Deviants

Emerging toward the close of the 1960s, the Deviants operated as the United Kingdom’s counterpart to the Fugs while drawing touches from the Mothers of Invention and the R&B-rooted rock approach of the Yardbirds and the Pretty Things. Their origins rested less in the British Invasion than in the psychedelic underground that formed in London during 1966-1967. Starting out with little more than amateur skills, they extracted the fullest measure of craft and invention from constrained instrumental and songwriting means on their first album, Ptooff!, which fused fierce social critique, feverish sexual desire, psychedelic improvisation, blues guitar figures, and gentle acoustic pieces across seven tracks. Later releases from the decade delivered ample provocation yet fell short of the debut’s songwriting caliber. Frontman Mick Farren released a solo album as the period neared its end and later gained standing as a knowledgeable rock critic. He continued to appear and record from time to time both on his own and with later versions of the Deviants. Farren died in July 2013 at age 69 after collapsing onstage during a Deviants concert in London.