Pink Fairies - Finland Freakout 1971

Four acid-soaked jams from freaky Finnish Fairy trip

The first European excursion for The Pink Fairies saw them blowing amps, money and minds at the three-day Ruisrock Festival in Turku, Northern Finland in 1971. Recorded by the state radio station, the three-piece, now without Twink, consisted of Russell Hunter on drums, Paul Rudolph on guitar and vocals, and Duncan Sanderson on bass. Unleashing heavy, acid-drenched jams on the audience, beginning with a blistering attack on The Beatles’ psych classic Tomorrow Never Knows, the Fairies must have blown away the opposition – Juicy Lucy, Jeff Beck, Canned Heat and Fairport Convention – with sheer force.

At 20 minutes, Uncle Harry’s Last Freakout is something of an effort, but the quality of the recording and the great job MLP have done with the sound overall makes it worth it. The crowd shrieks and shouts are all there and there is a palpable feeling of the dizzying swirl that must have been in the heads of the audience as the Fairies battered them.

A powerhouse recording of a band who were at their best live, this captures the Pink Fairies on top form just nine months before the curtain came down. Good notes and photos accompany this release; if only MLP could design sleeve art.

Major League Productions | MLP 17 CD

Reviewed by Jan Zarebski
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