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)
Shortly after Greg Shaw’s death, his ex-wife and business partner Suzy Shaw had her own mission: to cement Shaw’s place in the rock and roll firmament. The result was a gorgeous 2007 hardbound book called Bomp! that was subtitled Saving the World One Record at a Time. In the “Dedication”, Suzy Shaw writes: “The idea for this book came in the early 1980s right after BOMP! magazine first folded. . . . When Greg died I knew it was the most important job I had, as this book is not just the story of BOMP! and Greg Shaw, but a unique document of a time, place, and perspective in the history of rock and roll.”
The co-writer is one of my very favorite musicians (and a prolific writer as well), Mick Farren of the bold English underground rock band, the Deviants. The book opens with the modestly titled “Introduction” by Farren that is as good an overview of the rock music scene as any that I have ever read.
(May 2013)
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Twink is also renowned as a founding member of the hard psych band the Pink Fairies, along with the Deviants’ Mick Farren and Steve Peregrin Took, who was Marc Bolan’s partner in the original Tyrannosaurus Rex band.
Besides Twink, the other bandmembers in Tomorrow – originally called the Four Plus One – included guitarist Steve Howe, which was later in Yes; Junior Wood; and Keith West, who was evidently the best known member of the band when their album came out. Of note is the fact that Tomorrow was featured on the very first of the Peel Sessions by DJ John Peel on BBC Radio 1, on September 21, 1967.
(July 2013)
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I have already noted my sorrow about the recent passing of Andy Colquhoun’s bandmate in the Deviants, Mick Farren. I couldn’t find anything in YouTube that is taken from Andy’s solo CD’s, so here are some killer Deviants cuts for you: “Lost Johnny”, audio only (from the gloriously good 1996 album Fragments of Broken Probes) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpDOvLk7dtc ; “Police Car”, from a live 1984 performance, though it is still audio only – www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWqt9boKKVo ; and a live track, “The Fury of the Mob” from a 2013 concert on the summer solstice (that’s Andy Colquhoun on the right) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kW2Q-4ymcc . There are plenty of live Deviants songs on YouTube, but they are typically amateur videos having questionable sound quality.
The plan was always to move directly from the Mick Farren tribute to a description of the Fairies as the Under-Appreciated Rock Band of the Month; Twink was in that band in 1964-1965. That would be three different likely homosexual references among the band names that I have mentioned, including the Deviants and the Pink Fairies. None of the bandmembers in any of these groups is gay as far as I know – Mick Farren certainly wasn’t – and none of their music could be described as wimpy or lightweight either, so I guess this is guerilla theatre mostly.
My proudest achievement is my tribute to legendary underground rock musician Mick Farren, which appeared in March 2014. I garnered a lot of praise that my friend Suzy Shaw of Bomp! Records forwarded to me – from past UARA and fellow bandmember in the Deviants, Andy Colquhoun (who posted a link on the band’s Facebook page), from Mike Stax of Ugly Things Magazine (who published my article on Milan year before last), and from Suzy Shaw herself.
(Year 5 Review)
