The Purple Gang (band)
The Purple Gang was an English rock band that was known in the psychedelic underground scene of the 1960s, but was unsuccessful commercially.
History
"The Young Contemporaries Jugband ", consisting of Joe Beard ( guitar), Peter Walker ( vocals), Geoff Bowyer (keyboards), Gerry Robinson ( harmonica, mandolin ) and Ank Langley ( Jug, Banjo ), came originally from Cheshire (they were from Stockport ) to London, where she took Joe Boyd in 1967 as a manager under contract. He changed the appearance of the band - suits, short hair - and gave them the name "The Purple Gang " from Elvis Presley's Jailhouse Rock.
Their debut single Granny Takes a Trip - named after the store - she made in the psychedelic underground known, and they stood in the trendy clubs like the UFO Club and the Marquee with the stars of the scene - including the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd. A highlight of this period was their appearance at the " 14 Hour Technicolor Dream " festival in April 1967.
Despite the positive assessment by John Peel commercial success did not come. The single was set by the BBC on the black list, probably because of the word " trip " and its relation to drug use. Also the album The Purple Gang Strikes! (1968) and the follow-up single Kiss Me Goodnight Sally Green were unsuccessful.
With interruptions and changing line the Purple Gang was still active. They were especially popular in Eastern Europe and in the Netherlands. In 1998 they released a new album, Night of the Uncool. 2003 released their first album in 1968 on CD, with newly mixed material and the new song "Madam Judge ," a response to the previous spell of the BBC.