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BOOKS (Fiction)
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THE TEXTS OF FESTIVAL (1973)
The gauche first novel. In a post apocalyptic environmental disaster world, where the technology has been reduced to the level of the Wild Bunch, sixties rock songs are treated as religious texts and character called Iggy kills a lot of people. (I was pretty young at the time.) UK hardback and trade -- Hart/Davis McGibbon, UK paperback -- Mayflower Books. US paperback -- Avon Books. Copies sometimes show up in the secondhand section.
THE TALE OF WILLY'S RATS (1974)
My only non-science fiction, non-fantasy novel so far. The story of a heavily drugged rock & roll band in the late sixties. UK paperback -- Mayflower Books. Out of print and impossible to find and maybe just as well.
THE QUEST OF THE DNA COWBOYS (1976)
The first of four psychedelic adventure novels in a world were reality has to maintained by technological devices or else it turns into "the nothings". All worldly goods are supplied by Stuff Central and only the Minstrel Boy really knows where he's at. UK paperback -- Mayflower Books. Out of print and a collectors' item. Attempts are being made to have the trilogy republished and any e mail support would be greatly welcomed. Click to BYRON 4D's Home Page
THE SYNAPTIC MANHUNT (1976)
The second DNA Cowboys book. (As above)
THE NEURAL ATTROCITY (1977)
The third DNA Cowboys book. We will now wait twelve years for the next one. (As above)
THE FEELIES (1978 & 1988)*
Nilhilist fantasy of the punk era that actually invents something very akin to a permanent virtual reality. Also a murderous TV gameshow. Cited by some as a major precursor of cyberpunk. UK deluxe illustrated trade -- Big 0 Publishing.
A considerably updated and rewritten version was published in US paperback by Del Rey in 1988.
THE SONG OF PHAID THE GAMBLER (1981)
The publishers told me, after the DNA cowboys only caught on with the weird minority and no one bought the virtual reality of The Feelies, "Mick, why don't you write real sci fi like Star Wars." So I went out and wrote, at some length, what, to be honest, is Maverick in the far distant future. UK paperback -- New English Library. Out of print, but US copies are easy to find.
PROTECTORATE (1985)
Mad poet leads underclass uprising against an alien controled police state on Earth in the far future. Part of the problem is that alien communication devices don't work. UK paperback -- New English Library. US paperback -- Ace Books. Out of print. Some copies show up now and then.
PHAID THE GAMBLER (1986)
In the US, the single volume UK version of The Song Phaid The Gambler was deemed too long. It was very slightly rewritten and cut into this and...
CITIZEN PHAID (1987)
...the second volume. US paperback -- Ace Books. Some science fiction stores have it in stock.
CORP.S.E. (1986)
Title is an acronym for Corporate Security Exec. A hitman story in a near, multinational future. UK paperback -- New English Library. E mail me. I may have some copies. Ugly cover though.
VICKERS (1988)
In the USA, they though CORP.S.E was too Stephen King so it was called Vickers after the lead character. USA paperback -- Avon Books. Better cover.
THEIR MASTER'S WAR (1987)
Really a kind of long range sequel to Protectorate. Humans are used as slave combat grunts by aliens in an intergallactic war. Very popular with 14 year old boys. US paperback -- Del Rey. UK paperback -- Sphere.
THE LONG ORBIT (1988)*
This is probably the closest I ever got to a conventional (?) cyberpunk novel, except the hero thinks he's Humphrey Bogart and the solution to the dilemma is for the workers in space to form a union. US paperback -- Del Rey
EXIT FUNTOPIA (1989)*
This was the original title of The Long Orbit. The British publishers liked it better and so it was. UK paperback -- Sphere.
THE ARAMAGEDDON CRAZY*
The religious right conquers America, but is brought down by mass hysteria that the Rapture has come. One of my personal favorites. US paperback -- Del Rey. UK paperback -- Orbit.
