# Twink (musician)
**Twink** is the stage name of **John Charles Edward Alder**, an English rock drummer and singer who was a member of the psychedelic-era bands the Fairies, Tomorrow, the [Pretty Things](https://www.edgepedia.org/pretty-things), and the [Pink Fairies](https://www.edgepedia.org/pink-fairies), and who recorded the 1970 solo album *Think Pink*. AllMusic calls him a mainstay of the British psychedelic movement.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903) Since 2006 he has performed under the name Mohammed Abdullah John Alder.[2](https://www.distorsioni.net/canali/interviste/italianenglish-version-5)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / stage name | John Charles Edward Alder, known as Twink; Mohammed Abdullah John Alder since his 2006 conversion to Islam[3](https://psychedelicscene.com/2023/06/21/think-pink-v-by-twink-album-review/) |
| Bands | The Fairies (1964), Tomorrow (1967), the Pretty Things (1968), the Pink Fairies (1970–1971), Stars (1972)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903) |
| Signature album | *Think Pink* (1970, Polydor), produced by Mick Farren, recorded in July 1969[4](https://therisingstorm.net/twink-think-pink/) |
| Nickname origin | Scottish fans of the Fairies sent him Twink Home Perm because of his curly hair; bandmates made it his name[5](https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2012/11/tomorrow-pretty-things-pink-fairies.html) |
| Later solo series | *Think Pink II* (2015), *Think Pink III* (2018), *Think Pink IV* (2019), *Think Pink 5* (2023)[3](https://psychedelicscene.com/2023/06/21/think-pink-v-by-twink-album-review/) |
| Standing | AllMusic: "a mainstay of the British psychedelic movement"; a retrospective review calls him a seminal figure of London's 1960s psychedelic scene[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903) • [6](https://psychedelicscene.com/2024/02/02/the-psych-ward-think-pink-by-twink/) |
## Nickname
Alder explained the origin of the name in a 2012 interview: while he was with the Fairies in 1964 and 1965, Scottish fans kept sending him Twink Home Perm, described as [Eric Clapton](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-clapton)'s favorite, because he had very curly hair. His bandmates began calling him Twink and the name stuck.[5](https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2012/11/tomorrow-pretty-things-pink-fairies.html) In a 2021 interview he noted that he adopted the name long before it became associated with young gay men.[7](https://psychedelicscene.com/2021/12/12/interview-twink/)
## Early career: the Fairies and Tomorrow
Alder made his first appearance on the music scene in 1963 playing with Dane Stephens and the Deep Beats, a band from [Colchester](https://www.edgepedia.org/colchester); after they signed with Decca a year later, the group took on the name the Fairies.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903) Rechristened Twink, he joined the psychedelic band Tomorrow in 1967, alongside singer Keith West, guitarist [Steve Howe](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-howe) (later of Yes), and bassist John "Junior" Wood, and appeared on their lone album in 1968.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903) • [8](https://retroforgerecords.com/bands/tomorrow) With Wood he then formed the short-lived Aquarian Age, which disbanded after the single "10,000 Words in a Cardboard Box."[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903)
He next joined the Pretty Things, appearing on their rock opera *S.F. Sorrow*, which one retrospective calls a critical contribution to the canon of British psychedelia, before leaving the band in 1969.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903) • [6](https://psychedelicscene.com/2024/02/02/the-psych-ward-think-pink-by-twink/)
## Think Pink and the Pink Fairies
**Solo debut.** Twink recorded *Think Pink* in July 1969 and released it on Polydor in 1970, with production by [Mick Farren](https://www.edgepedia.org/mick-farren) of the Deviants.[4](https://therisingstorm.net/twink-think-pink/) The sessions drew on the [Notting Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/notting-hill) scene of the late sixties, with contributions from Pretty Things members John Povey, Viv Prince, and Vic Unitt, Pink Fairies members Paul Rudolph and Russell Hunter, John Junior Wood, and [Steve Peregrin Took](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-peregrin-took), formerly of Tyrannosaurus Rex, who was his chief compositional collaborator.[4](https://therisingstorm.net/twink-think-pink/) AllMusic's review describes the album as pure psychedelic acid rock and highlights "The Coming of the Other One," "The Sparrow Is a Sign," and "Ten Thousand Words in a Cardboard Box."[9](https://www.allmusic.com/album/think-pink-mw0000006504) A retrospective survey calls it "perhaps the last hurrah of genuine old-school UK psychedelia."[4](https://therisingstorm.net/twink-think-pink/)
The *Think Pink* sessions led directly to the Pink Fairies, which Twink founded with members of the Deviants.