Calcutta’s The Flintstones burned brightly and briefly at the tail end of the 1960s, channeling the technicolor energy of the global psych boom into a distinctly local pop phenomenon.
Formed by teenage collaborators Clayton Saunders and Rhett May, the group drew clear inspiration from Western acts like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, while embracing the flamboyant, DIY aesthetic of the era’s counterculture. Their stage presence was as striking as their sound—outfitted in handmade, vividly colored clothing stitched from curtain fabric and paired with hand-painted boots, the band embodied the psychedelic moment as much visually as sonically.
Their lone single, “Happy By My Side” backed with “Be Mine,” was recorded in 1968 and released on His Master’s Voice. Written and arranged by Saunders, the record fused bright harmony pop with a shimmering early-psych sensibility, aligning Calcutta with the broader sonic shifts unfolding across London, San Francisco, and beyond.
The release quickly gained traction, climbing to No. 4 on Ceylon’s Top of the Pops chart—an impressive regional breakthrough that hinted at wider potential. But by 1969, the band had dissolved, leaving behind a single recording that would come to define their legacy.
Now reissued, “Happy By My Side” offers a concise yet vivid snapshot of India’s late-’60s psychedelic surge—an era when global influences and local creativity collided to produce something fleeting yet unforgettable.
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