Unbelievable crate digging find of the New Year! Thanks to Scope in Bexhill-On-Sea, I shockingly unearthed a near mythical copy of Timid Scrotum’s album Suffragette-Defaced Pennies. Sadly not in the best condition, the cover is ‘acceptable’ at the least, but the vinyl is still surprisingly playable. Originally to be called Suffragette-defaced Penises, their record label Pankhurst got cold feet at the last minute, fearing a copy-cat spree of defaced penises in the clubs and bars of England. According to research Timid Scrotum, or ‘The Scroates’ to their small fan base, only ever released one record, and Suffragette-defaced Pennies is it. Long on serious psyche collectors secret wish lists I actually didn’t believe in its existence until I found this copy. The release date of 1968 seems to ring true with what little is known about this album and from initial listens it seems to be a concept album, possibly predating SF Sorrow’s claim to being the first concept album of its genre.
The album is structured as a song cycle, telling the story of the main character, Dame Ethel Smyth, from birth through love, war, tragedy, toothbrush madness, and the disillusionment of old age. Although the album is a rock opera, I have subsequently discovered, that it has been stated by members of The Pretty Things that the record had no major influence on their writing of SF Sorrow. This of course is probably true due to there only ever being twenty five copies ever pressed, and it seems unlikely The Pretties, ever heard the album.
In such a male dominated industry, the subject matter of Suffragette-Defaced Pennies, was surprisingly brave – one of the main songs deals with Smyth leaning out of her prison cell window and using her toothbrush to conduct her co-suffragettes in singing a song during their exercises. Even the album opener, ‘Ethel Is Born! Praise The Midwife’, was a rare thing in a world of things that were made, commissioned and owned by men. Even in ’68, upon the birth of a child, the father’s choice of cigar was celebrated more than the mother’s concerted efforts.
Power is usually not willingly given, but forcefully taken and the main suite of songs on side two deal with this, especially pertinent in the lyric dealing with female assertiveness in the songs, ‘Ethel Paints a Racehorse 50 Shades of Grey,’ and ‘Posters, Pamphlets, Rallies and Cloth-Eared Bastards’. The record, although mainly Popsike and Rock Opera in tradition, does contain some freakishly experimental sections too. ‘Balding, Bearded and Defaced’ definitely exudes distorted guitar bliss way ahead of its time and in ‘Powerfully Crude Defacement Hammer’, we have abstract noise melts which sum up lupine noise howls and multiverse primal squeals.
A stunning album which surely demands a repress from Pankhurst, if only so more music fans can hear ‘Elephant Must Fury’ and ‘Ankles Casting Shadows’, two of this magnificent record’s highlights.
