1960's Mod Artists: Drug Use

By: Michael Pedrotti


          Drugs had a major impact on many, if not all of the bands in the 1960's Mod movement. This was largely due to the fact that many of the bands started out playing in night clubs where drugs were very much part of the scene. Just like the old Blues artists of the early part of the century who they got many of their musical inspiration from. Also, in the 1950's and early 1960's, the use of amphetamines like cocaine and heroin were legal and beginning to become widespread among the younger crowds. 

          Many of these artists played several shows a week when touring Europe and the United States. When they weren't touring, they were recording, writing songs, and partying non stop. To keep up with this hectic schedule, most bands began using amphetamines just to make it through the week. some of the new drugs were referred to as purple hearts or purpies, French Blues or black bombers. Artists of this movement also began consorting with and trying to emulate early jazz musicians. This included using marijuana, and later LSD. References to these mind-expanding drugs began appearing in many of the popular songs of this era.

         These new drugs had a very influential effect on many of these artists. They began getting high or tripping on various hallucinogens like shrooms, peyote, and acid to help them come up with new song ideas. This can be seen in the lyrics of their songs and even the song titles. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by the Beatles, about LSD, is just one example out of many where this can be seen. A few more are "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix and "Light my Fire" by the Doors. Amphetamines and pain killers gave them energy and numbed the senses so that they could give wild and crazy performances and get as high as their crowd.

          From the outside looking in, it may have looked like fun and games, but eventually, drug abuse and the insane lifestyle many of these Mod artists lived caught up with them.  Jimi Hendrix was found dead Sept. 18, 1970,  in a London flat of an apparent overdose of prescription sleeping pills. Keith Moon, one of the greatest drummers in history and played for The Who, overdosed on prescription sedatives taken with heavy amounts of alcohol September  7, 1978 in London, just a few weeks after the release of their new album Who Are You.

Works Cited:

Casburn, Melissa M. "A Concise History of the British Mod Movement." (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

Goodwin, Susan and Becky Bradley . "1960-1969." American Cultural History. Lone Star
    College-Kingwood Library, 1999. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.