In Conversation with Joe Beard of The Purple Gang

The Purple Gang have been active ever since their inception in the 1960's. Their guitarist and founder member Christopher Joe Beard (Joe) has been keeping their legacy alive ever since their brush with fame in 1967. Joe got his first guitar lesson off John Mayall who lived in Cheadle Hulme where Joe used to deliver meat to his house!

Coming together as art students at Stockport College, the group's first musical offerings were as The Young Contemporaries Jug Band. Signed to Transatlantic Records, they were introduced to American record producer Joe Boyd who was working with Pink Floyd on their debut single 'Arnold Layne'. Syd Barrett heard that they were recording with Joe on what would become their first single 'Granny Takes A Trip' and reportedly said "They can have Number Two to our Number One".

Syd Barrett also gave Joe Boyd a demo tape of his songs to pass on to the band and asked if they would give his 'Boon Tune' consideration as a follow up single. Their record company suggested they find a cooler name so they opted for The Purple Gang, inspired by The Pink Floyd and a nod to the psychedelic scene they had become such a part of.

The origins of their first single 'Granny Takes A Trip' are actually in Stockport and refer to the movie star Sabrina who was a local glamour girl trying to make it big in Hollywood. When Joe visited the trendy Kings Road boutique 'Granny Takes A Trip' he was inspired to use the shop name for the title of the song but kept the narrative of a girl auditioning for movie roles but never quite making the grade. 

Joe says everyone was convinced that this single was going to be huge. John Peel was lauding it on his radio show saying "I really think Granny is one of the all time greats" and it looked like it would happen until the BBC took exception to the use of the words "trip" and "granny" in the title and said that The Purple Gang were out to "corrupt the nation's youth".

The Purple Gang were poised for international success and it all fell apart at the 11th hour. Despite this huge setback, the band members continued to make music together and years later their song 'Sunset Over The Mersey' knocked Britney Spears off the No.1 spot in Budapest!

Please join us for a chat with Joe about his musical career with fascinating insights that involve many legendary names. His extraordinary story has that 'sliding doors' moment that makes you think of what might have been which is documented in his autobiography 'Taking The Purple'.

The 'In Conversation With' series is supported by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. #ukspf