An English drummer, singer and songwriter who was a central figure in the English psychedelic movement, and an actor.
Alder was born in Colchester, Essex, England, into a musical family. His father's mother was a concert pianist and soloist. Alder has said he was always interested in music as a child.
Alder's career began in 1963 as a member of a rhythm and blues band from Colchester called Dane Stephens and the Deep Beats. After a year, the band changed its name to the Fairies. The Fairies were sent gifts and Alder, having long curly hair, regularly received bottles of Twink brand home perm lotion. It was at this time that he adopted Twink as his stage name. The band split at some date before 1967.
In 1965, Twink moved to London and lived in Chelsea. When the Fairies came to a halt, he joined a rhythm and blues/soul music band called the In-Crowd after its previous drummer had left the band. Other members were Steve Howe (guitar) and Keith West. A few months later, the band was renamed Tomorrow. The success of West's solo recording Excerpt From A Teenage Opera resulted in the band breaking up.
Twink replaced Skip Alan in the Pretty Things and participated in the making of the album S.F. Sorrow. He was also a member of this group when they appeared in the Norman Wisdom film 'What's Good For The Goose'. He became noted for outrageous behaviour, such as climbing the speaker stacks and diving into the audience when the band performed at a free open-air concert in London's Hyde Park.
He recorded his first solo album, Think Pink, with the Deviants, including Mick Farren (who produced the album), Paul Rudolph (guitar) and Steve Peregrin Took.
The first version of the Pink Fairies featured Think Pink musicians Twink, Took and Farren, and was named after the Pink Fairies Rock 'n' Roll Club, a loose group of people including Took, Farren, the Deviants and Syd Barrett (still at the time in Pink Floyd). They were resident in Ladbroke Grove, the home of the UK Underground. During this period, he periodically performed with fellow Ladbroke Grove community band Hawkwind. He also collaborated with Hawkwind founder Nik Turner in the band PinkWind, which released two albums.
The second version of the Pink Fairies was formed with Twink and former Deviants (but without Mick Farren). He left the Pink Fairies in 1971 (although he would periodically return) and after a spell in Morocco moved to Cambridge in early 1972 where he played in the short lived trio Stars with Syd Barrett and bassist Jack Monck, after which he moved back to London.
Following an injury sustained in a car crash, he worked as a vocalist with the Rings in early 1977, releasing one of the first punk rock singles.
Twink coined the term acid punk to describe his music and went on to release an EP Do It '77 in 1978.
In 1986 he released a solo single which inaugurated his new, self-titled record label.
During the 1987 Pink Fairies reunion tour. Twink met members of Plasticland which resulted in the collaboration You Need a Fairy Godmother, released in 1989 on Midnight Records.
In 1990 Twink released his second solo album, Mr Rainbow.