Mick Farren: Cover Gallery

Mick Farren , a leading figure in the UK underground, a musician (with The Deviants), lyricist (for Hawkwind, Motorhead, Pink Fairies, etc.), journalist (with IT, the NME, CityBeat and others) and author, died on 27 July 2013 after collapsing on stage whilst performing with The Deviants at the Borderline Club in London.

He was born Michael Anthony Farren in Cheltenham on 3 September 1943 and came to the public attention as the lead singer with The Deviants (originally The Social Deviants) in the late 1960s. The band recorded Ptooff! (1967), Disposable (1968) and 3 (1969) before disbanding. To fulfill his contract, Farran recorded Mona–The Carnivorous Circus (1970) before concentrating on journalism and writing novels.

Following the publication of The Texts of Festival in 1973, he went on to write two dozen novels. Most were published in the USA and had no separate publication in the UK; in fact, Farran had not had a UK paperback out for twenty years bar an omnibus edition of the DNA Cowboys trilogy (which, by the time the omnibus came out, was actually a quartet). His recording career continued in an intermittent way throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, later albums including Eating Jello with a Heated Fork (199), Barbarian Princes (1999) and Dr. Crow (2002).

Farren's autobiography, Give the Anarchist a Cigarette, was published in 2001. Farren and The Deviants had performed at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival and his appearance at The Atomic Sunshine One Day Festival at the Borderline featured a new line-up of the band.

The Text of Festivals (London, Hart-Davis, MacGibbon, 1973)
Mayflower 583-12301-5, 1975, 205pp, 50p. Cover by Peter Jones

The Tale of Willy's Rats
Mayflower 583-12327-9. 1975, 351pp. Cover: photo.

The Quest of the DNA Cowboys
Mayflower 583-12448-8, 1976, 223pp, 60p. Cover by Peter Jones

Synaptic Manhunt
Mayflower 583-12565-4, 1976, 252pp, 75p. Cover by Peter Jones

The Neural Atrocity
Mayflower 583-12603-0, 1977, 191pp, 60p. Cover by Peter Jones

The Feelies (London, Big O, 1978)

The Song of Phaid the Gambler
New English Library 0450-05343-1, Oct 1981, 537pp, £1.75. Cover by Tim White
----, [Xth ed.] Aug 1987, 537pp, £3.95.

Protectorate
New English Library 0450-05708-9, Nov 1984, 252pp £1.95.
----, [2nd ed.?], Aug 1987.

Corpse (a.k.a. Vikers)
New English Library 0450-05841-7, Aug 1986, 304pp, £2.50.

Their Master's War (New York, Ballantine Del Rey, Jan 1988)
Sphere 0747-40269-8, Dec 1988, 295pp, £3.50.

Exit Funtopia (as The Long Orbit, New York, Ballantine Del Rey, Sep 1988)
Sphere 0747-40140-3, Aug 1989, 264pp, £3.50.

Armageddon Crazy (as The Armageddon Crazy, New York, Ballantine Del Rey, May 1989)
Orbit 0747-40470-4, Apr 1990, 282pp, £3.50.

The Last Stand of the DNA Cowboys (New York, Ballantine Del Rey, Sep 1989)
Orbit 0747-40469, Oct 1990, 283pp, £3.50.

Mars - The Red Planet (New York, Ballantine Del Rey, Mar 1990)
(no UK paperback)

Necrom (New York, Ballantine Del Rey, Feb 1991)
(no UK paperback)

The Time of Feasting (New York, Tor, Dec 1996)
(no UK paperback)

Car Warriors: Back From Hell (New York, Tor, Mar 1999)
(no UK paperback)

Jim Morrison's Adventures in the Afterlife (New York, St. Martin's, Nov 1999)
(no UK paperback)

Darklost (New York, Tor, Mar 2000)
(no UK paperback)

More Than Mortal (New York, Tor, Aug 2001)
(no UK paperback)

Underland (New York, Tor, Nov 2002)
(no UK paperback)

Kindling (New York, Tor, Aug 2004)
(no UK paperback)

Conflagration (New York, Tor, Jun 2006)
(no UK paperback)

Omnibus

The DNA Cowboys Trilogy
Do-Not-Press, Aug 2002, 532pp.

Bonus pic... The Tim White cover to The Song of Phaid the Gambler was a sort of wraparound cover but did not wrap around the spine. I've merged the two parts from the front and back, which is why the lettering of the blurb and title looks rather odd.