Richard Ratcliffe of the two councilors (the other was William Catesby) who are reputed to have told the king that marrying Elizabeth of York would cause rebellions in the north. Ratcliffe was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field, on 22 August 1485. Ratcliffe appears in Shakespeare's play "Richard III" as a minor character who executes Rivers, Grey and Vaughn. In the Andrew Wise 1597 (first) edition, Sir Richard's character appears first as "Sir Richard Ratliffe" (without the 'c') then as plain "Ratcliffe" (with the 'c', but no 'Sir' nor 'Richard') and finally as plain "Ratliffe". Richard Ratcliffe Sir Richard Ratcliffe, KG
Richard III (song) and the band liked the reference to the king Richard III and the Shakespeare play "Richard III" in which the king is depicted as a dark and evil character, as it matched the menacing tone of the song. Neither the king nor the play is mentioned in the song. Both the 2nd CD (of the CD release format) and the 7" vinyl format have the "Richard III" cover design but with the colours altered instead. A Peel session of the song was released on the CD single for "Mary". The B-side "Sometimes I Make You Sad" is an atypical song