Cradle Of Filth have 'won' an online poll to find a cultural icon for the county of Suffolk.
As Bill Bailey once so presciently pointed out, there is a clear correlation between country areas and metal. Sure, the Midlands may have spawned it but the more severe forms of rock seem to nestle in the womb of outlying territories.
Take Cradle Of Filth. The band are one of Britain's biggest and most extreme metal acts, forcing the mainstream to take the phenomenon seriously. Backed by ferociously loyal fans, the band have now been named cultural icons in Suffolk.
Yup, Suffolk. All that doom and gloom had to come from somewhere.
A new poll was launched by the Suffolk Icons website, which contained some familiar faces. Brian Eno hails from the county, while Sir Bobby Robson famously won the UEFA Cup with Ipswich Town.
Also on the page was a photo of Dani Filth, lead singer from Cradle Of Filth. While local landmarks such as The Broomhill baths scored 2,055 and Brian Eno lingered on 1,219 the metal icon raced ahead, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Eventually managing some 13,025 votes the metal singer was the clear favourite to win. Yet when the shortlist was unveiled Choose Suffolk body-swerved the issue by simply leaving Dani Filth off the final count.
"As a user-generated gallery, the site was designed to engage with visitors and encourage their participation," explains interim Choose Suffolk chief exec Tim Passmore. "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."
Dani Filth, meanwhile, was simply happy to be recognised. "I've spent the majority of my life either in Ipswich or Woodbridge and Hadleigh and I'm in the process of moving house - but to somewhere else in the county, so I guess this is where my heart lies," he said. "In that respect it's a compliment really. Although, I prefer a pint of Adnams myself."
