Twink (John Charles Alder; psychedelic music)

John Charles Edward Alder (born 29 November 1944), also known as Twink, is an English drummer, actor, singer, and songwriter who was a central figure in the English psychedelic and proto-punk movement. He was a member of the Pretty Things from 1967 to 1969, and an occasional member of Pink Fairies, plus several other bands. In 2006, Alder converted to Islam, and changed his name to Mohammed Abdullah. However, he still records under the name Twink. Alder was born in Colchester, Essex, England. Many of his family members were also musicians, including his grandmother, who was a concert pianist and soloist. Alder was interested in music from a young age. His professional career began in 1963 when he played the drums for Dane Stephens and the Deep Beats, a rhythm and blues band from Colchester. In 1964, after performing for a year, the band changed its name to the Fairies. Due to the band's growing popularity, its members began receiving regular gifts from their music fans. Alder, who had long curly hair at the time, regularly received bottles of Twink brand home perm lotion. He eventually adopted 'Twink' as his stage name. He later reunited with Dane Stephens and Mick Weaver from the Fairies for two tracks on his 1991 album Odds & Beginnings. Twink moved to London in 1965, and at that time lived in the Chelsea area. When the Fairies broke up in August 1966, he joined a rhythm and blues/soul music band called the In-Crowd whose previous drummer had left. Other members of the In-Crowd included Steve Howe (guitar; later of Yes fame), singer Keith West, and bassist John 'Junior' Wood. A few months later, the band decided to change their name to Tomorrow. The success of West's solo recording, Excerpt from A Teenage Opera, resulted in the band's breakup and led to a one-off single by the short-lived band 'Aquarian Age' (Twink and Junior). In his book White Bicycles, Joe Boyd cites a Tomorrow show at the UFO Club in London's Camden borough—and Twink's performance in particular—as the zenith of 1960s pop culture. Tomorrow also played with guitarist Jimi Hendrix at UFO. In 1967, Twink completed a recording session with a group called Santa Barbara Machine Head. They featured two former members of the beat group the Birds: Ron Wood (later of the Creation, Faces and the Rolling Stones) and Kim Gardner (later also of The Creation and Ashton, Gardner & Dyke); and keyboardist Jon Lord (later of Deep Purple). Twink replaced Skip Alan in the band the Pretty Things, joining Phil May, Dick Taylor, Wally Allen, and Jon Povey. He participated in the making of their album S.F. Sorrow. He was also a member of this group when they appeared in the Norman Wisdom film What's Good for the Goose. Twink became famous for his outrageous behaviour, such as climbing the speaker stacks and diving into the audience when the band performed at a free open-air concert in London's Hyde Park. Twink recorded his first solo album, Think Pink, toward the end of his tenure with the Pretty Things. Supporting musicians included proto-punk forerunners, the Deviants, including Mick Farren (who produced the album), Paul Rudolph (guitar), Duncan 'Sandy' Sanderson, and Steve Peregrin Took (of Tyrannosaurus Rex, who contributed two of the songs). It also featured May, Povey, Waller, and Victor Unitt of the Pretty Things, Viv Prince (ex-Pretty Things), John 'The Honk' Lodge (Junior's Eyes, Quiver), 'Junior' Wood, and the 'Pink Fairies Motorcycle Club and All-Star Rock and Roll Band'. The name "Pink Fairies" was derived from a story by Deviants manager Jamie Mandelkau, who may not have been aware of Twink's former band. The lineup of the Pink Fairies (Mark 1) featured Think Pink musicians Twink, Took, and Farren – all three having left their respective bands - and was named after the 'Pink Fairies Rock 'n' Roll Club', a loose group of affiliated musicians including Took, Farren, the Deviants, Syd Barrett (formerly of Pink Floyd), and the Pretty Things. They played in Ladbroke Grove, home of the UK underground. The Mark 1 lineup — including Twink's girlfriend Sally "Silver Darling" Melzer on keyboards — performed one shambolic gig in Manchester and recorded Farren's solo album Mona – The Carnivorous Circus in late 1969 before falling apart. Took, Farren, former Entire Sioux Nation guitarist and bassist (and later Motörhead founder) Larry Wallis, and Tim Taylor then assembled the band that became Shagrat, with Farren departing before any recordings were made and drummer Phil Lenoir joining to complete the line-up. Pink Fairies (Mark 2) was formed in early 1970 by Twink with Mick Farren's former bandmates, the Deviants. The two-drummer Pink Fairies line-up recorded a single called "The Snake" / "Do It" followed by the Never Never Land album before Twink left in 1971 (although he would periodically return). A cover version of "The Snake" was later recorded by Algy Ward's heavy rock band, Tank. After a spell living in Morocco, Twink moved to Cambridge and worked with the 'Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band', which initially included vocalist/guitarist Bruce Michael Paine (ex-Apple Pie and star of the San Francisco production of Hair) and 'The Honk' playing bass. He also played in a band named ZZZ with Alan Lee Shaw and Rod Latter, who later reunited as the Rings. The Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band, now with ex-Delivery bass player Jack Monck, backed American blues guitarist Eddie "Guitar" Burns at King's College Cellar in January 1972. Monck's wife Jenny Spires, an old friend of Twink and former girlfriend of Syd Barrett, went with Barrett to the gig and brought his guitar along, and jammed with them at one point. The next day, the Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band, with guests Fred Frith and Syd Barrett, played on a bill with Hawkwind and the Pink Fairies. In the next two days, Twink formed the short-lived trio Stars with Barrett and Monck. Stars played a handful of well-received shows. However, Barrett, who was mentally fragile, quit after reading a negative review by Roy Hollingworth in Melody Maker. After Stars disbanded, Twink moved back to London. From 1972 to 1975, Twink periodically performed with fellow Ladbroke Grove community band Hawkwind during the transition from the band's original drummer to its replacement Simon King. Twink also played with the band Glider but did not release recordings. In July 1975, the Pink Fairies staged a reunion gig at the Roundhouse, featuring the then-current line-up of Russell Hunter, Duncan Sanderson, and Larry Wallis, joined by former members Twink and Paul Rudolph. They released the recorded show as a live album in 1982. Twink formed the Fallen Angels in August 1976 with Steve Marriott and former Allstars band members Greg Ridley and Mickey Finn. On the way to the band's first gig, a car accident left Twink hospitalised, after which this line-up disintegrated. The Fallen Angels wound up backing Phil May on a solo album. Twink then worked as a vocalist with the Rings in early 1977, releasing one of the first punk rock singles, "I Wanna Be Free", produced by former Sparks member Martin Gordon. Other members of the band included Alan Lee Shaw and Rod Latter of the Adverts. After Twink left, the other members of the Rings formed the Maniacs. Twink coined the term "acid punk" to describe his music, and went on to release an EP called Do It '77 in February 1978. It included the songs "Psychedelic Punkeroo" (about Syd Barrett and songwriting credited to 'A. Syd') and "Enter The Diamonds", both of which featured a band comprising Twink (drums/lead vocals), Kid Rogers (of Kid Rogers and the Henchmen; guitars/vocals), Fingers Falkner (keyboards), and Chris Chesney (lead guitar). According to Twink, "It was the Psychedelic Punkaroo project, but Chiswick Records didn't like the track and I jammed 'Do It' with the Lightning Raiders, which they preferred". According to Duncan 'Danger Sun' Sanderson (bass, Lightning Raiders & ex-Pink Fairies), "Twink came round my