A British city now has a new mayor who loves Metallica and speaks Klingon: watch his very metal inauguration

News
By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Watch a British politician be inaugurated as Lord Mayor while listening to Metallica… and speaking Klingon

Metallica’s James Hetfield and Lord Mayor of Portsmouth Tom Coles
(Image credit: Paul Bergen/Redferns)

To anybody who says that Britain is stuck in the past, allow us to point you in the direction of our system of local government, in which  politicians wearing robes and old fashioned tricorn hats with the feathers of dead birds stuck in them are inaugurated as the Lord and Lady Mayors of towns and cities up and down the country on a regular basis.

But sometimes this frankly ridiculous spectacle throws up some pure gold. That’s precisely what happened in Portsmouth, where local councillor Tom Coles decided to have some fun with this centuries-old system when he was recently elected Lord Mayor of the south coast city.

This absolute legend opted to walk into his recent Lord Mayoral inauguration ceremony – known on these shores as “a Mayor making”, because the English language is just batshit crazy – to the sound of Metallica’s Eye Of The Beholder. This self-professed Star Trek devotee then proceed to drop a few bars of Klingon into his welcoming speech.

Lord Mayor Coles, as we're now legally obliged to call him on pain of being thrown in manacles and sent to gaol, joins a small but illustrious band of metal-loving politicians that includes current Mayor of Albuquerque and Soulfly fan Tim Keller, UK Labour MP Richard Burgon, and Virginia State legislator (and former singer with thrash metal band Cab Ride Home) Danica Roem.

Watch Portsmouth’s new Lord Mayor enter his inauguration ceremony to Eye Of The Beholder before speaking Klingon below.

Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer

Founded in 1983, Metal Hammer is the global home of all things heavy. We have breaking news, exclusive interviews with the biggest bands and names in metal, rock, hardcore, grunge and beyond, expert reviews of the lastest releases and unrivalled insider access to metal's most exciting new scenes and movements. No matter what you're into – be it heavy metal, punk, hardcore, grunge, alternative, goth, industrial, djent or the stuff so bizarre it defies classification – you'll find it all here, backed by the best writers in our game.