Description
Pink Fairies – The Polydor Years – Triple Compact Discs
Pink Fairies – The Polydor Years is a comprehensive collection that brings together the core recordings made by the legendary British underground rock band Pink Fairies during their early 1970s tenure with Polydor Records. Known for their raw, anarchic blend of psychedelic rock, proto-punk, hard rock, and a touch of acid-drenched humor, the Pink Fairies were central figures in the UK countercultural scene, closely linked with Hawkwind, the Deviants, and the wider free festival and Ladbroke Grove underground.
This compilation includes the band’s first three studio albums:
Never Never Land (1971) – their debut, a mix of spacey psychedelia and pounding, bluesy rock. Highlights include the extended freakout “Uncle Harry’s Last Freakout,” the whimsical “Do It”, and the heavy-hitting “Teenage Rebel.” The album straddles the line between serious musicianship and cheeky anti-establishment antics.
What a Bunch of Sweeties (1972) – a looser, more jam-oriented follow-up, reflecting the band’s chaotic lifestyle. It’s packed with lengthy instrumental workouts, cut-up humor, and hard-hitting riffs, including tracks like “Right On, Fight On” and their heavy cover of “Walk Don’t Run.”
Kings of Oblivion (1973) – arguably their tightest and most aggressive release, featuring Larry Wallis (later of Motörhead) on guitar and vocals. This album veered into proto-punk territory, with sharper songwriting and a more focused attack. Tracks like “City Kids” and “I Wish I Was a Girl” point toward the coming punk explosion, and are some of the band’s most enduring work.
The Polydor Years set includes bonus tracks, B-sides, and outtakes, giving fans a fuller picture of the band’s output during their most active and influential period. The sound is gritty, rebellious, and unapologetically raw—a mix of garage rock fury, psychedelic swirl, and proto-metal weight, all delivered with a wink and a sneer.
More than just a rock band, the Pink Fairies were a lifestyle and an attitude. Their music championed freedom, DIY ethics, anti-authoritarianism, and hedonism, laying groundwork not just for punk, but also for stoner rock and underground alternative scenes that would follow. They were as likely to play a free concert in a park as a club gig, and their music reflects that anything-goes spirit.
The Polydor Years is essential for anyone interested in the untamed fringes of 1970s British rock, and it offers a raw, unvarnished counterpoint to the more polished prog and glam acts of the era. It captures the Pink Fairies at their most explosive, experimental, and emblematic of an era where music, protest, and psychedelia collided in gloriously messy fashion.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
Never Never Land
Do It
Heavenly Man
Say You Love Me
War Girl
Never Never Land
Track One, Side Two
Thor
Teenage Rebel
Uncle Harry’s Last Freak-Out
10:40
The Dream Is Just Beginning
Bonus Tracks
The Snake
Do It (Single Edit)
War Girl (Alt Mix)
Uncle Harry’s Last Freak-Out (Alt Mix)
What A Bunch Of Sweeties
Prologue
Right On, Fight On
Portobello Shuffle
Marilyn
The Pigs Of Uranus
Walk Don’t Run
I Went Up, I Went Down
X-Ray
I Saw Her Standing There
Bonus Tracks
Going Down
Walk Don’t Run (First Version)
Kings Of Oblivion
City Kids
I Wish I Was a Girl
When’s The Fun Begin?
Chromium Plating
Raceway
Chambermaid
Street Urchin
Bonus Tracks
Well Well Well (Single Version)
Hold On (Single Version)
City Kids (Alt Mix)
Well Well Well (Alt Mix)
