The Fairies were a British rhythm and blues band led by drummer John ‘Twink’ Alder, who recorded three singles between 1964 and 1965. The group included Dane Stephens (born Douglas Robert Ord, vocals/blues harp), John ‘Akky’ Acutt (lead guitar, ex-The Strangers), Mick ‘Wimps’ Weaver (rhythm guitar/fiddle – not the same-named organ player also known as Wynder K Frog), John Frederick ‘Freddy’ Gandy (bass), and John ‘Twink’ Alder (drums, ex-The Strangers). The Fairies were sometimes sent gifts; and Alder, having long curly hair, regularly received bottles of Twink brand home perm lotion. It was at this time that he adopted ‘Twink’ as his stage name. (More from Wikipedia)
The band’s drummer Twink (real name: John Alder) was originally in a tough rhythm and blues band called the Fairies – it won’t be much longer before that band joins the ranks of the UARB’s – and is perhaps best known as the drummer for the Pretty Things on their ground-breaking 1968 concept album called S.F. Sorrow.
(July 2013)
Whatever else might be said of the Pink Fairies, the name and the “pinkness” clearly come from Twink; besides suggesting the name, he had been a member of a hard-rocking R&B band called the Fairies that formed in 1964. I first encountered this band on the Pebbles, Volume 6 LP – evidently the only LP in the entire Pebbles series to feature British music – that was subtitled “The Roots of Mod”. Three of the tracks on the LP and also the later CD, English Freakbeat, Volume 6 were by the Fairies; this was the first time in the series that a band got that many songs on an album. One of these songs, “Get Yourself Home” was later included in the second box set in the Nuggets series, Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969.
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.
Unfortunately, in November 2013, someone wrote a Wikipedia article on the Fairies, so I can’t do that now. Fortunately, it is a really good article, so check it out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairies_(British_band) .
With its fierce vocals and fine organ solo, “Sweet Love” is my favorite song by the Sons of Fred; despite its early recording date, it is probably also closest to the psychedelic-tinged freakbeat sound. “I’ll Be There” reminds me of the band that was originally slotted as the UARB for this month, the Fairies.
(March 2014/2)
