Pink Fairies
Cover of the album Never Neverland
Origin	England
Years active	1969 - 1975
Genres	Rock, Hard rock

The Pink Fairies were a British heavy/progressive/alternative rock group active in the London (Ladbroke Grove) underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s . They promoted free music, drug taking and anarchy and often performed impromptu gigs and other agitprop stunts, such as free outside the gates at the Isle of White pop festival, the Windsor Free Festivals as well as appearing at the first Glastonbury outing and Phun City. The band led by Canadian Paul Rudolph on rock guitar; Duncan (Sandy) Sanderson on bass; and two drummers, Twink, and Russell Hunter, toured N. America before launching their first "trippy" album, "Never, Never Land"; they went through several different line-ups of band members over the years, although the core was always the aforementioned supplemented by ex UFO Larry Wallis. The iconoclastic "Do It" was the band's call to arms and have fun, until Wallis invoked the more urban "City Kids" anthem as the new lead. The Pink Fairies occupy a unique position in British rock history, as defining pioneers of "psychedelic hard rock", post "hippy", pre-Punk and pre-heavy metal, influencing many bands of the latter categories. They stayed outside the mainstream (pop and rock) scene of the 1970s, failing to become a large stadium Led Zeppelin/Deep Purple/Black Sabbath type rock band, although they later regretted their lack of commercialism and dumped the earlier legacy of "free" everything, to become more hard nosed, as mentors/managers like "Boss" Goodman fell by the wayside due to over indulgence. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1426x1426, 963 KB) Pink Fairies album Never Neverland - front cover This image is of a cover of an audio recording, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the album or the artist(s) which... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... See also: 1968 in music, other events of 1969, 1970 in music, 1960s in music and the list of years in music // Events Perhaps the most famous musical events of 1969 are two legendary concerts. ... See also: 1974 in music, other events of 1975, 1976 in music, 1970s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Rock is a form of popular music from the mid 20th century which typically features a vocal melody (often with vocal harmony) that is supported by accompaniment of electric guitars, a bass guitar, and drums, often with a strong back beat. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Rock band (or rock group) is a generic name to describe a group of musicians specializing in a particular form of electronically amplified music. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Anarchist redirects here. ... Agitprop poster by Vladimir Mayakovsky. ... Paul Rudolph (born circa 1947) is a Canadian musician. ... A drummer at practice A drummer is a musician who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ... John Charles Alder (born 29 November 1944), better known as Twink, is a British musician (drummer), singer and song writer) who was a central figure in the British psychedelic movement, and an actor. ... For the bands 1969 self-titled debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album) Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, and are one of the most successful groups in popular music history. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

They have always been sustained by a hard core niche British/London fan base of "hippies, hells angels and other psychedelic rebel rockers" who prefer the live music "rowdy get togethers" to buying albums/CDs. One of the great, transcendent on-stage moments was captured for posterity when Paul Rudolph returned to the Pink Fairies line up for a July 13, 1975, show at the London Roundhouse that put together the group's original line-up and paired him with his successor, Larry Wallis.

The Pink Fairies evolved out of a drinking club formed by Steve Peregrin Took (formerly Marc Bolan's partner in T Rex, the Pretty Things, the Deviants, and Syd Barrett) in 1969. Took, along with Mick Farren (founder of the Social Deviants/Deviants) and Twink (previously of The Fairies, Tomorrow, and Pretty Things) named the group Pink Fairies, only to see Twink appropriate the name for his new project (Pink Fairies Mark 2) with three ex-Deviants members. Mick Farren's first solo album, Mona, features the original Pink Fairies Mark 1 line-up. But it was Rudolph, bassist Duncan Sanderson, and drummer Twink of the Deviants who reorganized the band that became the renowned, infamous Pink Fairies, and enlisted Russell Hunter. The band continued as a radical cultural group appealing to those whose values and norms of behavior ran counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, but less activist and more rock'n'roll "right on, fight on" teenage rebels without a cause other than self-indulgence. Steve Peregin Took (left) Steve Peregrin Took (July 28, 1949 – October 27, 1980) was an English musician. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... T. Rex (originally known as Tyrannosaurus Rex, also occasionally spelled T Rex or T-Rex), were an English rock band fronted by Marc Bolan. ... The Pretty Things are a 1960s and 1970s rock and roll band from London. ... The Deviants (formally the Social Deviants) were a musical group in the United Kingdom. ... Roger Keith Syd Barrett (January 6, 1946 – July 7, 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, and artist. ... Mick Farren is a UK Underground/counterculture radical and anarchist. ...

After the successful "Mark 2" version of the band broke up in 1972, a new version (Mark 3) formed which, eventually adding ex-Steve Took's Shagrat guitarist Larry Wallis, who took over the band, writing and leading them on the Kings Of Oblivion LP, was successful for a while. Wallis was simultaneously in both the Pink Fairies and the original line-up of Motörhead with ex-Hawkwind bassist Lemmy, who was himself replaced by Paul Rudolph taking up the base for Hawkwind. Steve Tooks Shagrat it can be suggested was named after the orc Shagrat from Lord of the Rings and was a contraction of Shagrat The Vagrant, the name under which Steve Took had been credited on Mick Farrens album Mona. Larry Wallis offers an alternative explanation. ... Larry Wallis is a guitarist, songwriter and producer for Stiff Records. ... The title of this article contains the following characters: ö. Where they are unavailable or not desired, the name may be given as Motorhead. ... Lemmy Kilmister (born Ian Fraiser Kilmister on December 24, 1945, also known as Ian Fraiser Willis and Lemmy the Lurch) is an English lead vocalist and bass guitarist primarily known as the founding member and leader of the heavy metal band Motörhead. ...

Although never in an official line-up of the Pink Fairies (after Mark 1), Took continued to be associated with the Pink Fairies. He played support slots for the Pink Fairies and occasionally joined them as a third drummer, and once on bass guitar.

Members of the Pink Fairies and Deviants were largely interchangeable throughout the years. A more recent member of the Deviants, (Andy Colqhoun) appeared with Larry Wallis, Twink, Russell Hunter and Duncan (Sandy) Sanderson for the relatively recent Fairies reunion album, Kill 'Em & Eat 'Em.

The Kings of Oblivion line-up will be returning for a "one-off" gig at The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, on 22nd January 2007, the scene of many Fairies gigs and "farewell" performances in the 1970s and early 80s.

Partial discography

• Never Never Land (1971) - Mark 2
• What A Bunch Of Sweeties (1972) - Mark 2
• Kings Of Oblivion (1973) - Mark 3
• The Pink Fairies (compilation) (1975)
• Live At The Roundhouse (1982)
• Kill 'Em And Eat 'Em (1987)
• Golden Years 1969-1971 (1998)

Reference

• Steve Took's Domain

External links

• Larry Wallis’s Pink Fairies site
• Pink Fairies official myspace page
• Phil Franks Digital Archive – The Pink Fairies
• Twink’s Pink Fairies pages
• Dreamworker’s Pink Fairies Page