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The Purple Gang are a British rock band active intermittently since the 1960s. They were originally associated with the London psychedelic scene. They released their debut album, The Purple Gang Strikes in 1968, with one track, "Granny Takes a Trip" banned from being broadcast by the BBC.
Although they were associated with the London psychedelic music scene, they originated in Stockport, then in Cheshire, [1] as The Young Contemporaries jugband. The band adopted the name, The Purple Gang, when they changed their image to the well-dressed, clean-cut "gangster" style in the 1960s. In London, they engaged Joe Boyd as their record producer, and shared a studio with Pink Floyd as they recorded their first single, "Granny Takes A Trip", named after the eponymous shop in the Kings Road, London. [1] [2] [3] Pink Floyd were making their own first single, "Arnold Layne", at the time.
The BBC spotted the word 'trip' in the title and, assuming it to be a reference to LSD, banned the record from their airwaves. [4] Also noting that the band's lead singer at the time (Pete Walker) was nicknamed 'Lucifer', the BBC Controller said "... a song with a dubious title designed to corrupt the nation's youth – and a band that boasts a warlock for a singer will not be tolerated by any decent society..."[ citation needed ] An album, The Purple Gang Strikes was released in 1968, [1] but failed to sell, although Pirate radio station DJs such as John Peel praised the group. The band continued during the early 1970s, with a slightly different line-up. [1]
In 1998 the band reformed and recorded an album, Night of the Uncool, with several new songs by Joe Beard, some of which were produced by Gerry Robinson, the mandolin and harmonica player from the original 1967 line-up. [5] From 1999, their new lead vocalist was Stuart Pevitt (born 27 December 1952, Sale, Cheshire, England). [2] They enjoyed some commercial success in Eastern Europe; in Bulgaria and Hungary one of their singles, "Sunset Over the Mersey", [2] entered the national charts.
In 2003 they re-released The Purple Gang Strikes on CD. [6] It contained remixes of several of their 1967 songs, including the BBC-banned track "Granny Takes A Trip". Another track, "Madam Judge", was their reply to the latter's banning. [6]
Most of their songs were written by their early members: guitarist Joe Beard (born Christopher John Beard, 28 November 1945 in Macclesfield, Cheshire), and organist Geoff Bowyer (born Geoffrey Paul Bowyer, 1948 in Leek, Staffordshire). Some other members were vocalist Pete Walker (born Peter John Walker, 1946 in Hyde, North Cheshire), jug / banjo player Ank Langley (born Trevor Langley, 1946 in Stockport, Cheshire) and mandolin / harmonica player Gerry Robinson (born David John Robinson, 1947 in Hyde). [1] Their musical influences and styles are varied, from jug band, country and western, through psychedelic, to rock music.
The band's unofficial headquarters was The Castle Inn, Macclesfield, where they regularly practised and jammed for their enthusiastic local fans.[ citation needed ]
Beard's biography of the band, Taking the Purple - The Extraordinary Story of The Purple Gang - Granny Takes a Trip... and All That was published in 2024. [7]
Beard and Robinson released a new CD in 2014 – We Meant No Harm. [8]
Pevitt died of cancer in 2009, aged 56. [2] [9] Robinson died on 14 September 2024, aged 76. [10]
Bollington is a town and civil parish in Cheshire, England, to the east of Prestbury. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield and the ancient parish of Prestbury. In 2011, it had a population of 8,310.
Disley is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. It is located on the edge of the Peak District in the Goyt Valley, south of Stockport and close to the county boundary with Derbyshire at New Mills. The population at the 2011 Census was 4,294. To the north, the River Goyt and the Peak Forest Canal, which opened in 1800, pass along the edge of the village. Today, it is a commuter town, retaining a semi-rural character.
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England.
Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies 16 miles (26 km) south of Manchester and 38 miles (61 km) east of Chester.
Transatlantic Records was a British independent record label. The company was established in 1961, primarily as an importer of American folk, blues and jazz records by many of the artists who influenced the burgeoning British folk and blues boom. Within a few years, the company had started recording British and Irish artists. The company's philosophy was intentionally eclectic.
The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London denoted as its centre. It saw a flourishing in art, music and fashion, and was symbolised by the city's "pop and fashion exports", such as the Beatles, as the multimedia leaders of the British Invasion of musical acts; the mod and psychedelic subcultures; Mary Quant's miniskirt designs; popular fashion models such as Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton; the iconic status of popular shopping areas such as London's King's Road, Kensington and Carnaby Street; the political activism of the anti-nuclear movement; and the sexual liberation movement.
Thomas Giles Robinson is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson Band. He later peaked at No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart with his solo single "War Baby".
Wilmslow is a market town and civil parish in Cheshire, England. It is 11 mi (18 km) south of Manchester and within the unitary authority of Cheshire East. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census.
Shades of Deep Purple is the debut album by the English rock band Deep Purple, released in July 1968 on Tetragrammaton in the United States and in September 1968 on Parlophone in the United Kingdom. The band, initially called Roundabout, was the idea of former Searchers drummer Chris Curtis, who recruited Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore before leaving the project. The Mk. I line-up of the band was completed by vocalist/frontman Rod Evans, along with bassist Nick Simper and drummer Ian Paice, in March 1968.
Listen Here! is a sampler album released by Transatlantic Records in 1968. It was the second significant UK contemporary music sampler release in the period.
Poynton is a town in the civil parish of Poynton-with-Worth, in the Cheshire East district and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England; from 1974 to 2009 it was in Macclesfield district. It is located on the easternmost fringe of the Cheshire Plain, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Manchester, 7 miles (11 km) north of Macclesfield and 5 miles (8 km) south of Stockport.
Deep Purple, also referred to as Deep Purple III, is the third studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, released in June 1969 on Tetragrammaton Records in the United States and only in September 1969 on Harvest Records in the United Kingdom. Its release was preceded by the single "Emmaretta" and by a long tour in the UK, whose dates were interspersed between the album's recording sessions.
The Book of Taliesyn is the second studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, recorded only three months after Shades of Deep Purple and released by Tetragrammaton Records in October 1968, just before their first US tour. The name for the album was taken from the 14th-century Book of Taliesin.
Marion are an English Britpop band, formed in 1993 in Macclesfield, Cheshire. The band's classic lineup featured frontman Jaime Harding, guitarist Phil Cunningham, guitarist Tony Grantham, bassist Julian Phillips and drummer Murad Mousa.
Sopwith Camel was an American rock band associated with the San Francisco psychedelic rock scene of the mid-1960s.
Hapshash and the Coloured Coat was an influential British graphic design and avant-garde musical partnership in the late 1960s, consisting of Michael English and Nigel Waymouth. It produced popular psychedelic posters, and two albums of underground music.
Granny Takes a Trip was a boutique opened in February 1966 at 488 Kings Road, Chelsea, London, by Nigel Waymouth, his girlfriend Sheila Cohen and John Pearse. The shop, which was acquired by Freddie Hornik in 1969, remained open until the mid-1970s and has been called the "first psychedelic boutique in Groovy London of the 1960s".
Tinkerbells Fairydust were a British pop group in the late 1960s, who hailed from east London. They recorded three singles and one album for the Decca label.
Eight Frames a Second is the debut album by British folk musician Ralph McTell. Released in the UK in 1968, it is notable for being the first record produced by Gus Dudgeon, and the first arranged by Tony Visconti. Unusually for a new artist, the front of the album sleeve contained no reference to either McTell or the album title. The entire album cost £350 in total.
"Here I Go" is a song by former singer/songwriter of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett and is the sixth track on his first solo album, The Madcap Laughs.
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