Tex Austin

Rantings of the Loon Pant King

Often more interesting than great battles, royal weddings or grand state occasions are the weird and wonderful tales of ordinary folk. These memories turn into valuable currency as our familiar world is vandalised in the name of progress...

Rantings of the Loon Pant King is a flippant, irreverent and tongue-in-cheek account of Tex Austin’s ‘madventures’ touring with various 1960’s Beat Groups and Mod Bands. After this Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster ride ended he became a fashion guru and the guy who invented loon pants in the early 1970’s. Admittedly a dubious claim to fame, but to be fair, absolutely everybody was wearing these outrageous bell-bottoms at the time and many people made a fortune flogging good old loons.

Originally sold from the back of a minivan at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival featuring the Who and Hendrix, sales went stratospheric when they hit London’s Kensington Market. Flying off shelves nationwide, the loon pant became iconic throughout the UK as the "post hippie" uniform, staying in style for half a decade before being displayed at the V&A Museum…. Tex reveals all this plus a zillion more rants and escapades on his loony trip.

Tex Austin was born in England during the post-war period of austerity and rationing at the end of the 1940s. He discovered rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s and started making records for Decca and Elektra in the 1960s. He then quit the music biz and became famous as the Loon Pant King at London’s Kensington Market during the 70s. Many rants and escapades later he wrote this book to share his loony 'madventures'.