CD Preview: Pink Fairies’ Resident Reptiles

U.K. psychedelic rock legends Pink Fairies were formed in 1970, rising phoenix-like from the ashes of cult rockers the Deviants when guitarist Paul Rudolph, bassist Duncan Sanderson, and drummer Russell Hunter sacked frontman Mick Farren. The trio hooked up with former Pretty Things drummer ‘Twink’ and recorded their classic 1971 debut LP, Never Never Land.

The band was back to three members after Twink left for the following year’s What A Bunch of Sweeties, which also included contributions from the Move’s guitarist Trevor Burton. After a few roster changes, Sanderson and Hunter hooked up with former Shagrat guitarist Larry Wallis for 1973’s Kings of Oblivion. The Fairies packed it in mid-decade when Wallis jumped to join Lemmy in Motörhead.

Interest in the Pink Fairies’ unique brand of anarchic rock ‘n’ roll has been on the rise since the early 2000s when Polydor reissued the band’s first three albums on CD, and various line-ups of the Fairies have performed reunion shows in the ensuing years. On August 24th, 2018 Purple Pyramid (a Cleopatra Records imprint) will release a brand spankin’ new Pink Fairies album titled Resident Reptiles. Featuring original Fairies singer and guitarist Paul Rudolph along with fellow travelers Alan Davey (ex-Hawkwind) on bass and Lucas Fox (Motörhead) on drums, the trio recorded a sizzling eight-song set that will be released on both CD and, of course, pink vinyl.    

“I’d say this journey started with Nik Turner introducing me to Cleopatra Records,” says Rudolph in a press release for the new album. “I was asked about the possibility of recording a LP under the Pink Fairies banner and thought – this would be a lot of fun. Get a few people together, turn the amps up to 10 and let ‘er rip. So here it is – a spontaneous collaboration of ideas recorded mostly live. Thank you for listening. Peace and Love.”

Resident Reptiles tracklist:

1. Resident Reptile
2. Old Enuff To Know Better
3. Your Cover Is Blown
4. Mirage
5. Lone Wolf
6. Whipping Boy
7. Monkey Chatter
8. Apologize

Buy the pink vinyl LP from Amazon.com: The Pink Fairies’ Resident Reptiles

New Music Monthly: November & December 2016 Releases

November is upon us and with it a dearth of new album releases at the end of the year. This month we're giving you, our readers, a 'two-fer' with both November and December release dates; there will be no column next month. But that doesn't mean that there isn't some great music coming our way, including a fine new album by the legendary Glenn Hughes, an outstanding tribute album for one of our favorite rock 'n' roll singers, Frankie Miller, a bunch of stuff from the Zappa archive, and cool new blues-rock discs by Greg 'Stackhouse' Prevost and the Rolling Stones...dig it!

NOVEMBER 4 
Glenn Hughes - Resonate CD/DVD   BUY!
Jim James - Eternally Even    BUY!
Lambchop - FLOTUS (For Love Often Turns Us Still)   BUY!
The Pink Fairies - Naked Radio   BUY!
Public Image Limited - Metal Box   BUY!
Frank Zappa - Chicago '78   BUY!
Frank Zappa - Little Dots   BUY!
Frank Zappa - Meat Light: The Uncle Meat Project/Object   BUY!

NOVEMBER 11 
The Band - The Last Waltz (40th Anniversary Edition) BUY!
Frankie Miller - Frankie Miller's Double Take  BUY!
Pink Floyd - Cre/ation: The Early Years, 1957-1962  BUY!

NOVEMBER 18 
Rory Block - Keepin' Outta Trouble: A Tribute to Bukka White   BUY!
Jethro Tull - Stand Up (The Elevated Edition)  BUY!
Metallica - Hardwired...To Self-Destruct  BUY!
R.E.M. - Out of Time (25th Anniversary Edition)   BUY!
Mike Zito - Make Blues Not War    BUY!

NOVEMBER 25 
Greg Prevost - Universal Vagrant   BUY!

DECEMBER 2 
The Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome    BUY!

Album of the Month: Greg Prevost's Universal Vagrant is the singer, songwriter, and guitarist's second solo album after years of fronting garage-rock legends the Chesterfield Kings. The follow-up to 2013's acclaimed Mississippi Murderer LP, Universal Vagrant is another white-hot slab of ramshackle blues-rock that will rattle the teeth right out of your mouth. Whereas many otherwise earnest blues-rockers depend on covers of the classics with which to frame their fretwork, Prevost penned six of ten songs here, and they're barely distinguishable from his inspired covers of tunes by Muddy Waters, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and others. 

The Pink Fairies Get ‘Naked’!

Legendary British rockers the Pink Fairies will be releasing their first album in three decades on November 4th, 2016 when Gonzo Multimedia releases the band’s Naked Radio. Fronted by singer and guitarist Andy Colquhoun, the band reunited in 2013 and has played a number of successful U.K. shows over the past couple of years. The Pink Fairies today are comprised of Colquhoun, bassist Sandy Sanderson, drummers Russell Hunter and George Butler, and keyboardist Jaki Windmill.

Formed in 1970 out of the ashes of infamous U.K. band the Deviants (which included Sanderson and Hunter), the Pink Fairies were active participants in London’s psychedelic underground rock scene of the early ‘70s. They promoted free music, drugs, and anarchy and were famous for stunts like playing for free outside the gates at the Isle of Wight Festival and Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. The initial band line-up, which included guitarist Paul Randolph, Sanderson, and Hunter recorded a pair of cult classics in 1971’s Never Never Land, which included former Pretty Things drummer ‘Twink’, and the following year’s What A Bunch of Sweeties, which included a second guitarist in Trevor Burton.

Rudolph was replaced by future Motörhead guitarist Larry Wallis for 1973’s Kings of Oblivion, the final album of the era for the band and another bona fide cult classic. During much of the rest of the 1970s and early ‘80s, Pink Fairies members played in various bands, frequently with former Deviants bandmate Mick Farren, before the opportunity to record for Demon Records was offered. A new Pink Fairies line-up was formed around Wallis, Sanderson, and Hunter with Twink and Farren’s guitarist Andy Colquhoun to record the band’s last album, 1987’s Kill ‘Em and Eat ‘Em.

Drummer Russell Hunter, in a press release for the new album, states “it’s over 45 years since the first studio album and nearly 30 since the last. The passage of these years is inevitably etched to some extent on all these songs, some much deeper than others. But in the final analysis, they’re all some facet of the Pink Fairies.” Check out the video below and you'll agree that the band sounds every bit as wiggy as it always has...then buy the CD from Amazon.com!