A Must Have For UK 60's Collectors
Andersson, Christer | Sweden | 08/30/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Originally known as The Social Deviants (line-up 'A') this was a London-based community underground band that grew up in the Notting Hill area. Farren and Russell ran into a 21 year old millionaire who put up £700 to finance their first album on their own Underground Impressarios label. This was distributed by mail order through 'Oz' and 'The International Times' and sold sufficiently well for Decca to reissue it.
The material on their three albums was variable. The first included harsh punk (I'm Coming Home), percussion dominated progressivism (Nothing Man) as well as long gimmicky diatribes interspersed with none too imaginative music. Child Of The Sky and Bun were evidence of a softer side, but Deviation Street summarized their intent with a series of political slogans, sound effects and a variety of musical approaches which have not stood the test of time well.
Disposable had its moments, notably with good rock songs like Slum Lord, Jamie's Song, You've Got To Hold On, Fire In The City and Guaranteed. The remainder of the album was eminently disposable, however.
The Deviants also issued a single, which is now a rare collectors' item. After a disappointing third album the band disintegrated during an American tour. The remaining members plus Twink formed Pink Fairies. Rudolph also had a spell with Hawkwind.
In 1977 Farren reformed the band with a new line-up including Andy Colquhoun on bass/vcls and issued an EP for Stiff, entitled Stiff EP. In the same year their first album was reissued on Logo. Readers may also be interested in Human Garbage (Psycho 25), another 1984 reunion album, with a line-up of Farren (vcls), Sanderson (bs), Larry Wallis (gtr), Wayne Kramer (gtr) ex-MC5, and George Butler (drms). Recapturing the band's original sound and spirit quite well, it includes a re-work of Ramblin' Rose, Wallis' Police Car and Zappa's Trouble Coming Every Day. This has also been reissued on CD (Captain Trip CTCD 092) 1998.
Also on Psycho was a Farren solo re-release Mona (Psycho 20).
1996 saw a further re-incarnation as Deviants IXVI with an album Eating Jello With A Heated Fork (Alive Records 1022), and a CD as Mick Farren and The Deviants entitled Fragments Of Broken Probes on Captain Trip Records, from Japan. The band were also due to play the Ptolemaic Terrascope festival in New York on April 25-27th 1997, with Mick Farren, Andy Colquhoun, Nick Saloman (Bevis Frond) and others.
Compilation appearances include: I'm Coming Home on Perfumed Garden Vol. 2 (LP); First Line (Seven The Row), Billy The Monster and Death Of A Dream Machine on The Electric Lemonade Acid Test, Vol. 2 (LP).
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Track Listings (10) - Disc #1