THE LAST STAND OF THE DNA COWBOYS (1989)*
So far, the last of the DNA cowboys stories. US paperback -- Del Rey. UK paperback -- Orbit. Israeli hardback -- Ketterpress (Hebrew translation)
MARS -- THE RED PLANET (1990)*
A martian western, capitalist v communists, but boy did I screw up. I thought it would take twenty years for the Soviet Union to collapse. In fact it took ten minutes and, by the time the book was out it was nonsense. US paperback -- Del Rey.
NECROM (1991)*
Drunken washed up rock star is forced to save interdimensional worlds from some great big H.P.Lovecraft type thingy. Contains a great interdimensional desperado called Yancey Slide. US paperback -- Del Rey
(*copies of the preceding seven paperbacks may be obtained by mailorder from Glenn Branca - Cyberpunk Novels Mail Order )
THE TIME OF FEASTING
The current hardback vampire novel. Contemporary nosferatu colony in Lower Manahattan battle internal and external threats. Crically acclaimed. US harback -- Tor Books. US Paperback Tor Books. Currently in print.
BACK FROM HELL
When I was broke and much against my better judgement, I wrote a quick novel related to the Car Wars role playing game (for cash!) This is it. Cheap, cheerful and violent. Tor Books paperback.
Currently in print.
and upcoming are...
JIM MORRISON'S ADVENTURES IN THE AFTERLIFE
A magnificently strange novel that will be published in hardback in November 1999 by St. Martins Press.
DARKLOST
The sequel to The Time Of Feasting will be published in US hardback by Tor Books in January 1999.
BOOKS (Non Fiction)
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WATCH OUT KIDS with Edward Barker (1972)
Actually my first book, a history of rebel youth culture and a political rant, essentially the sum total of all the years I labored in the underground press. Designed and heavily illustrated by the late Edward Barker with addition visuals by Rick Griffin, Spain Rodriguez, Chris Welch, Skip Williamson and many others. UK hardback and trade -- Hutchinson/Open Gate books. Sometimes shows up on sixties collectors lists.
GET ON DOWN (1977)
A collection of rock and roll posters of the sixties and early seventies, designed by Richard Adams and most notable for the excellent printing including metallic inks and for a major selection of the UK psychedelic posters of Micheal English and Nigel Weymouth. Kids used to rip the books apart and frame the individual posters. UK large format trade paperback -- Big O Books. Also a French edition. Hard to find.
ELVIS IN HIS OWN WORDS (1977)
Part of the Omnibus Press "in their own words" series. Done very quickly after the man's death, and a miracle that I could find enough interviews and public statements by Elvis to fill a book. Still in print.
THE ROLLING STONES IN THEIR OWN WORDS with David Dalton (1980)
Another Omnibus Press quicky in the same series. Still in print.
THE ROCK & ROLL CIRCUS (1978)
A lame potboiling picture book about touring and bands on the road. One of those things you do for money and is mercifully lost forever. I gave my last copy to Johnny Thunders who begged me for it because there was picture of him on the back cover. I can't remember the publisher.
ELVIS -- THE ILLUSTRATED RECORD with Roy Carr (1982)
Yes, I've written a lot of books about Elvis. It started as fan worship when I was 12 and never stopped. Each time I think I've laid the ghost, something new comes along. This, however is a fine piece of musicology, examining as it does every Elvis recording in critcal detail. Lavishly illustrated. UK hardback and paperback -- Eel Pie Books. US hardback and paperback -- Crown Books. Secondhand copies fairly common.
THE BLACK LEATHER JACKET (1984)
The complete social, cultural and political history of the black leather jacket. Bound in silver and black vinyl. Cool. Got made into a TV show. US hardback -- Abbeville Press. Still apparently available from Plexus books in the UK if you can find them.
ELVIS AND THE COLONEL with Dirk Valenga (1988)
So far, the definitive biography of Colonel Tom Parker. Made the New York Times best seller list for about one week. US hardback -- Delacourt. US paperback -- Dell. UK hardback -- Grafton Books.
Still in print.
THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO ELVIS (1995)
Don't panic! This is the weird one. An A-Z of all that is strange since the death of Elvis Presley plus and introduction that supports the theory that Elvis is a religion in the making. UK trade -- Book Press. Still in print.
THE CIA FILES
A lavishly illustrated color coffee table volume on the Central Intelligence Agency considered as the heart of darkness. US/UK hardback by CLB. Currently in print but not super well distributed. Try Barnes and Noble Online or Amazon.com.
CONSPIRACIES, LIES, AND HIDDEN AGENDAS
And A-Z of (like the cover says) "our deepest secret fears from the Antichrist to the Trenchcoat Mafia. US trade paperback. In stores in July 1999.
RECORDINGS
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(All are full length albums unless otherwise indicated)
PTOOFF! by The Deviants (1967)
The first album I ever made when we were too ignorant to know the rules so we ignored them. Hailed in recent years as a psychedelic street punk classic. For much more detailed information hit the link -- The Deviants "Ptooff!"
DISPOSABLE by The Deviants (1968)
The Deviants' second album created with to much help from amphetamines. We had also learned enough about music to be incompetent. Considered a violent monster of a record by some contemporary critics. E mail for availablity of CD reissues. deviant4d@aol.com Bootlegged in Germany.
DEVIANTS #3 (1969)
Paul Rudolph came in on guitar too late to save the band from blowing apart. My least favorite Deviants Album. E mail deviant4d@aol.com for availablity of CDs.
MONA -- THE CARNIVOROUS CIRCUS by Mick Farren (1970)
My first and least favorite album on my own. I mean, there I am -- shell shocked after being excomunicated by the best of The Deviants after I gave them the best years of my life, plus Twink on one side and Took on the other each with his own warped agenda and I'm concerned with nothing except being weird with no positive concept except the fairly nebulous complaint that "society sucks". The Paul Buckmaster Bartok-style cello solo on the Bo Diddley title track does give me a lot of pleasure, however, and someone once told me that John and Yoko liked this album. Unfortunately the person who told me was trying to prove that J&Y had completely lost their minds. CD released by Line (Germany).
PLAY WITH FIRE/LOST JOHNNY (single) by Mick Farren (1976)
I'm in GBGBs and Terry Ork wants to know if I want to make a record in a studio in White Plains in two days time. So I did. Drunk.
SCREWED UP (EP) by Mick Farren and the Deviants (1977)
Determined not to repeat the Ork debacle, we banned cocaine and whiskey from the studio and came up with three punk type pop tunes and one other. Guess which. One track appears on the Stiff box set.
VAMPIRES STOLE MY LUNCH MONEY by Mick Farren (1977)
I fear, in retrospect, the pop got a little out of hand here, because that was the way Larry Wallis (producer) wanted it. On the other hand, The Trouser Press Record Guide called it "nakedly painful" and "as powerful as rock gets". CD released on Line (Germany).
BROKEN STATUE/IT'S ALL IN THE PICTURE (single) by Mick Farren (1978)
Separate session single that followed the above. A rare item, but two great tracks. Outtake versions are on the Japanese compliation Fragments Of Broke Probes (Captain Trips Records)
HUMAN GARBAGE by the Deviants (1984)
Me, Larry Wallis, Wayne Kramer, Duncan Sanderson and George Butler live at Dingwalls. Everything you might expect. (CD available via homepage)
WHO SHOT YOU DUTCH? (12" EP) by Wayne Kramer & Mick Farren
The real permanent record of the r&b musical The Last Words Of Dutch Schultz that ran for more than hundred performances off-Broadway in the mid-eighties. On one side of the 12" is a long version of the overture, produced by Don Was before he went on to become producer to the stars and on the other are three songs from the show. (Hard to find)
DEATHTONGUE by Wayne Kramer featuring John Collins & Mick Farren
Wayne plays guitar and bass, John Collins does the singing. All I really did was to co-write, co-produce, sing some back up and add a couple of spoken naratives. That the record company should have stuck my picture on the cover was a commercial ploy that I probably should have vetoed at the time, but didn't. Nice stuff on this CD, though, even though the drums sound a but electronic. (Some copies are still around.)
