Cradle Of Filth may not be a household name in America. But the extreme black metal group’s controversial music and visuals has made them the most successful metal band to come out of the U.K. since Iron Maiden. That would explain why frontman Dani Filth received the highest votes in a ranking for Suffolk County’s top “icon,” much to the chagrin of the county.
Launched by Choose Suffolk, a group aimed to promote the U.K. county Suffolk, Suffolk Icons was an online contest where people were asked to submit photographs of landscapes, people or products to be named as one of the top ten icons of Suffolk. They were expecting people to nominate landscapes or respected figures from the town. They weren’t, however, expecting fans of Cradle Of Filth, who formed in Suffolk in 1991, to vote for Dani Filth, who ended up receiving the most amount of votes with 13,025 (apparently 11,806 more than the nearest rival).
Despite having the most amount of votes, Choose Suffolk has re-staged the poll with only 20 approved nominees, minus Filth. In other words, they are ignoring the public vote. Tim Passmore, the interim chief executive of Choose Suffolk, released the following statement to British newspaper The Telegraph:
“The finalist Icons have been selected because the judging panel believe they have a countywide resonance and are symbolic of Suffolk, and extend across the county and beyond its borders. As a user-generated gallery, the site was designed to engage with visitors and encourage their participation. We are encouraged this remit has been successful. However, while some of the images on the site may have gained a larger proportion of visitors’ votes, the judging panel felt that their list of finalists displays the required credentials to act as representative iconic images of Suffolk.”
Granted, it was a bit of a shock that Dani Filth was even nominated for such a contest (can you picture the judges walking around the county wearing this shirt?). But you have to call bullshit on the Choose Suffolk organization for ignoring such a large amount of votes. So the band’s fan base isn’t necessarily the type of crowd they are trying to attract to the county, but you can bet now that a bunch of COF fans will be voicing their complaints. Filth has already voiced his displeasure with the Choose Suffolk’s actions in an interview with Metal Hammer. However, as he points out, he’s been in the press for far much worse things, so consider this good press.
[via The Telegraph]
