Lord Buckethead
Lord Buckethead is a satirical political candidate who has stood in four British general elections since 1987, portrayed by several individuals. The character, an intergalactic villain similar to the "Star Wars" character Darth Vader, was created by American filmmaker Todd Durham for his 1984 science fiction film "Hyperspace". Without authorisation, British video distributor Mike Lee adopted Lord Buckethead to stand in the 1987 UK general election and again in the 1992 general election. The character went unused until comedian Jonathan Harvey stood as Lord Buckethead in the 2017 general election; his televised appearance standing next to prime minister  Theresa May went viral, drawing media coverage and an online following. After the 2017 election, Durham asserted his ownership of Lord Buckethead and displaced Harvey. With Durham's authorisation, Lord Buckethead returned in 2019, now played by David Hughes; he appeared at People's Vote rallies calling for a second Brexit referendum, and stood in the 2019 general election representing the Monster Raving Loony Party. Harvey also stood, using a new character, Count Binface. History. 1980s origins. Lord Buckethead was created by American filmmaker Todd Durham for his 1984 film "Hyperspace", a low-budget parody of science fiction films such  as "Star Wars". In the film, Lord Buckethead, a galactic villain similar to "Star Wars" character Darth Vader, was played by Robert Bloodworth. In the UK, "Hyperspace" was released as "Gremloids" by the video distributor VIPCO, owned by Mike Lee. In the 1987 UK general election, Lee stood as Lord Buckethead, representing the Gremloids Party, against Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher in her constituency in Finchley, London. He campaigned to demolish Birmingham to make way for a spaceport. He received 131 votes. In the 1992 general election, he stood against Conservative prime minister John Major in Huntingdon, winning 107 votes  (0.1%). 2017 return. In 2017, comedian Jonathan Harvey stood as Lord Buckethead against Theresa May in Maidenhead in the 2017 general election. Harvey decided to use Lord Buckethead after watching "Gremloids" and discovering that the character had been used in earlier elections. He received 249 (0.4%) votes, the highest yet for the character. Lord Buckethead's televised appearance standing next to May went viral. In a tongue-in-cheek article, "The Guardian" gave Lord Buckethead a "Best Policy" award for a manifesto pledge to bring back Ceefax. A few days after the election, Lord Buckethead appeared on the American talk  show "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver", campaigning to lead the Brexit negotiations. Harvey created a Twitter account for the character, drawing hundreds of thousands of followers. "The Guardian" wrote that Lord Buckethead was part of a British tradition of frivolous political candidates such as the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. Lord Buckethead made a surprise appearance at Glastonbury Festival in June 2017, introducing the band Sleaford Mods. That year, he released a Christmas single, "A Bucketful of Happiness", accompanied by a music video. Copyright dispute. After the 2017 election, Durham contacted Harvey and asserted his ownership of the Lord  Buckethead character. According to Harvey, Durham instructed him to give him the password to the Twitter account; Harvey acquiesced as he could not afford a legal challenge. Durham said he welcomed authorised applications to stand as the character in future British elections: "My Lord Buckethead character has always been the voice of the people, so my feeling is to let the people be his voice." The Twitter account became active again in 2019. That year, Lord Buckethead, now played by David Hughes, appeared at People's Vote rallies calling for a second Brexit referendum. In April, Buckethead crowdfunded £15,000  to stand against Nigel Farage for South East England MEP in the May 2019 European Parliament Elections. The bid was abandoned for fear it could take votes away from parties campaigning for the UK to remain in the EU. Durham said the money was returned. For the general election in December 2019, Buckethead represented the Monster Raving Loony Party, standing against prime minister Boris Johnson in his constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Harvey also stood in that constituency, using a new character, Count Binface. Platform. Lord Buckethead's manifesto in the 2017 election promised "strong, not entirely stable leadership , a reference to the Conservatives' slogan strong and stable". The following promises were included: Electoral history.