Cet article de Peter Thomson est paru dans le numéro 348 de l’hebdomadaire britannique Disc, daté du 21 novembre 1964. Pauvre Phil May : harcelé par les fans du groupe, qui lui volent ses chaussures et déchirent ses vêtements, il est obligé de renouveler constamment sa garde-robe !
Transcription
John Stax, bass guitarist with The Pretty Things, was going out to buy some new shirts, a jacket and overcoat—just 48 hours after a party last Friday to celebrate the 21st birthday of Chuck Botfield, lead guitar with The Rockin’ Berries.
But not, I hasten to add, because of anything that happened at that party—even though it was a real rave attended by P. J. Proby, Herman’s Hermits, Jackie Trent, and Pretty Things Viv Prince and Phil May.
“It’s just that we’re always spending money on clothes,” said John. “It’s ridiculous, really. Just recently, at Leicester, Phil lost two pairs of shoes to fans as ‘souvenirs.’ One pair were brand new, and the others were only a week old.
“He also had his jeans and T-shirt ripped. It cost him about sixteen quid to replace them. I hate to think what we all spend on clothes in a month.”
And last Sunday, at Dartford—the boys’ local territory—Phil was pulled off the stand and landed on his ankle. He had to have it bandaged up and seen by a specialist!
But, despite the rough-house treatment, The Pretty Things are looking forward to the Christmas release of their first LP. And, apart from a few Bo Diddley items, they have included a novel instrumental called “13 Chester Street.”
In case you’re looking puzzled, this is the place in Belgravia that the boys have good cause to remember—maybe with mixed feelings.
They were asked to leave because their long hair and their van with lipstick messages from the fans didn’t go down too well in some quarters!
Source : WorldRadioHistory.com (PDF).