 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Pink Fairies" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Pink Fairies | |
|---|---|
 Pink Fairies atGlastonbury Festival in June 1971 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1969–1976; 1987–1988; 2014–present |
| Labels | Polydor,Stiff,Demon,MLP |
| Members | |
| Past members |
|
Pink Fairies are an Englishrock band initially active in the London (Ladbroke Grove)underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, andanarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and other stunts, such as playing for nothing outside the gates at theBath andIsle of Wightpop festivals in 1970, as well as appearing atPhun City, the secondGlastonbury Festival, and other free festivals includingWindsor andTrentishoe.
The group were formed after the three musicians fromthe Deviants (Paul Rudolph, guitar and vocals, Duncan Sanderson, bass and Russell Hunter, born Barry Russell Hunter, drums), dismissed their singer and leaderMick Farren during a disastrous tour of theWest Coast of the United States.[1] Prior to the tour, these musicians had collaborated on theThink Pink solo album byTwink, former drummer ofthe Pretty Things. Most of the musicians involved were members of a drinking club called thePink Fairies Motorcycle Club and All-Star Rock and Roll Band, their name taken from a story written by Jamie Mandelkau.[2] While the former Deviants' sidemen were still stranded in America after the tour, Twink, Farren and formerTyrannosaurus Rex percussionistSteve Peregrin Took had used the Pink Fairies name for various activities, including one shambolic gig inManchester (with Farren on vocals, Took on guitar, Twink on drums, and Twink's girlfriend Sally Meltzer, also known as "Silver Darling", on keyboards)[3] as well as the recording of Farren's solo album,Mona – The Carnivorous Circus.[4] Within a few months Twink had left, followed by Farren, by which point Took had renamed the embryonic bandShagrat.[1] In February 1970, Twink recruited the remaining Deviants to a new Pink Fairies line-up.[5] Took continued with Shagrat as a vehicle for his own songs, and the two bands would appear as separate acts at thePhun City festival that summer.
Their music was upbeat good-timerock and roll, often jamming onthe Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows",the Ventures' "Walk, Don't Run", "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and other standards. Their sets climaxed with the lengthy "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout", essentially an amalgam of old Deviants riffs that included extended guitar and double drum solos. They were closely associated with theUK underground, being based in theLadbroke Grove scene and playing festivals, benefits, and free concerts.[1] The band had strong connections with Farren's hometownWorthing, playing gigs for theWorthing Workshop. These included an appearance on a float in the Worthing Rotary Club Carnival Procession and a free open-air concert inBeach House Park. Playing for free in June 1970 outside theBath Festival, they encountered another Ladbroke Grove based band,Hawkwind, who shared similar interests in music and recreational activities. A friendship developed which would lead to the two bands becoming running partners and performing as Pinkwind. Sensationalist coverage in the (Mick Farren edited)International Times solidified their rebel reputation.[6]
Polydor Records commissioned the group to record a single, "The Snake" backed with "Do It", and were happy enough with the results to offer the group an album contract. The debut albumNever Never Land was released in 1971.[1] It featured live favourites "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout" and "Do It".[1] An appearance at 1971'sGlastonbury Fair led to them being given one side of theGlastonbury Fayre various artists triple album. In July 1971, Twink left to travel toMorocco.[1] The band continued as a three-piece, occasionally augmented by formerthe Move bassistTrevor Burton on guitar.[1] They released their second albumWhat a Bunch of Sweeties in 1972, which featured some contributions from Burton.[1] On the album's release and with a promotional tour pending Rudolph departed,[1] going on to play on albums forRobert Calvert andBrian Eno. He would eventually replaceLemmy in Hawkwind.[1]
Mick Wayne (born Michael Wayne, 1945,Hull, Yorkshire and died 26 June 1994), was Rudolph's replacement,[1] having previously recorded on sessions for Took with Sanderson and Hunter atOlympic Studios, and later on loose sessions (along with sundry other underground musicians) in Took's flat in the basement of managerTony Secunda's office, the fruits of which were released byCleopatra Records in 1995. Feeling that Took's exceptionally heavy drug consumption would not make him a going concern, the remaining three instead formed a new version of the Pink Fairies, releasing the single "Well, Well, Well" backed with "Hold On", as well as doing a radio session forBBC Radio One and performing at theEmpire Pool withFaces and theNew York Dolls.
Sanderson and Hunter became unhappy with the musical direction Wayne was taking the band. They convincedLarry Wallis, who had played withShagrat and laterUFO, and would subsequently be a founding member ofMotörhead, to join the group as a second guitarist.[1] Shortly after, they dismissed Wayne, passing songwriting and singing duties onto Wallis.[7] This new three-piece then recorded the 1973 albumKings of Oblivion.[1] Out of contract with Polydor, the band continued touring to a decreasing audience, until finally calling it a day.[1] Wallis went on to joinLemmy in the first incarnation of Motörhead, then became the in-house record producer forStiff Records. Sanderson joinedLightning Raiders and Hunter left the music business.
Ted Carroll, head ofChiswick Records, organised a one-off re-union concert at theRoundhouse on 13 July 1975, featuring all five previous major members of the group (released in 1982 asLive at the Roundhouse 1975).[1] Following this concert, Wallis, Sanderson and Hunter gave the Pink Fairies another try. This line-up eventually gave numerous 'farewell tours' before disbanding.[1] After a period of inactivity they entered the burgeoningpunk rock scene as one of the few 'hairy' bands revered by the new guard. Recruiting formerChilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers guitaristMartin Stone, they toured and released the single "Between the Lines" (backed with "Spoiling for a Fight") onStiff Records but, with little interest being shown in them, they once again split up.[1] Rudolph and Wallis resumed playing for Farren in 1977/78, releasing the EPScrewed Up as The Deviants again on Stiff, but Rudolph returned to his native Canada prior to the recording of 1978'sVampires Stole My Lunch Money[8] and follow up single "Broken Statue".
