Mr C DJ’ing at a Dance for Gaza event last year [Photo: Tris2000_cc by-sa 4.0]

A HIGH-PROFILE name has narrowly missed out on standing as a Green candidate as members voted against the 90s DJ’s candidacy last night.

Richard West, more commonly known as Mr C, is famed for his time in The Shamen and their notorious rave anthem, Ebeneezer Goode, which was heavily criticised for promoting recreational drug-taking. The chorus had people chanting “E’s are good” back at them.

One infamous performance took place at the Highbury Stadium in 1992 during the half-time entertainment which Sky Sports introduced when it first took over covering the football games.

But in a bid to swap Ibiza clubs for Town Hall committee rooms, Mr C made it clear that he would like to stand as a Green candidate in the upcoming local elections.

Indeed, the rave star’s announcement that he wished to be a candidate was met with much support on social media, with fans urging him to re-launch his hit track with the line “Greens are good”.

He received the required two nominations by fellow members, and attended a hustings meeting last week to set out why he should have his face on the party’s Canonbury leaflets, but was told last night (Thursday) that members had not voted in support of his candidacy.

The famous Ebeneezer Goode video

Mr C had, however, received a vote from local Green leader Councillor Benali Hamdache, who told the Tribune: “I’ve been really excited by the wide range of candidates from all kinds of backgrounds. We’re a growing movement that’s drawing a lot of different people. Mr C has a really interesting story to tell, and experience standing up for nightlife and an end to the war on drugs.”

The Greens have recently come under fire from Labour over their stance on drug decriminal­isation, and the prime minister regularly uses it as an attack line against their leader Zack Polanski.

Sir Keir Starmer has warned that a “soft” drugs policy would make hard drugs like crack cocaine and heroin freely available on the streets of north London, something which many campaigners have argued is already the case.

Cllr Hamdache said that this attack showed how fearful Labour were of the Greens, especially after they were pushed into third place at last month’s Gorton and Denton by-election.

“We have a Labour party who are trying to battle through with whatever last desperate and bizarre attack it can think of.

“That is the reason Labour are attacking the Greens over things like its welcoming in of migrants or over our public health approach to drugs,” the Highbury councillor said.

“If Labour continues like this, it risks driving more of its core supporters towards the Green Party.”

He added: “I meet lots of residents who are really concerned about the damage that drugs do, and it’s crystal clear that our current approach isn’t working.

“We need to treat addiction as a health emergency and put a stop to the never-ending cycle of criminalisation and crisis.”