Pink Fairies

Pink Fairies were formed from the remnants of Mick Farren’s Deviants after Farren was sacked from the band, leaving them stranded in the US.
They were one of the core bands of the underground scene in London in the late 60’s and early 70’s, active mainly in the Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill scenes and famous for their occasional agitprop appearances and free performances at the gates of many of the UK festivals, often working closely with Hawkwind, Man and Gong. They also appeared at the Phun City and Glastonbury Fair festivals.

Musically, they could be described as a ‘gorgeous mess’. Never the strongest writers, their real strength came in the way that the band jammed around any number placed in front of them. Paul Rudolph (guitar) and Russell Hunter (drums) along with Duncan Sanderson (bass) plus Twink (ex-Pretty Things) on vocals and drums created a powerful sound around the twin drummers often veering into psychedelic space-jams and a (very) early form of Punk.

The three albums contain a number of essential Fairies tracks such as ‘Do It’ and ‘Uncle Harry’s Last Freakout’ from the ‘Never Never Land’ debut album and ‘Walk Don’t Run’ and ‘Right On Fight On’ from the ‘What A Bunch Of Sweeties’ second album. They often jammed around the Beatles ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and they created a somewhat punk version for the second album

By the time of the third album ‘Kings Of Oblivion’ Paul Rudolph had left and been replaced by Mick Wayne although by the time they were ready to put the album together he had been replaced by Larry Wallis (later of Motorhead) who brought a more experienced songwriting hand to the band and the whole album took on a more professional air. Standout numbers include the epic ‘I Wish I Was A Girl’ and ‘Street Urchin’.

As an example of the music to be found in the underground scene of the time, Pink Fairies were ubiquitous and the songs really do stand the test of time.

Kick off with ‘Do It’ at full volume - Essential.