Pretty Things

The Pretty Things are a 1960s and 1970s rock and roll band from London.

Original band members

Guitarist Dick Taylor (born 28 January, 1943, in Dartford, Kent) was an original member of The Rolling Stones, before founding The Pretty Things with singer Phil May (born Phillip May, on 9 November, 1944, in Dartford, Kent), at Sidcup Art College in September 1963.

They recruited Brian Pendleton (13 April, 1944 in Wolverhampton–16 May, 2001 in Maidstone, Kent) on rhythm guitar; John Stax (born John Fullegar, 6 April, 1944 in Crayford, Kent) on bass; and, after trying a couple of different drummers, Viv Prince (born on 9 August, 1944).

Early career

They caused a sensation in England, and their first three singles— "Rosalyn" #41, "Don't Bring Me Down" #10, and the self-penned "Honey I Need" at #13—appeared in the UK singles chart in 1964–65. They never had a hit in the United States, but had considerable success in their native United Kingdom and in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and the Netherlands in the middle of the decade.

However, in the U.S. they, along with The Yardbirds and Van Morrison's Them, were a huge influence on hundreds of garage bands, including the MC5 and The Seeds.

Their early material was hard-edged blues-rock influenced by Bo Diddley (they took their name from Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing") and Jimmy Reed, much like that of their contemporaries The Stones and The Yardbirds. They were known for wild "rock and roll" behaviour and shocking the establishment; their song "Midnight to Six Man" defined the Mod lifestyle. Around this time the first of what would be many personnel changes over the years also began, with Prince the first to go late in 1965; he was replaced by Skip Alan. Pendleton left late in 1966, and was not initially replaced. Then, Stax quit early in 1967 and Jon Povey and Wally Waller joined to make the band a five piece once again.

After an uncomfortable flirtation with mainstream pop on the Emotions album in 1967, they embraced psychedelia, producing the groundbreaking concept album S.F. Sorrow during 1967-68. This album, released in late 1968, is arguably one of the first rock operas, preceding The Who's Tommy by about a year. It was recorded in the legendary Abbey Road Studios six months later than The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Each album shares a similar forward-thinking late-1960s psychedelic sound (as well as sharing the same record producer, Norman Smith, as the Floyd). S.F. Sorrow was followed by the highly-acclaimed record album Parachute, which continued the psychedelic sound and was named "Album of the Year" in 1970 by Rolling Stone Magazine. During this period they also recorded an unreleased record which was later bootlegged as Philippe DeBarge.

Later career

From this point on, the group enjoyed less in the way of commercial success, but the devotion of a strong cult following, especially with critics and other rock musicians. Their material in the early 1970s tended towards more the hard rock and early heavy metal end of the spectrum, although still blues-based, on albums like Silk Torpedo. 1980's Cross Talk saw them incorporating influences of punk and New Wave into their hard rock sound; like most of their records, it was an artistic but not a commercial success.

With a new manager, Mark St John, they gigged sporadically during the 1980s/early 1990s until, in 1995, they reformed the Cross Talk line-up and added Frank Holland on guitar in place of Peter Tolson. Their label, Snapper Music, issued remastered CDs with many bonus tracks, plus a DVD of a re-recording of S.F. Sorrow at Abbey Road Studios (with Dave Gilmour & Arthur Brown guesting). They toured more frequently, including a tour of the U.S. for the first time in decades.

Original rhythm guitarist Brian Pendleton died of lung cancer in 2001.

In the early 2000's, they released new recordings, including a live album and the studio album Rage Before Beauty.

In 2003, Alan Lakey's biography of the band, Growing Old Disgracefully, was published by Firefly. The book dealt with the long and involved history of the band, and paid special attention to the legal proceedings issued against EMI in the 1990s.

Reportedly, the band are currently working on a new blues album, for release in 2006.

Trivia

The band also made some extra cash by recording a number of songs for the DeWolfe Music Library that eventually were featured in several low-budget films during the 60's and early 70's. Some of these films include 1969's What's Good For the Goose and 1969's Haunted House of Horror and even a couple of soft porn films. Not intended for official release, these songs were later compiled on two records and released under the alias Electric Banana: 1967's Electric Banana, 1968's More Electric Banana, 1969's Even More Electric Banana, 1970's Hot Licks, and 1978's Return of the Electric Banana. The initial releases featured one side of vocal and one side of instrumental tracks. Subsequent releases of these albums generally keep the true identity of the band secret.

The Pretty Things were among the many band and artists that employed session drummer Bobby Graham, who played on their first two albums.

Albums

The Pretty Things (1965) - UK Number 6
Get The Picture (1965)
Emotions (1967)
S.F. Sorrow (1968)
Parachute (1970)
Freeway Madness (1972) – this album had leanings towards country music.
Silk Torpedo (1974)
Savage Eye (1975)
Cross Talk (1980)
Live At Heartbreak Hotel (1984)
Unrepentant (1995)
Resurrection (1999)
Rage... Before Beauty (1999)

As Electric Banana (Music for Film)

Electric Banana (1967)
More Electric Banana (1968)
Even More Electric Banana (1969)
Hot Licks (1970)
The Return Of The Electric Banana (1978)

External links