Of all the UK groups to tour New Zealand in the mid-sixties, it was the Pretty Things who made the greatest impact. Since then Ugly Thing Magazine has published an issue devoted solely to that tour, describing the Pretties as “art student malcontents brought together in one unholy collision of no holes barred 60s R&B and self-expression.” (2006)

Generally, overseas tours played in both New Zealand & Australia to defray costs but not this time. The Pretty Things toured with Sandie Shaw in the August-September school holidays. It was a long tour, with shows in 10 cities. As well as the Pretties & Sandie Shaw, Eden Kane was on the bill. But talk was not about him or Sandie (who as the biggest star with the most hits) was the headline act. Talk was about the Pretties. In fact, at the drop of that proverbial hat, more than 50 years on people still talk about those shows.

It would seem now that promoter Jim Haddleton told the group to be as outrageous as possible. Drummer Viv Prince was outrageous to the extreme, though the others didn’t stand out & misbehave like he did.

There’s been a lot of revisionism in the years since 1965. But the crayfish did tour with Viv. He & Kiwi guitarist Yuk Harrison (from the backing band) held court over it in the foyer of the Royal Hotel in New Plymouth the afternoon they arrived in that provincial city. I was in the foyer that afternoon, along with lots of others. It was all pretty weird. Viv had planned to set fire to the New Plymouth Opera House, did prowl round the stage with a lighted newspaper in the second New Plymouth show, but Yuk doused both the drummer & the lighted paper with a baby’s bath full of cold water. And Viv was taken off the plane after the the tour ended as he was deemed to be too drunk to travel. The others departed NZ on schedule but Viv didn’t get to leave until a couple of days later.

Now, finally the core of Pretties are doing a short tour of Australia just before they retire. I am looking forward to seeing them again ……