GRINGO MADNESS by Mick Farren's Tijuana Bible
One critic called this "The Deviants Unplugged" and I guess that's a good a description as any. Features Henry Beck and John Collins on guitars. John sings a couple of tunes, and do a bit of singing but mostly it's spoken word over swamp blues and psychedelic surf and I like it a lot. (Can be ordered via Ace Records Home Page )
GUNFIRE IN THE NIGHT/TOUCHED BY THE FIRE by Lunar Malice
The only recording by the first band coagulated by the trio of Farren, Colquhoun and Lancaster. A nice couple of Farren/Colquhoun songs, marred by a overly hurried recording. Cool cover and clear vinyl, though. (There may be copies around.)
THE DEATHRAY TAPES by Mick Farren and Jack
Lancaster
Live CD, mainly spoken, word cut before an invited crowd in Santa Monica. Critic Verne Panache called it "rough hewn beat poetry set to soaring horns and and wicked funk bass projectiles". I wouldn't argue with that. Special kudos to Doug Lunn on bass. Guests included Andy Colquhoun, Wayne Kramer and Brad Dourif. (More information can be obtained from Mick Farren & Jack Lancaster "The Deathray Tapes" )
FRAGMENTS OF BROKEN PROBES by Mick Farren and the Deviants.
A fine collection of outakes, live tracks and other stuff, including the brand new nine minute piece "Dogpoet." Dogpoet (Can be obtained by e mailing from the home page.)
EATING JELLO WITH A HEATED FORK by Deviants IXVI
The studio album that followed about a year after The Deathray Tapes. Most the same suspects, except Paul Ill on bass and Brock Avery on drums. Critcally acclaimed (see home page) and my favorite recording to date. A gem. (More information can be obtained from Deviants ixvi "Eating Jello With A Heated Fork" )
THE DEVIANTS HAVE LEFT THE PLANET
In many respects this is "Broken Probes II". Studio tracks from the last two years from Mick Farren, Andy Colquhoun and Phil Taylor, including the standout track "Aztec Calendar" plus recent live tracks and some archive outtakes. Released by Capt Trips in Japan or available from the home page.
TELEVISION
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THE GALAXY RANGERS
I wrote six episodes of the "cowboys in space" animated cartoon that proved to me that working for Tv can be fun and downright silly. A cult seems to have formed around the now off the air show. Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers
THE BLACK LEATHER JACKET
A one hour documentary featuring everyone from Elvis and Marlon Brando to Lemmy and Paul Simenon and narrated by Dennis Hopper. Airs now and then on PBS.
FEAR IN THE DARK
Another one hour documentary made for A&E in the US and Channel in England. Narrated by Christopher Lee. Sometimes airs at Halloween.
THEATRE
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PHUN CITY
I don't know if you can call a three day rock festival "theatre", but I ran it back in 1970 along with Boss Goodman and the late Edward Barker, and it happened and it featured a selection of performers that included The MC5, The Pretty Things, The Pink Fairies, The Edgar Broughton Band and William Burroughs. And boy were we proud.
A CRIMINAL SORORITY
Four women prisoners sit around in a cell, bitching and bonding and waiting to hear their sentences. Ran for seven weeks before the LA riots forced it to close. Also ran for some months in Miami.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
A washed up rock star decides to drink himself to death in a remote Central American whorehouse, and finds that that isn't as easy as he thought. So far, only presented as a reading at the Burbidge Theatre in LA. But one day...
POETRY
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THE LONESOME DEATH OF GENE VINCENT
A collection of poetry and lyrics, now out of print.
THE ROAD TO ARMAGEDDON IS BEST TRAVELLED BY CADILLAC
A superior collection of poetry, lyrics, stories and other short pieces. (Can be ordered by e mail from the home page.)
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