Music Lyric Sheets: The Death of Screaming Lord Sutch
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Your support makes all the difference.Screaming Lord Sutch, who died last week, was chiefly remembered for his political antics. His contribution to British rock and roll as a live performer has been somewhat overlooked however
The love reserved for cheerful sods
Spawned in that limbo after war
Of seaside towns, arcades and
one-night stands.
The ghost parade of spotty stars
With Watkins Rapiers, Burns Guitars
Their hire-purchase drums and
gap-tooth smiles.
A world of lugging Selmer amps
And Hammond organs into vans
As pre-Profumo Britain rubbed
its eyes.
The early discs, all plundered riffs
Whacked down in pegboard studios
To acetate, pressed-up, released
and sunk.
But watch the pantomime begin
The coffin carried through the crowd
And see the startled front four rows
jump back.
In top-hat, cloak, outrageous hair
Sutch blunders out, leaps off the stage
You had to be there really
and fifteen.
To see his keyboard player got up
The wig skewwhiff and rouged-up cheeks
When Dave, as Jack The Ripper raised
the knife.
And brought it down, the awful scream
The swirl, the drums, the flashing lights
He did the same act every night
for years.
If Mayall schooled the stars in blues
It's Sutch who trained them up for stage
A one-trick pony but a brilliant trick.
You'd heard the news and vainly hoped:
"Another stunt?" But not this time.
Go gentle with that coffin boys.
Just once.
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