Screaming Lord Sutch
Jack the Ripper (Decca)
7 inch

The 2 Burr Bailey cuts feature Ritchie Blackmore and are fine, economical outings with easeful melodies and placid crooning. But it's Lord Sutch that is the main attraction.

At the 1964 moment the Beatles were yeah-yeah-yeahing all over Ed Sullivan, Londoner David Edward Sutch was prowling in swirling cloak and horrific greasepaint as Jack the Ripper. His rock 'n' roll horrorshow costumery and theatrics scandalized sedate Britishers and sent chills down the spines of toe-tapping fans, but also proved influential. 

As Dangerous Minds noted in a profile, Sutch was "an early pioneer of shock rock, garage rock, and psychobilly, who mixed monster movie aesthetics with rock 'n' roll long before Alice Cooper and the Cramps came along."

According to his Wikipedia page, "During the 1960s, 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.'"

Dangerous Minds: "Sutch appeared to have done most of pop's rebellious things (long hair, the wildest songs, act, etc) but never received the credit for any of it."

Of his two songs here, ghastly original "Jack the Ripper" is probably most identified with him. But his recreation of Huey Smith's "Don't You Just Know It" bounces at convivial pace and is a lighthearted amusement well worth indulgence as well as repeat enjoyments.

Many musicians later renowned on their own passed through Sutch's band, through the years. Included in that league are Blackmore, Keith Moon, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Nicky Hopkins, and Charlie Watts.

Sutch was by his own admission not a particularly gifted singer. But his enthusiasm was undeniable, his knack for shocking presentation manifest, and his seat in the Pantheon assured. His songs have over the decades assumed ghoulish, revered status, having been covered by bands like the Sharks, Gruesomes, and
White Stripes. 

Recommended: "Jack the Ripper," "Don't You Just Know It"

Video: "Jack the Ripper"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=16&v=c2ZsWENob1s

https://www.crazyloverecords.de/news/5006/screaming-lord-sutch-jack-the-ripper-7-ep-ltd.