stiv: Yeah, but they've stopped doing that. They see us as the Lords.

Rave-Up: In a way, it's good that you've done it without the support of the press.

Stiv: Yeah, in a way it's good. It's sort of anti-press in a way. [Sarcastically] Plus, our PR agent was great! Never got us any interviews or nothing. That really helped us out. We're with IRS [Illegal Record Syndicate] now, you know, the PR company which doesn't exist.

Rave-Up: So, you kinda get interviews on your own?

Stiv: Yeah. Did you ever call the office and try to set up an interview?

Rave-Up: I was going to call them for directions on how to get here.

Stiv: They wouldn't even know.

Rave-Up: But I couldn't find their phone number in any phone book anywhere.

Stiv: Yeah, it's a secret organization. And we're their best-kept secret!

You can read my other interviews with Stiv Bators here: 

The Dead Boys: Brand New Band, Same Old Stiv
Stiv Bators: Two Extraordinarily Candid Interviews

Lords of the New Church: I Catch Up With Stiv & Nicky