In The middle of The Bewildered Crowd

If you were in the excited audience too, join us and share your memories with us

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1. Park Royal Hotel on Hangar Lane in June 1960

John S.

"I was amazed to see Sutch run in, dressed as King Neptune, covered in “Seaweed”, jump on a table amongst screaming girls, leap off, land in a heap on the floor and commence singing... He had very longhair, unusual in those days..."

2. Tour of Devon and Cornwall with The Playboys, 1960

Alan L.

"He act was general lunacy and quite funny. He couldn't sing, but just shouted ...

His stage show was really a visual performance of organised insanity. A real good laugh, but not much musical value..."

"I remember the jokes between songs inflicted upon the bewildered audience..."

3. Kirkonnell, Ireland, July 1st, 1961

Brian K.

"In Kirkconnel, The Savages were wearing orange shirts on Orange Day and had the wally get up on stage... A bloke got up on the stage and went towards the drummer, who just picked up his ride cymbal and smacked him on the forehead... his head opened up and there was blood everywhere so that started a riot and the band had to get out of the place with a police escort in the end".

4. At the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton, on Friday Jan 12th 1962

Adrian C.

"This bill was an extravaganza called 'Twist Around The Tower', advertised as: 'The Greatest Show on Merseyside. Starring Screaming Lord Sutch and his horde of Savages, with Mel Turner - King of Twist - and the Bandits... also a sensation Twist exhibition team, 'Mr Twist & the Twistettes.'
Bill toppers Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages finally failed to turn up and an unknown liverpuldian outfit appeared instead... the Beatles."

5. at the Railway Wealdstone, April 9th 1962

Colin S.

"We were all still at school and were very impressed, the band kicked off with some heavy riff instrumental. The guitarist and bassist has bleached white hair and held their guitars almost vertical, staring menacingly into the audience. Sutch's show included him leaping around with a red toilet seat around his neck. At one point he was standing on a chair, then one of the band came up with a broomstick and poked him up the bum and Sutch squealed, "ooh, is that you, Cliff?" "

6. Thurso Town Hall, Scotland,in February 1963

"As The Savages blasted into the ear-blistering intro to their current single I'm a Hog For You Baby, the curtain rose on a darkened stage on which a table stood supporting a coffin. Suddenly, the coffin lid opened and out sprang Lord Sutch, wrapped in a black Dracula cape, his face contorted in a maniacal leer, a top hat hiding his flowing locks. The madman was well and truly loose. A toilet seat round his neck, the noble one delivered a stream of hard-core belters including a rip-snorting version of Good Golly Miss Molly, before ending with his very own shock-rocker, Jack The Ripper, during which he roamed among the audience, a butcher's knife in one hand, a set of rubber entrails in the other."

7. At the Empire Hall, Totton, 1965

G.

I saw Screaming Lord Sutch at the Empire Hall, Totton... When he burst onto the stage waving his knife around, at least six girls fainted crashed straight down on the floor...

8. At The Golf Drouot, France, on June 15th, 1965

Robert M.

"J'y étais", comme on dit, au Golf Drouot, le soir où il est passé dans le Temple du Rock'n'Roll de Paris.

Je me souviens de son van, avec sur le toit un énorme crocodile.

Son set, entrecoupé de poursuites avec ses musiciens avec une énorme hâche, duel avec épées, etc.

Ces musiciens, tous habillés avec chemises noires à gros pois blancs, jouaient très fort...

Les chemises noires à gros pois blancs m'avaient frappées à tel point que j'ai demandé à ma copine de l'époque qui travaillait dans le prêt-à-porter féminin, de me trouver la même, ce qu'elle a fait. Souvenirs souvenirs. Leurs longues roufflaquettes m'avaient aussi étonnées.

Son répertoire, des classics de Little Richard, et ses propres titres dont Jack The Ripper, of course.

