Pink Fairies

Pink Fairies
Origin	London, England
Genres	Psychedelic rock, proto-punk, prog rock, pub rock, punk rock
Years active	1970–1976; 1987–1988
Labels	Polydor, Stiff, Demon
Associated acts	The Deviants, Mick Farren, Hawkwind, Motörhead
Past members
Paul Rudolph Duncan Sanderson Russell Hunter Twink Mick Wayne Larry Wallis Martin Stone Andy Colquhoun

Pink Fairies were an English rock band active in the London (Ladbroke Grove) underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug taking and anarchy and often performed impromptu gigs and other agitprop stunts, such as playing for free outside the gates at the Bath and Isle of Wight pop festivals in 1970, as well as appearing at Phun City, the second Glastonbury and many other free festivals including Windsor and Trentishoe.

History

The group was formed when the three musicians from The Deviants (Paul Rudolph, born Vancouver, Canada, guitar and vocals; Duncan Sanderson, born 31 December 1948, Carlisle, Cumbria, bass; Russell Hunter, born Barry Russell Hunter, 26 April 1946, Woking, Surrey, drums), having sacked their singer and leader Mick Farren, returned from a disastrous tour of the West Coast of the United States and hooked up with Twink, former drummer of The Pretty Things. Prior to the tour these musicians had collaborated on Twink's Think Pink solo album and while on tour Twink, Farren and Steve Peregrin Took had used the name Pink Fairies Motorcycle Club and All-Star Rock and Roll Band, taken from a story written by Jamie Mandelkau, for activities including one shambolic gig in Manchester and the recording of Farren's solo album, Mona – The Carnivorous Circus.^[1]

Their music was upbeat good-time rock and roll, often jamming on The 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 the UK underground, being based in the Ladbroke Grove scene and playing festivals, benefits and free concerts. The band had strong connections with Farren's home town Worthing, playing gigs for the Worthing Workshop. These included an appearance on a float in the Worthing Rotary Club Carnival Procession and a free open-air concert in Beach House Park. Playing for in June 1970 free outside the Bath 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.^[2]

Polydor Records commissioned the group to record a single, "The Snake" / "Do It", and were happy enough with the results to offer the group an album contract. The debut album Never Never Land was released in 1971. It featured live favourites "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout" and "Do It" but curiously omitted "The Snake". An appearance at 1971's Glastonbury Festival led to them being given one side of the Glastonbury Fayre various artists triple album. In July 1971 Twink left to travel to Morocco. The band continued as a three-piece occasionally augmented by former The Move bassist Trevor Burton on guitar. They released their second album What a Bunch of Sweeties in 1972, which featured some contributions from Burton. On the album's release and with a promotional tour pending Rudolph departed, going on to play on albums for Robert Calvert and Brian Eno. He would eventually replace Lemmy in Hawkwind.

Mick Wayne (born Michael Wayne, 1945, Hull, Yorkshire and died 26 June 1994, in the U.S.A.), was Rudolph's replacement having recorded with Sanderson Hunter and Steve Peregrine Took on sessions for Took. Took's health having forced his departure, the remaining three recorded The Pink Fairies, releasing the single "Well, Well, Well" / "Hold On", as well as doing a radio session for Radio One. However Sanderson and Hunter became unhappy with the musical direction Wayne was taking the band. They convinced Larry Wallis, who had played with UFO and later Steve Took's Shagrat, to join the group as a second guitarist. Shortly after they sacked Wayne, passing song writing and singing duties onto Wallis.^[3] This new three piece then recorded the 1973 album Kings of Oblivion. Out of contract with Polydor, the band continued touring to a decreasing audience until finally calling it a day. Wallis went on to join Lemmy in the first incarnation of Motörhead, then became the in-house record producer for Stiff Records. Sanderson joined The Lightning Raiders. Hunter left the music business.

Ted Carroll, head of Chiswick Records, organized a one-off reunion concert at The Roundhouse on 13 July 1975 featuring all five previous major members of the group (released in 1982 as Live at the Roundhouse 1975). Following this concert, Wallis, Sanderson and Hunter decided to give the Pink Fairies another try. This line up eventually gave numerous 'farewell tours' before disbanding. After a period of inactivity they entered the burgeoning punk scene as one of the few 'hairy' bands revered by the new guard. Recruiting former Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers guitarist Martin Stone, they toured and released the single "Between the Lines" / "Spoiling for a Fight" on Stiff Records but with little interest being shown in them, they once again split up. Rudolph and Wallis resumed playing for Farren in 1977/78, releasing the EP Screwed Up as The Deviants again on Stiff, but Rudolph returned to his native Canada prior to the recording of 1978's Vampires Stole My Lunch Money and follow up single "Broken Statue". In the early 1980s, Wallis and Sanderson recorded and played live, the albums Previously Unreleased (1982) and The 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, drummer George Butler (ex-Lightning Raiders) and second guitarist Andy Colquhoun (ex-Warsaw Pakt & Tanz Der Youth).

In 1987 Jake Riviera, head of Demon Records, offered a recording contract for a reformed Pink Fairies. Of the five group members, Paul Rudolph was not involved so the second guitarist position was taken up by Andy Colquhoun, who had previously played alongside Wallis in Farren's bands. This band released the album Kill 'Em and Eat 'Em and toured following a sell-out show and London's Town & Country Club before once again splitting up in 1988. After Twinks ignominious departure they had carried on until Wallis too left at which time the remaining members toured and recorded as Flying Colours. An archive live album Chinese Cowboys: Live 1987 was issued in Japan in 2005 on Captain Trip Records.

