The Deviants

These three albums are a crucial element of the British Psych/Hippie/Activist scene of the mid-sixties and what they lack in musical quality they more than make up for in terms of sheer chutzpah and brio.

The Deviants were the original Punk Rockers and their visions of rock and roll and psych make for great listening forty years on.
Mick Farren was the common element and the three albums that The Deviants made plus 'Mona The Carnivorous Circus’ – Farren’s solo piece – should be taken to the heart of anyone with any interest in the origins of Punk or the Acid tinged music of the late sixties. The first albums also featured Russ Hunter and Sid Bishop but by the third – cunningly titled 'Three’ – Paul Rudolph had come in on guitar and Roy Thomas-Baker, later famous for his work with Queen(!) was producing.

'Ptooff’ is the first and the combination of Bo Diddley riffs and hippy-dippy themes alongside some genuinely drugged-out guitar work is completely compelling to those with memories of any psychedelic enhancements. There are nods to the Vietnam protests and the communal lifestyle as well as a charming naiveté about the music.

'Disposable’ was the second release and the Deviants were beginning to explore the social and agit-prop elements of the underground. There are a lot of new influences and with contributions from people like Pete Brown and Dick Heckstall-Smith they were becoming more musical as they went. There are a lot of Mothers Of Invention influences on 'Disposable’ as well as a more poetic bent. The angry sounds of 'You’ve Got To Hold On’ suggest that Farren and Co. had been involving themselves with the American underground. 'Lets Loot The Supermarket’ has links all the way to Zappa and the 'Freak Out’ album. Essential stuff.

The Deviants bowed out with 'Three’ featuring the magnificent 'Billy The Monster’ and 'Rambling Black Transit Blues’. There is a greater feeling of stoned majesty about the album and the songs have a less experimental feel than on the previous albums – maybe due to the extensive tours the band had been doing. After a tour of Canada and the US the band that made 'Three’ hooked up with Twink to form The Pink Fairies without Farren but the album remains as the peak of the band’s creation.

'Mona The Carnivorous Circus’ is a Mick Farren solo effort and, apart from stealing outrageously from Bo Diddley and The Pretty Things, is Farren’s best effort. This is the real sound of the Underground around the beginning of the Seventies with allusions to the casual violence and paranoia that were beginning to be common around London. Musically though, it is a work of real power and well worth a look.

If you had to pick one of the albums to sum up The Social Deviants it would probably be 'Three’ but anyone who was there or who has an interest in the scene should really investigate all of these crucial recordings.