... mes copains et moi connaissions Sutch car nous allions de temps à autres à Londres et avions trouvé ses singles.

Le vendredi soir, au Golf il y avait le Tremplin où se produisaient 4 ou 5 groupes amateurs ou semi-pro. J'y étais souvent.

Le samedi et le dimanche se produisaient un gagnant du Tremplin et un artiste pro comme Vince Taylor, Lord Sutch, etc."

Translation:

"I was there... at the Golf Drouot, the evening when he came to the Temple of Rock 'n' roll of Paris.

I remember his van with an enormous crocodile on the roof.

His set was interrupted with funny acts using various props: chasing his musicians with an huge axe, fancing swords, etc.

These musicians, all dressed with black shirts with big white peas, played very loud...

These black shirts with big white peas had knocked me so much that I asked my then girlfriend who worked in a clothes shop, to find me exactly the same, what she did. Sweet memories... They had long hair and long sideburns, and I was very amazed...

He sang some Little Richard's numbers, and some well known songs of his such as "Jack The Ripper", of course!

... My friends and I knew well Sutch because we often went to London and bought his record there.

On Fridays evenings, at the Golf there was a talent contest for amateur or semi-pro bands. I was there often.

On Saturdays and Sundays the winner supported established acts such as Vince Taylor, Lord Sutch, etc. "

9. At the Borough Hall, Hartlepool in June 1965

Alan L.

"when Lord Sutch appeared on stage he ran on with a scarlet coloured toilet seat round his head and was carrying a chopping axe!

.. the show they did with Lord Sutch was just a basic

four piece band with him. It was drums, bass, lead and rhythm guitar...

Lord Sutch did give me an autograph on the programme from that night."

10. Saturday 14/08/1965 - Berlin Waldbühne Club (Germany)

A German date at the Berlin Waldbühne Club, on a bill with The Kinks; the Pretty Things; Screaming Lord Sutch; The Fortunes; Johnny Kidd & The Pirates

Heike H.

"The concert at the open air arena before 20,000 spectators was billed 'The Show of the Year,' and with Screaming Lord Sutch and his Seven Savages performed the Fortunes, the Kinks and many others. The press predicted riots the day before: "Long-haired Englishmen strut their stuff on the Waldbühne tomorrow in the 'Show of the Year'.

It was Screaming Lord Sutch who actually inspired the riot, after the venue was secured with the appearance by mounted police bearing truncheons... although they did not have to intervene. Since no one at the gates was searched for potential projectiles, and people were permitted to bring bottles into the venue, the consequences were obvious. As Screaming Lord Sutch show took off during the evening performance, someone lobbed a life-sized straw doll onto the stage and set it on fire right on the wooden boards, and the fire brigade had to put it out... in the meantime one of the saxophonists was accidently injured. The crowd was beside itself, fans throwing bottles onto the stage, and many were injured."

11. Weser-Ems-Halle, Oldenburg, in 1965

Hans-Jürgen K.

"Sutch wanted to come on stage in his coffin, but due to fire regulations, the five-armed-candle holder was denied. Sutch was a bit miffed...

The event is a very conservative one, organized by local grammar school students. They are again allowed to use the largest hall, 5000 seats, in the area. The place is packed! Lord Sutch looks susceptible in his leopard suit and socks.

The gig begins, and Sutch, a bit miffed, nicks one of the firemen's helmets...

Sutch does his stage show, hacking away at things with his cardboard axe and a machete. The guy who has supplied the amplification doesn't like it at all, because Sutch is actually shredding one of the amplifiers with a machete.

Then Sutch grabs a fire extinguisher...A little squirmish begins.

Sutch starts to climb stage curtains. Policemen try to pull him down. There's a tear in the curtain suddenly. Sutch pulls out his rubber knife. One stewart doesn't realize it's a rubber knife, just a stage prop. Sutch is pulled down, one has got his leg, the other his arms etc.

