The Deviants | |
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Origin | United Kingdom |
Genres | Garage rock, acid rock, psychedelic rock |
Years active | 1967–1969, 1978, 1984, 1996, 2002, 2011–2013 |
Labels | Sire |
Associated acts | Pink Fairies, Lightning Raiders, Hawkwind, Motörhead, MC5, Axis of Justice |
Past members |
Mick Farren Mike Robinson Russell Hunter Pete Munro Clive Muldoon Cord Rees Sid Bishop Duncan Sanderson Paul Rudolph Andy Colquhoun Larry Wallis Alan Powell Wayne Kramer George Butler Doug Lunn Ric Parnell Michael Simmons Jack Lancaster |
The Deviants (formerly The Social Deviants) were an English rock group originally active in the late 1960s, 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 1970s.
The Social Deviants were founded by singer/writer Mick Farren (born Michael Anthony Farren, 3 September 1943, in Gloucester, Gloucestershire) in 1967 out of the Ladbroke Grove UK Underground community, featuring Pete Munro on bass; Clive Muldoon on guitar, Mike Robinson on guitar and Russell Hunter on drums (born Barry Russell Hunter, 26 April 1946, in Woking, Surrey). The band shortened their name to "The Deviants" after Munro and Muldoon left and were replaced by Sid Bishop on guitar (born Ian Bishop, 17 December 1946, Balham, South West London) and Cord Rees on bass. With the financial backing of Nigel Samuel, the 21-year-old son of a millionaire, whom Farren had befriended, the group independently recorded their debut album Ptooff!, selling copies through the UK Underground press before it was picked up by Decca Records. This LP had been reissued on Drop Out Records (1992), Captain Trip Records (2004), Esoteric Recordings (2009), and Angel Air Records (2013); additionally, a 10" EP with excerpts from Ptooff!! was released on Alive/Total Energy Records (1996) under the name Social Deviants.