Singer/songwriter,
writer, former wearer of the "white
afro" (actually, as of 1987/8, he still had it, and may hold some sort of world record for longevity). A founding member of The Social Deviants, peers of the luminaries of 60s
British Psychedelia (
Pink Floyd,
Hawkwind, et al), though the music was more like
drunk-rock-on-acid
proto-punk at times. The band morphed into The Pink Fairies (without him), and various reunion one-off projects over the years have been billed as Pink Fairies or The Deviants (as it was for an early
Stiff Records release).
Farren's probably better known for his writing career, begun in 60s underground newspapers and continuing with his 70s stint with the New Musical Express; his copious oeuvre includes vampire books, road stories, pop music quickies, a Colonel Parker bio, and a rhythm and blues musical, The Last Words of Dutch Schultz, that probably deserves the Broadway treatment - but when I saw it, it was on a cramped stage at an Irish pub in Manhattan.