CRADLE OF FILTH Frontman Speaks Out On Being Dropped From Suffolk 'Icon' Race

Metal Hammer magazine spoke with vocalist Dani "Filth" Davey of British extreme metallers CRADLE OF FILTH earlier today after Dani was dropped from the race to be named one of the top 10 icons of the U.K.'s Suffolk county despite receiving the most votes in an online poll.

The Suffolk Icons site was launched by Choose Suffolk, a partnership aimed at putting the county "on the map." The organization asked people to submit their photographs of landscapes, people or products for the Suffolk Icons contest.
Filth, 37, recorded 13,025 votes, 11,806 more than the nearest rival image.

However, all the public votes now appear to have been ignored by the judges at Choose Suffolk who are instead re-staging the poll with a shortlist of only 20 approved images — and no Filth.

Metal Hammer: Were you surprised to wake up this morning and be all over the national newspapers?

Dani: "I've been in The Sun for worse. It didn't include Jesus or the government this time so I was slightly relieved but it's all been very weird. The whole thing was weird from the off, in concept, anyway. I feel quite knocked by the whole thing. They've tried to do one thing to prove a point that Suffolk is diverse or whatever and when it's not the painting of Suffolk they expected, they withdrew it."

Metal Hammer: Is it annoying that 13,000 people have had their views swept under the carpet by Choose Suffolk?

Dani: "It is, actually. Somebody in The Daily Express or The Daily Mail had said something about it being rigged by our fans but I thought, 'How do you work that one out?' We had 13,000 fans vote and Ipswich Town Football Club are in the running, so why didn't all of their fans vote? There must be hundreds of thousands of fans of tractors, why didn't they vote? So, that's a load of cobblers as well."

Metal Hammer: Did you read that Choose Suffolk had said they wanted somebody that was "symbolic of Suffolk and extend across the county and beyond its borders?" Having played to, quite literally millions of people across the world over 19 years, was that a bit insulting?

Dani: "Who did they want? Sade, or someone? Yeah, we have done that and I have banged on about Suffolk quite a bit, which is in their favor, at least."

Metal Hammer: It's disrespectful to both you personally and metal as a whole when we're just, kind of, swept under the carpet.

Dani: "Yeah, totally. The opportunity was there for everyone to vote and everyone had an equal chance, like playing the lottery, if you can't expect to win it."

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