In the early 1980s, Wallis, Sanderson and drummer George Butler (ex-Lightning Raiders) recorded and played live, the albumsPreviously Unreleased (1982) andthe Deviants'Human Garbage (live 1984) being released. The band went under many names including the Police Cars, the Police Sleighs, the Donut Dunkers of Death, and finally the Love Pirates Of Doom, the most settled line-up being Wallis, Sanderson, Butler and second guitarist Andy Colquhoun (ex-Warsaw Pakt & Brian James'Tanz Der Youth).
In 1987,Jake Riviera, head ofDemon Records, offered a recording contract for a reformed Pink Fairies. Of the five group members,Paul Rudolph was not involved,[1] so the second guitarist position was taken up by Colquhoun. This band released the albumKill 'Em and Eat 'Em and toured following a sell-out show at London's Town & Country Club before once again splitting up in 1988.[1] After Twink's departure, they carried on until Wallis also left, at which point the remaining members toured and recorded as Flying Colours. An archive live albumChinese Cowboys: Live 1987 was issued in Japan in 2005 onCaptain Trip Records.
Following this period the magazine UHCK (Uncle Harry's City Kids - run initially by Jeff Holmes and later by Tim Rundall)[9] collaborated with the band to produce two tape releases (Silence Of The Hams andSon Of Ham) and two CDs (Son Of Ham extended version andHogwatch) for subscribers, all featuring entirely unreleased music by members of the band in various side projects (the Deviants, Lightning Raiders etc.), radio sessions and specially written material. In common with many 'official' Pink Fairies releases the artwork was by the late underground cartoonist Edward J. Barker (I.T., Nasty Tales) noted for his Largactalites cartoons and his pig and crowcaricatures. Much of the magazine was actually written by ex-band members and by longtime associate, road manager, 'wet nurse' and manager ofDingwalls, Boss Goodman, who went on to become a renowned chef, once cooking for US PresidentBill Clinton at the Portobello Gold.
In the mid-1990s Twink collaborated with Rudolph and the pair recorded 1996'sPleasure Island and 1997'sNo Picture, released as the Pink Fairies on Twink's own label. Twink also issued a plethora of albums featuring outtakes, alternative versions,BBC sessions and live material including:The Golden Years 1969-1971,Do It,Live at Weeley Festival 1971 andMandies andMescaline Round at Uncle Harry's (1998).[1]
Took died October 1980. Wayne died June 1994.
During the early 2000s, Polydor remastered and released their Pink Fairies catalogue with bonus cuts, and issued the sampler albumsMaster Series andUp the Pinks: An Introduction.
TheKings of Oblivion line-up (Wallis, Sanderson and Hunter) were scheduled to play at a one-off gig on 22 January 2007 at the Roundhouse, London and record a BBC session forStuart Maconie'sFreakzone radio programme, but activities were cancelled at the last minute due to ill-health. In 2007, the biographyKeep it Together! Cosmic Boogie with the Deviants and Pink Fairies by Rich Deakin, Mick Farren's webmaster,[10] was published by Headpress. In September 2009, theWhat a Bunch of Sweeties line-up (Rudolph, Sanderson and Hunter) re-united in the studio to record a new version of "Do It" for the various artists CDPortobello Shuffle: ATestimonial To Boss Goodman And Tribute To The Deviants & Pink Fairies.[11] The CD was a fund-raiser for Goodman, who was suffering from the after-effects of a stroke.
In 2011, Farren and Colquhoun returned to the UK from Los Angeles after nearly 20 years in exile. They teamed up with the rhythm section of Hunter and Sanderson, along with second guitarist Tim Rundall and percussionist Jaki Windmill, for a number of appearances. This line-up performed on the 'Spirit of 71' stage at the2011 Glastonbury Festival - 40 years after the Pink Fairies' previous appearance at that event - under the name 'Mick Farren & The Last Men Standing'. Without Rundall, they later performed as The Deviants until Farren's death in 2013.
In 2014, the Pink Fairies reformed with a line-up of Hunter, Sanderson, Colquhoun, Windmill and second drummer Butler. Initially announcing two dates - The Robin 2 in Bilston on 15 May and 100 Club in London on 17 May - more dates were later added up to October 2015. A new album calledNaked Radio was released after aPledgemusic campaign ended on 12 February 2017.
Rudolph completed recordings with Motörhead's first drummerLucas Fox andHawkwind bass playerAlan Davey in Austin, Texas, to be released as a Pink Fairies album onCleopatra Records in 2018. One track appeared on the 2017 compilationHalloween Garage Blues. The LPResident Reptiles was released on August 24, 2018.[12] A second album by this line-up,Screwed Up, was released in July 2023.
Stone died November 2016. Butler died in January 2018. Goodman died on 22 March 2018. Wallis died on 19 September 2019,[13] and Sanderson died just two months later on 20 November 2019.[14] Rundall died in January 2022, and Hunter died on 19 December 2023, at the age of 77.[15]
| Period | Members | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| October 1969 - January 1970 |
| none– rehearsals only |
| Feb 1970 - mid 1971 |
|
|
| mid 1971 – July 1972 |
|
|
| July 1972 - November 1972 |
|
|
| December 1972 - end 1974 |
|
|
| 1975 |
|
|
| 1982 |
|
|
| 1987 |
|
|
| January 2007 |
| |
| September 2009 |
| |
| 2014 |
| |
| 2018 - present |
|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
