By the time the late sixties rolled around, the world seemed to have been taken over by musicians. Rock stars had more influence than anybody, they were worshipped like gods. Music flowed like wine as the sounds of folk singers and British rock bands alike poured out of record players in every home. It was a time of excitement and creativity, but to the older generation, it seemed the world had become overrun by unorthodox derelicts with long hair and tight pants. There was one man, however, who would take it upon himself to bring these vagabonds down a peg.
Sergeant Norman Pilcher was a British police officer who had transferred to the Drug Squad in 1967. He determined that his path, his calling, was to take down the rock gods who wielded too much power - by whatever means necessary. His determination to target the famous garnered him his own sort of fame, as his name soon became synonymous with narc. Soon after his transfer, rock stars would find themselves in hot water as Pilcher tracked them down one by one. He made a list and stuck to it as he moved through the names, knocking each star over like a domino.
First on his list was folk-singer Donovan. The face of flower power and peace, Donovan was far from being a criminal. Unlike many of the rockers of the time, Donovan didn’t hold a bad-boy image and the last adjective that would ever describe him would be “intimidating.” This made him an easy target for Pilcher.
Pilcher devised the perfect setup to nab his first star. He and his men hid while an undercover policewoman knocked on the door of the apartment Donovan shared with his friend, Gypsy Dave. Dave peered outside, only to see a small, disheveled woman knocking. “It’s me,” she said. There was an air of suspicion, but with no reason to refuse, Dave opened the door. In poured a crowd of brutish police officers who manhandled Dave as they searched the apartment. Dave called out to Donovan, warning him, but it was too late. The officers ransacked the home and destroyed Donovan’s beloved decorations until they revealed they had found a piece of cannabis - cannabis that Donovan claimed not to have had. He said that anything they’d had, they would’ve used. Nonetheless, Donovan was arrested and charged with possession, forever labeled as a criminal. Pilcher ticked off the first box on his list.
Not long after, John Lennon found himself as Pilcher’s next target, but not before he poked the bear with his song “I Am The Walrus.” His line “Semolina Pilchard,” was suspected to be a jab at Sergeant Pilcher. He’d described Pilcher as a “head-hunting cop” who “went ‘round and [busted] every pop star he could get his hands on, and he got famous. Some of the pop stars had dope in their house and some of them didn’t.” John, unlike Donovan, knew what was coming, however. He’d been tipped off, but that hadn’t settled his nerves. Fearful, John thoroughly cleansed his home, ensuring he got every crack and crevice. He was determined to make sure there was absolutely nothing he could be charged for in his home. When the day came, Pilcher arrived with his men and had the home surrounded - although, at first, they didn’t announce who they were. Frightened, John refused to open the door. Soon enough, officers were pounding on the doors and windows, demanding to be let in. When they finally gained access, the officers found nothing. Frustrated, Pilcher was determined to take down the Beatle. He called in the search dogs, who would find 219.1 grains of hashish and traces of it in various locations. John was arrested and charged with possession, but not before Pilcher, the glorified groupie, got him to sign a few Beatles albums for his children.
Pilcher’s list of names was expansive, but it was by no means a secret. Journalists had gotten a look at the list, and tipped off the stars that would soon be targeted - often with a phone call that went something like “Has Pilcher gotten you yet?” Brian Jones was one of the lucky stars who had received a call like this. Like John, Brian purged his apartment, removing any trace of illegal substances. But Pilcher wasn’t keen on failure, so he was prepared as he entered Brian’s apartment and immediately beelined for the bedroom. On the bed, he found a “purple Moroccan-looking wallet with this iffy-looking grass in it.” Of course, it had been planted. Pilcher also claimed to have found one-thousandth of a gram of cocaine and teased Brian, saying “Well I’m not going to charge you with this, am I?” It seemed Pilcher saw himself as string master in a cruel and twisted puppet show.
Brian Jones wasn’t the only Rolling Stone to be targeted by Pilcher, however. He also nabbed Mick Jagger and Keith Richards - Mick for possession of four tablets of amphetamines, and Keith for “allowing his house to be used for the purpose of smoking cannabis.” Keith’s bust was far more dramatic as the police arrived unannounced under the cover of night, giving Pilcher his perfect “Gotcha” moment. The morning papers were painted with big black letters - “ROLLING STONE ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES” It lived in infamy as the Redlands Bust. Mick was sentenced to three months in prison, and Keith to an entire year and a half. The people were outraged. These were their stars, their gods. How could they spread their gospel of electric guitar sounds from behind bars? The authorities ultimately relented, shortening their sentences dramatically. Mick spent three nights in prison, Keith, only one.
One of Pilcher’s last busts was that of George and Pattie Harrison. Every move was thoroughly calculated as Pilcher prepared to take down the quiet Beatle and his model wife. Pilcher arrived at the couple’s home midday - on the day of Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman’s wedding. George was at Apple, Pattie, home alone - perfect, and planned. They searched the house as Pattie nervously called George to tell him what was happening. Finally, Pilcher emerged triumphant as he held a piece of hashish he claimed to have found in one of George’s shoes. But, with no George, they couldn’t do much. Instead, Pilcher and his squad took it upon themselves to make tea and watch TV, even asking Pattie, “Are the Beatles making any new music?” When George finally arrived at home, he told Pilcher, “I’m a tidy man. I keep my socks in the sock drawer and stash in the stash box. It’s not mine.” The pair were arrested and charged, but released on bail just in time to make it to Paul’s party. This suspicious bust signaled the end if Pilcher’s vendetta.
One star who wriggled out of Pilcher’s deathly grip was Eric Clapton. Clapton was at The Pheasantry, a music venue, when there was a knock on the door - “Postman, special delivery.” Clapton knew of Pilcher and his uncouth, corrupt ways and immediately escaped to safety through the back door.
Pilcher earned himself a reputation as an amoral cop with dubious tactics, which had even included paying informants with drugs. It was largely believed, and for good reason, that Pilcher wasn’t doing this to uphold the law or to save people from the grips of drugs, but to attract his own fame and satisfy tabloids. This was especially apparent when most of his victims claimed that they’d been framed, that Pilcher had planted the drugs they’d been found guilty of possessing. The Groupie Cop displayed his arrests like trophies as he proudly said, “You know, I’m the guy who took down Mick Jagger.” But Pilcher’s corruption didn’t go unchecked.
In 1973, after a long laborious drug case, Pilcher was convicted of perjury. He attempted to flee to Australia but was detained and brought back to Britain to face justice. After an eight-week trial, Justice Melford Stevenson told him “You poisoned the wells of criminal justice and set about it deliberately… What you have done is to provide material for the crooks, cranks, and do-gooders who united to blacken the police whenever the opportunity offers.” Finally held accountable, Pilcher was sentenced to four years of imprisonment, further embellishing his corrupt attempts to destroy a community of musicians.
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