Sutch comes free and is excited. He grabs one of the axes fastened to the walls in case of fire emergency - quite common in Germany have these axes on the walls in public buildings to crack down doors in case of fire - and hacks about him. An amplifier gets broken etc.

The gig is cut short. Sutch's money is partly kept to pay for the repairs.

The press advises the students to hire musicians who are more respectable than Lord Sutch..."

12. Ware (Herdfordshire), Late 1965

Bill P.

"The gig at Ware started to a packed hall with Screaming Lord Sutch nearly setting fire to the curtains during the song Great Balls of Fire, the music was fast and furious Rock and Roll, typical Screaming Lord Sutch, very loud, half way through the next number he was dragged off stage by the crowd and seemed to float on a sea of people and ended up out the front door, the drummer and others chassed after him thinking that he was going to be set upon by the local hard men... after a few minutes Sutch suddenly appeared back on stage and said were the FFF... is the rest of the band, he somehow had got free and made his way back to the stage, the drummer returned a few minutes later saying they had got him not realizing that Sutch was back on stage ready to continue... "

13. Opening night of The Piper Club, Viareggio, on July 17 1966

Giorgio D.

"Viareggio Piper Club open July 1966..

Screamin Lord Sutch - Patrick Samson Set - I Delfini - Thane Russal Three - Beau Brummel - Peeny Brown & Le Pupille - Patty Pravo..."

the opening fixed at 21 o’clock, all the musicians and spectators gathered on the wet docks before the mythical Galleon and then took part of a procession running to the Piper and heading the Carnival of Viareggio singing "love is beautiful".

We followed the procession happily: something was changing really. We arrived at the Piper, receiving to firework -but at the end we all entered and a great show started: Thane Russal who proved he was a true showman, the madman Screamin Lord Sutch who risked giving fire to the premises with his number of "fireman"...

"Four or five acts have been alternated on the stage, the Dolphins from Padu, the five Pupils, Mister Dynamite doing the duel with the plates, Lord Sutch dressed with leopard skin and two huge horns on his head, who was firing to safe and was slashing microphones and saxophones on the heads of the longhair ones and of Patty Pravo, the twenty years old one singer who was making the dance of the belly with the microphone..."

14. Screaming Lord Sutch & His Heavy Friends, The Hollywood Festival on Saturday May 23th 1970, in Madeley, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire

John H.

"I remember they were billed as Lord Sutch and His Heavy Friends... more than 8 musicians on stage... and appeared on Saturday afternoon before Mungo Jerry and Family... They started with "Great Balls of fire"... That particular number featured a fire on stage. "Cause I Love You" was the only one track from his album. "Jack the Ripper" saw David Sutch wielding an huge axe . The act closed with "Good Golly Miss Molly."

"They were no many well known faces to jam with him that day as it was advertised in some papers..."

15. At Bradford University in April 1977

Brian L.

"Very exciting stage act. Full of surprises... When David Sutch sang “Jack The Ripper” 8 or 9 girls stormed the stage and grabbed him... a woman had just been killed in Bradford by the Yorkshire ripper."

16. At the Hammersmith Palais, on June 22th 1981

Lord Sutch and the Savages opened for the Cramps at the Hammersmith Palais

Terry P.

"The place was packed this night.

Sutch’s show started with the Funeral March and a torch lit procession made its way across the stage... Great show: Lights dim, monks, topless nuns and a coffin... David Sutch appeared in his top hat and leopard skin coat... blaring horns, and screaming in the coffin prior to raving through gimmicky rock standards: Keep On Rockin’, Good Golly Miss Molly, Long Tall Sally, ‘Til The Following Night, I’m A Hog For You.... all nostalgic stuff... Also on the bill the Meteors and Red Beat..."

"The Savages went crazy that night... the bass player jumped on stage then throwed his bass guitar, it flied through the air to the side of the stage to be caught by their roadie. The crowd all think its part of the act..."

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