Introduction by Mick Farren

Back in the days when I lived in New York City, I flew back to London one time for a visit. The plan was stay with Andy and his wife Helga while I was there. After an overnight flight and a cab ride in from Heathrow. I must have arrived at his place on Shirland Road sometime around half-past eleven. All through the journey, a lyric had been buzzing in my head. So after I'd dumped my bag, and we'd chewed the fat a bit, I told him about the lyric, and he whipped out a Gibson, and we went for it. With a rough idea down, we repaired the pub and then, on our return we banged down a demo in his home studio. The whole process, pub included, must have taken three hours max, and the tune in question was a ditty called Thunder On The Mountain. But that's always been the way of it with Andy. Ever since our girlfriends and the late John Manly forced us to overcome our mutual reserve and write some tunes for Warsaw Pakt, he's been there for me, a fucking prince. At my side, sometimes watching my back, sometimes holding me up, ethical, honorable, outwardly unflappable, Wyatt Earp to my own rancid Doc Holliday, across half the world, and a sea of Jack Daniels, notching up what must now be something between fifty and a hundred songs and pieces of orchestrated poetry. And the Good Fight continues to be fought.

Andy Colquhoun on Pick-Up The Phone America!
Andy Colquhoun has recorded with "Warsaw Pakt", "Mick Farren and the Deviants", and "The Pink Fairies". "Pick-Up The Phone America!" is his new CD. There comes a time in the life of every guitar player when he or she gets the chance to make a solo album. This is my attempt, and I've put as much guitar on it as possible. All the real drums on the record, with the exception of "Runnin' Outa Road", were played by  Philthy 'Animal' Taylor. We recorded a stereo mix from his Roland drumkit, sounding how he wanted it, and he informed me that he would consider wearing plywood trousers if it wasn't for the amount of time he'd have to spend varnishing them. Just a technical point. 'Runnin' Outa Road' with Sandy and Russell has been called one of the best Pink Fairies thrashes NEVER recorded. Whoever said that can now reach for the whiteout. The other drums come from a drum machine I purchased from some wino on the corner of La Brea and Fountain for $20. I think they sound quite good considering. When the computer went down I was on the phone to Microsoft for hours every day, which is part of what 'Zero Zero' is about. You have to dial in a 26 number product code to speak to someone who starts off mildly chastising you for having a Windows CD that came with the computer, as if they hadn't received a tidy sum from the sale, and then wants you to wipe the drive, if you can get to it, and lose all your audio. Not really an option. I had a lot of help from Mick Farren including the voiceover on 'Alienza', and right now we are making a new Deviants CD with Ric Parnell and Doug Lunn. At a recent session Mick was chanting "What a Bastard" through an entire guitar solo. I'm not taking it personally. Check out the interview with Andy on the Punk 77 site.
Discography
Warsaw Pakt Warsaw Pakt 'Needletime' Captain Trip: CTCD 238 Single 'Safe And Warm/Sick n' Tired' Ken Shimamoto review of 'Needletime' Available online from JPC (Germany) Mail order from Captain Trip (Japan)
Tanz Der Youth Tanz Der Youth single on Radar 'I'm Sorry/Delay' Try Intoxica for copies
Pink Fairies Pink Fairies 'Kill 'Em And Eat 'Em' on Demon Records FIEND CD 105 Pink Fairies/Deviants 'Son Of Ham - Hams Volume2' UHCK 002 'Hogwatch-For A Few Rashers More - Hams Volume 3' UHCK 003
Wayne Kramer 'Wayne Kramer Live At Dingwalls 1979' on Captain Trip CTCD 260 'Wayne Kramer and The Pink Fairies' Cocaine Blues on Total Energy NER 3028 Available from Bomp! Mail Order (email to: Suzy)
Mick Farren/Deviants For availability and more info on the following, go to the Mick Farren recordings page and follow the links Mick Farren 'Stiff EP', 'Vampires Stole My Lunch Money' Captain Trip CTCD 103 Singles on LOGO Records 'Broken Statue/It's All In The Picture' and 'Half Price Drinks/I Don't Wanna Go This Way' Lunar Malice single 'Gunfire In The Night/Touched By The Fire' on Force Majeure The Death Ray Tapes 'Gunfire In The Night' on Alive Records CD 0013 The Deviants 'Eating Jello With A Heated Fork' on Alive Records CD 0022 The Deviants 'Fragments Of Broken Probes' on Captain Trip CTCD 046 'The Deviants Have Left The Planet' on Captain Trip CTCD 163 The Deviants Live 'Barbarian Princes' on Captain Trip CTCD 189 The Deviants 'This CD Is Condemned' on Total Energy NER 3027
Skooshny Skooshny 'Water' on Minus Zero Records MZR-4 Available online from Minus Zero Records
Andy Colquhoun Andy Colquhoun 'Pick-up The Phone America' on Captain Trip CTCD 292 (2001) Mail order from Captain Trip (Japan) or contact Andy Colquhoun for ordering info Ken Shimamoto review of Pick-Up The Phone America Check out the LA Rock review!