In the late '60s, the Deviants were something like the British equivalent to the Fugs, with touches of the Mothers of Invention and the British R&B-based rock of the Yardbirds and the Pretty Things. Their roots were not so much in the British Invasion as the psychedelic underground that began to take shape in London in 1966-1967. Not much more than amateurs when they began playing, they squeezed every last ounce of skill and imagination out of their limited instrumental and compositional resources on their debut, Ptoff!, which combined savage social commentary, overheated sexual lust, psychedelic jamming, blues riffs, and pretty acoustic ballads -- all in the space of seven songs. (Allmusic.com)
Leader Mick Farren was an (in)famous anti-establishment figure and found some early publicity organizing an anti-festival on the other hill of the legendary Isle of Wight festival. Later he was an acclaimed rock critic and author of science fiction and fanatsy novels. Online I managed to have some contact with him through his Doc40 blog. Farren died at the age of 69 in 2013, after collapsing while performing with the Deviants at the Borderline Club in London.
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