The Social Deviants

THE SOCIAL DEVIANTS
 
 
The Deviants  (formerly The Social Deviants) were an English rock group originally active in the late 1960’s, but until his death in 2013, used as a vehicle for the musical work of writer Mick Farren.  Farren has stated that The Deviants were originally a community band which “did things every now and then — it was a total assault thing with a great deal of inter-relation and interdependence”.  Musically, Farren described their sound as “teeth-grinding, psychedelic rock” somewhere between The Stooges and The Mothers of Invention.  The Deviants have been described as a transition between classic British psych and the punk/heavy metal aesthetic of the 1970’s.   (More from Wikipedia)
 
 
It is inaccurate to call Andy Colquhoun a side man as I originally did in the Facebook post; he would be better described as a collaborator with Mick Farren and is a full-fledged, latter-day bandmember (mostly on lead guitar) in Farren’s band the Deviants (originally the Social Deviants).  For example, on the excellent 1996 CD Eating Jello with a Heated ForkAndy Colquhoun cowrote 5 of the 9 songs with Mick Farren
 
(August 2011)
 
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From my first exposure to his remarkable body of work back in the late 1970’sMick Farren became one of my very favorite rock musicians.  He has released solo albums, and he has been in a number of amazing rock bands also:  the Social Deviantsthe Deviantsthe Pink Fairies, and others.  Early on, Farren wrote lyrics for another of my long-time favorite bands, Hawkwind.  One of Farren’s long-time collaborators, Andy Colquhoun is a past UARA.  Mick Farren was also a prolific writer on a host of subjects and published numerous science-fiction novels.  The Allmusic entry on him by Chris True begins:  “To say that Mick Farren was a ‘jack of all trades’ is putting it mildly.”

 
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In 1967Mick Farren launched his first rock band, the Social Deviants with himself as vocalist, pianist and songwriter, plus Pete Munro (bass guitar), Clive Muldoon (guitar), Mike Robinson (guitar), and Russell Hunter (drums).  After Muldoon and Munro left the band, Sid Bishop (guitar) and Cord Rees (bass) joined up, and the name was shortened to the Deviants

 
(March 2014/1)
 
Last edited: March 22, 2021