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903) By one account the Pink Fairies began as a loose drinking club centered on the Deviants, the Pretty Things, and Steve Took, before the name was extended into The Pink Fairies Motorcycle Club and Old-Style Rock and Roll Band.[7](https://psychedelicscene.com/2021/12/12/interview-twink/) Twink played on their 1971 debut *Never Never Land*, recorded the single "The Snake" backed with "Do It," and appeared on the *Glastonbury Fayre* LP, then left the lineup.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903) • [5](https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2012/11/tomorrow-pretty-things-pink-fairies.html) A 2024 profile notes he was the psychedelic component of the band, the rest of which carried more of a punk element.[3](https://psychedelicscene.com/2023/06/21/think-pink-v-by-twink-album-review/)
## Stars and the later 1970s
In 1972, after a move from London to Cambridge and a spell with the Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band, Twink formed Stars with [Syd Barrett](https://www.edgepedia.org/syd-barrett) and bassist Jack Monk.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903) • [5](https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2012/11/tomorrow-pretty-things-pink-fairies.html) The group was short-lived: Barrett walked offstage halfway through their debut live appearance and did not return.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903) Twink spent much of the rest of the decade taking occasional session work, joined a 1975 Pink Fairies reunion, and issued the solo EP *Do It (With the Fairies)* in 1978.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903)
## Later recordings
After a long absence from the studio, Twink issued *You Need a Fairy Godmother* in 1989, a live record cut with the neo-psychedelic band Plasticland, followed by *Mr. Rainbow* a year later.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903) In the same period he collaborated with Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond on the album *Magic Eye*.[6](https://psychedelicscene.com/2024/02/02/the-psych-ward-think-pink-by-twink/)
From 2015 he revived the *Think Pink* name as a series: *Think Pink II* (2015), with backing by the Italian neo-psychedelic band Technicolour Dream; *Think Pink III* (2018); *Think Pink IV* (2019), a space-rock album with the Canadian band Moths & Locusts; and *Think Pink 5* (2023), a sparser, more solo-oriented record with spoken-word passages.[3](https://psychedelicscene.com/2023/06/21/think-pink-v-by-twink-album-review/) The 2023 review noted his 2006 conversion to Islam, under which he took the name Mohammed Abdullah.[3](https://psychedelicscene.com/2023/06/21/think-pink-v-by-twink-album-review/)
## Standing in British psychedelia
Commentators place Twink among the core figures of the First Wave of British Psychedelia: he drummed for Tomorrow, whose single album helped launch Steve Howe's career; played on *S.F. Sorrow*; founded the Pink Fairies; and, unusually for the scene's alumni, continued releasing psychedelic recordings into the 2020s.[3](https://psychedelicscene.com/2023/06/21/think-pink-v-by-twink-album-review/) • [6](https://psychedelicscene.com/2024/02/02/the-psych-ward-think-pink-by-twink/) [Joe Boyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-boyd), the producer and author who documented the UK underground, called Twink's free-form performance of "Revolution" with Tomorrow at the UFO Club the apotheosis of the 1960s UK underground, a judgment Twink said honored him.[5](https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2012/11/tomorrow-pretty-things-pink-fairies.html)
## References
1. [Twink Biography by Jason Ankeny, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/twink-mn0000200903)
2. [John "Twink" Alder interview (Italian/English version), Distorsioni](https://www.distorsioni.net/canali/interviste/italianenglish-version-5)
3. [Think Pink V by Twink, Album Review, Psychedelic Scene Magazine (2023)](https://psychedelicscene.com/2023/06/21/think-pink-v-by-twink-album-review/)
4. [Twink "Think Pink" 1970, The Rising Storm review](https://therisingstorm.net/twink-think-pink/)
5. [Tomorrow, The Pretty Things, The Pink Fairies interview with John Alder (Twink), It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine (2012)](https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2012/11/tomorrow-pretty-things-pink-fairies.html)
6. [The Psych Ward: Think Pink by Twink, Psychedelic Scene Magazine (2024)](https://psychedelicscene.com/2024/02/02/the-psych-ward-think-pink-by-twink/)
7. [Interview: Twink, Psychedelic Scene Magazine (2021)](https://psychedelicscene.com/2021/12/12/interview-twink/)
8. [Tomorrow: History, Sound & Essential Album, RetroForge Records](https://retroforgerecords.com/bands/tomorrow)
9. [Twink: Think Pink Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/think-pink-mw0000006504)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Rock, metal, and popular-band musicians › Psychedelic and acid rock*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license