Lee "Scratch" Perry Kickstarter Raises Money to Buy Giant Inflatable Gorilla

Lee “Scratch” Perry‘s classic 1976 Upsetters album Super Ape turns 40 next year. To celebrate, Perry will be performing the album in full at shows this fall. A Kickstarter has been launched to bring the gorilla from the cover of Super Ape (pictured above) to life for the tour, in the form of a giant inflatable prop.

The man behind the Kickstarter is Emch, a member of Perry’s backing band Subatomic Sound System and the founder of the traveling Dub Champions Festival, where Super Ape will be performed. 

Emch (with Perry’s consent) is seeking a very reasonable amount of $3,200, which will also pay for animations of the cover art and help bring his band’s vocal and horn sections on tour. Check out all the details here, and watch a trailer for the endeavor below.

Rewards include tickets to one of the Dub Champions shows, backstage access, autographed vinyl, and mention on Dub Champions promotional material. The highest paid tier—$2,500—will allow one person to take home the ape at the end of the tour, which will also be autographed by the band after “soak[ing] up plenty of good vibrations.” 

The Kickstarter also includes this section about the necessary gorilla specifications:

Although our goal is to purchase a giant inflatable gorilla, we need to take care about the height of stages or find alternate locations to put the gorilla (one venue has suggested on their marquee which is great). It may make more sense to rent large gorillas for big stages and for smaller stages focus on the video projections instead. We are confirming with the venues. In some cases union rules may restrict placement of the gorilla on stage. We are also a bit pressed for time. If we can reach our goal quickly, we can order a custom gorilla.

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