Punk Rock and Fashion Icon Dead at Age 70 After Lapsing into a Coma

Click the image to learn more.

Susan Lucas, better known as Soo Catwoman, was a striking presence on the British punk scene.

The striking figure known as Soo Catwoman, an icon in the British punk rock and fashion scene, has died after lapsing into a coma. She was 70.

Born Susan Lucas, but better known by her adopted name Soo Catwoman, she was a fixture on the British punk rock scene, often appearing in photos with the Sex Pistols, the Damned (see photo above) and others, with a shocking look that influenced several musicians, including the Prodigy’s Keith Flint. She was also once a roommate of the Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious, according to the Daily Star.

Soo “recently fell ill and was taken to hospital, and shortly after fell into a coma, which she sadly never awoke from,” her children Shem and Dion Lucas said in a GoFundMe post for her funeral expenses and memorial. The family added that she died on Sept. 30 while she was “surrounded by her family and loved ones.”

“We are utterly devastated by her loss, it came very quickly and unexpectedly,” the family added.

“Soo lived her private life in silent dignity, because of this she never sought to capitalize on her fame and lived a simple life. Choosing to raise her children instead of seeking fame and fortune,” the message continued.

“We loved our Mom very much, and because she cared so much for other people she was never focused on amassing personal wealth, due to the surprise nature of her death and lack of support available we would like to ask if anyone would like to contribute to her funeral costs and the costs associated with this, so that we can give her the dignified send off that she deserves,” the family added.

An Old Friend Pays Tribute

Among those to comment on Soo’s death was Adam & the Ants guitarist Marco Pirroni, who also rose to fame out of the British punk scene.

“See you later,Catgirl. Xxx,” he posted on Facebook on Oct. 3, along with a vintage black-and-white photo of his younger self with Soo and a few onlookers. “I watched her make that dress and sleeve out of some black fabric she’d found in a bin, the Coker was a bootlace with needles and safety pins and a broken razor blade.”

Pirroni went on to add some surprising takes about his late friend’s musical tastes.

“Soo wasn’t really a punk, she never owned a punk record, never saw the Sex Pistols, never bought anything from Sex shop and didn’t like punk music,” he wrote. “She was a soul girl from Ilford or somewhere. Love rollercoaster by the Ohio players is what I think of when I think about her. But I don’t really know what she was and she never thought about it.”

Peter Coyne, the singer of the British post-punk band the Godfathers, commented on Pirroni’s post.

“Marco I don’t know if you’ve heard it or not but Soo did a pretty brilliant version of The O’Jays’ ‘Backstabbers’ – you’re in all the videos at several points…RIP x,” he wrote.

Soo Catwoman’s Music and Film Credits

Coyne is referring to a version of the song by Derwood Andrews, featuring Soo and Rat Scabies of the Damned.

Soo appeared in the documentaries The Punk Rock Movie (1978) and The Filth and the Fury (2000). She was also portrayed in Julien Temple’s 1980 Sex Pistols’ mockumentary The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle by Faye Hart and in the 2022 FX miniseries Pistol by Jude Law’s daughter, Iris.

Source