Following this period the magazine UHCK (Uncle Harry's City Kids) collaborated with the band to produce two tape releases (Silence Of The Hams & Son Of Ham) and two CDs (Son Of Ham extended version & Hogwatch) 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 Fairy releases the artwork was by the late underground cartoonist Edward J Barker (I.T, Nasty Tales) famed for his Largactalites cartoons and his pig and crow caricatures. Much of the magazine was actually written by ex-band members and by long time associate, road manager, 'wet nurse' and manager of Dingwalls, Boss Goodman, who went on to become a renowned chef, once cooking for US President Bill Clinton at the Portobello Gold.

In the mid-1990s Twink collaborated with Paul Rudolph and the pair recorded 1996's Pleasure Island and 1997's No Picture, released as the Pink Fairies on Twink's own label. Twink also issued a plethora of albums featuring outtakes, alternate versions, BBC sessions and live material including: The Golden Years 1969-1971, Do It, Live at Weeley Festival 1971 and Mandies and Mescaline Round at Uncle Harry's.

During the early 2000s Polydor remastered and released their Pink Fairies back catalogue with bonus cuts and issued the sampler albums Master Series and Up the Pinks: An Introduction.

The Kings of Oblivion line-up (Wallis, Sanderson, Hunter) were scheduled to play at one-off gig on 22 January 2007 at the Roundhouse, London and record a BBC session for Stuart Maconie's Freakzone radio programme, but activities were cancelled at the last minute due to ill-health. In 2007 the biography Keep it Together! Cosmic Boogie with the Deviants and Pink Fairies by Rich Deakin, Mick Farren's webmaster,^[4] was published by Headpress. In September 2009, the What a Bunch of Sweeties line-up (Rudolph, Sanderson, Hunter) re-united in the studio to record a new version of "Do It" for the various artists CD Portobello Shuffle.^[5]

In 2011 Farren & Colquhoun returned to the UK from Los Angeles after nearly 20 years exile. They teamed up with the Pink Fairies (and Deviants) rhythm section of Hunter & Sanderson - along with 2nd guitarist Tim Rundall and percussionist Jaki Windmill for a number of appearances. This line up performed at the 'Spirit of 71' stage at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival - 40 years after the Pink Fairies' previous appearance at that event - under the name 'Mick Farren & The Last Men Standing'.

Discography

Albums

• 1971 – Never Never Land (Polydor) – Rudolph; Sanderson; Hunter; Twink
• 1972 – What a Bunch of Sweeties (Polydor) – Rudolph; Sanderson; Hunter - UK #48^[6]
• 1973 – Kings of Oblivion (Polydor) – Wallis; Sanderson; Hunter
• 1982 – Previously Unreleased (Big Beat) – Wallis; Sanderson; Butler
• 1987 – Kill 'Em and Eat 'Em (Demon) – Wallis; Colquhoun; Sanderson; Hunter; Twink
• 1996 – Pleasure Island (Twink Records) – Twink; Rudolph
• 1997 – No Picture (Twink Records) – Twink; Rudolph

Compilation albums

• 1975 - Flashback (Polydor)
• 1999 - Live at the Roundhouse / Previously Unreleased / Do It '77 (Big Beat)
• 1999 – Master Series (Universal)
• 2002 – Up the Pinks – An Introduction to Pink Fairies (Polydor)

Singles

• 1971 - "The Snake"/"Do It" (Polydor) – Rudolph; Sanderson; Hunter; Twink
• 1972 - " Pigs Of Uranus"/ "I Saw Her Standing There" German polydor release
• 1973 - "Well, Well, Well"/"Hold On" (Polydor) – Wayne; Sanderson; Hunter
• 1976 - "Between the Lines"/"Spoiling for a Fight" (Stiff) – Wallis; Stone; Sanderson; Hunter
• 1978 - "Do It '77"/"Psychedelic Punkeroo"/"Enter The Diamonds" (as Twink and the Fairies) (Chiswick) – Twink; Sanderson

Live albums

• 1982 – Live at the Roundhouse 1975 (Big Beat) – Wallis; Rudolph; Sanderson; Hunter; Twink
• 1998 - The Golden Years: 1969–1971 (Cleopatra Records) – Rudolph; Sanderson; Hunter; Twink (live, BBC sessions, Twink solo material)
• 1998 - Mescaline and Mandies Round at Uncle Harry's (NMC) – Rudolph; Sanderson; Hunter; Twink; Burton (BBC sessions, live)
• 1999 - Do It! (Total Energy) – Rudolph; Sanderson; Hunter; Twink (live, Twink solo material)
• 1999 - Live at Weeley 1971 (Get Back) – Rudolph; Sanderson; Hunter (live)
• 2005 - Chinese Cowboys (Captain Trip) – Wallis; Colquhoun; Sanderson; Hunter; Twink (live 1987)
• 2008 - Finland Freakout 1971 (MLP) - Rudolph; Sanderson; Hunter (live)

References

1. ^ "Twink site". Members.tripod.com. http://members.tripod.com/pink_fairies/fairies.html. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
2. ^ Nude Woman, London Pigs & Rebel Musician: Multiple L.S.D – Rape Suicide Bid, International Times #85,Aug 13 1970
3. ^ Forced Exposure # 11, winter 1987 – Larry Wallis interview by Nigel Cross
4. ^ Funtopia Thanatosoft.freeserve.co.uk ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ Rich Deakin. "Portobello Shuffle - Deviants and Pink Fairies". myspace. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=423683128&blogId=512405743. Retrieved 2009-10-29. 
6. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 427. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links

• Larry Wallis’s Pink Fairies site
• Twink’s Pink Fairies pages
• Phil Franks Digital Archive The Pink Fairies
• UHCK History of the World Part Two story of the Pink Fairies.
• Pink Fairies at Allmusic