Radio Gonzo

I first heard that The Pink Fairies were planning to re-form nearly a year ago at the Mick Farren memorial concert, which was held – fittingly enough – in London's Ladbroke Grove. It was the last show that The Deviants were ever going to play, and – as far as I know - the only one that they ever did without Mick Farren. After Mick's death, it seemed the logical move to re-create – in a bizarre sort of way – what they had done over four decades before in 1969 when Sandy, Russell, and Paul Rudolph from The Deviants found that Mick was far too out to lunch for even them to deal with and sacked him during a disastrous tour of the West Coast of the United States. They formed the legendary people's band, 'The Pink Fairies' and proceeded to carve a swathe of chaos through the music business for the next few years. Their brand of rock and roll madness was the perfect soundtrack to some very insane times. This time around, however, the reason for being without Mick was a sadder, and far more important one. Paul