The Pretty Things
By Martin Rots
The Pretty Things were the biggest English band no one ever heard of in America. The line-up changed through the years, but Dick Taylor and Phil May have formed the nucleus of the group in all its different incarnations. Before forming the Pretty Things, Dick Taylor played rhythm guitar in a blues outfit, Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. Playing with him were two of his friends from Sidcup Art College, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. They formed the nucleus of a band constantly in search of a drummer. In April 1962, the three found Brian Jones playing slide guitar in an Ealing club and solicited him to join their band. Brian accepted their job offer and they changed their name to the Rolling Stones. Taylor soon found himself relegated to playing bass. Unhappy with the change, Taylor went back to school, Bill Wyman joined on bass and the Stones went on.
At the London Central School of Art, Taylor met fellow student, Phil May. The two recruited Brian Pendleton (rhythm guitar), John Stax (bass) and Viv Prince (drums) and formed the Pretty Things, named after Bo Diddley's track of the same name. In 1964, they released three singles, all of which charted in the UK. One, Don't Bring Me Down, reached #10 in the UK. None of the releases charted in the states, but they established the band in the UK.
In the years that immediately followed, they appeared to lose their direction. There were many personnel changes around the core of Taylor and May. They played electric blues and pop. There were experiments with psychedelica that eventually led to their first real musical accomplishment, S.F. Sorrow, released in the UK in December 1968 and the US the following year.
Preceding the Who's Tommy by six months, Sorrow may well have been the first real rock opera. It was recorded at Abbey Road during the same period the Beatles were creating Sgt. Pepper. Pink Floyd, in the adjacent studio, were working on Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Sorrow was noteworthy when completed, but no one in the US noticed.
Next came Parachute. The Good Mr. Square featured Lennon/McCartneyesque vocal harmonies. Sickle Clowns has a jazzy feel with a piano carrying the song. Taylor's guitar provides a tasteful, accessible bridge that compliments the multi-layered percussion and rhythm sections. Despite Parachute being Rolling Stone's Album of the Year for 1970, it sold miserably in the states and they remained unknown.
In 1974, TPT released Silk Torpedo. It opened with Dream/Joey, which showed us they could still rock and set us up for the fun ahead. A pair of electric pianos provided the bounce to Joey's dream and the hand clapping makes your head bob up and down. Cheap Trick would have died to write this one. Bridge of God sets us up for Singapore Silk Torpedo, both great tunes on a great album
Nobody bought it here in the US.
They didn't get played on the radio, even the good stations didn't play TPT. A friend of mine learned about them when he was stationed in Germany during the early seventies. He brought home the albums and I put them on reel to reel. Over the years I eventually lost the tapes, but I never forgot the band even though they never were played on the radio.
Many years later, I was in London and found myself in a little record shop in Notting Hill, not far from Kensington Palace. I was browsing, looking for discs I couldn't find at home when I saw it. It was S.F. Sorrow. Behind it was Silk Torpedo.
I bought them both.
As I held them in my hand, a flood of memories from my youth returned. I had enthusiastically played The Pretty Things for all my friends in Detroit, but it didn't do any good. No one played them on the radio and no one carried their records here in the US. They never caught on.
Maybe it was that name.
To learn more:
http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/60
http://musicforyoureyes.blogspot.com/2007/02/sf-sorrow.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/theprettythings/albums/album/322047/review/6067319/sf_sorrow
The Pretty Things were the biggest English band no one ever heard of in America. The line-up changed through the years, but Dick Taylor and Phil May have formed the nucleus of the group in all its different incarnations. Before forming the Pretty Things, Dick Taylor played rhythm guitar in a blues outfit, Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. Playing with him were two of his friends from Sidcup Art College, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. They formed the nucleus of a band constantly in search of a drummer. In April 1962, the three found Brian Jones playing slide guitar in an Ealing club and solicited him to join their band. Brian accepted their job offer and they changed their name to the Rolling Stones. Taylor soon found himself relegated to playing bass. Unhappy with the change, Taylor went back to school, Bill Wyman joined on bass and the Stones went on.
At the London Central School of Art, Taylor met fellow student, Phil May. The two recruited Brian Pendleton (rhythm guitar), John Stax (bass) and Viv Prince (drums) and formed the Pretty Things, named after Bo Diddley's track of the same name. In 1964, they released three singles, all of which charted in the UK. One, Don't Bring Me Down, reached #10 in the UK. None of the releases charted in the states, but they established the band in the UK.
In the years that immediately followed, they appeared to lose their direction. There were many personnel changes around the core of Taylor and May. They played electric blues and pop. There were experiments with psychedelica that eventually led to their first real musical accomplishment, S.F. Sorrow, released in the UK in December 1968 and the US the following year.
Preceding the Who's Tommy by six months, Sorrow may well have been the first real rock opera. It was recorded at Abbey Road during the same period the Beatles were creating Sgt. Pepper. Pink Floyd, in the adjacent studio, were working on Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Sorrow was noteworthy when completed, but no one in the US noticed.
Next came Parachute. The Good Mr. Square featured Lennon/McCartneyesque vocal harmonies. Sickle Clowns has a jazzy feel with a piano carrying the song. Taylor's guitar provides a tasteful, accessible bridge that compliments the multi-layered percussion and rhythm sections. Despite Parachute being Rolling Stone's Album of the Year for 1970, it sold miserably in the states and they remained unknown.
In 1974, TPT released Silk Torpedo. It opened with Dream/Joey, which showed us they could still rock and set us up for the fun ahead. A pair of electric pianos provided the bounce to Joey's dream and the hand clapping makes your head bob up and down. Cheap Trick would have died to write this one. Bridge of God sets us up for Singapore Silk Torpedo, both great tunes on a great album
Nobody bought it here in the US.
They didn't get played on the radio, even the good stations didn't play TPT. A friend of mine learned about them when he was stationed in Germany during the early seventies. He brought home the albums and I put them on reel to reel. Over the years I eventually lost the tapes, but I never forgot the band even though they never were played on the radio.
Many years later, I was in London and found myself in a little record shop in Notting Hill, not far from Kensington Palace. I was browsing, looking for discs I couldn't find at home when I saw it. It was S.F. Sorrow. Behind it was Silk Torpedo.
I bought them both.
As I held them in my hand, a flood of memories from my youth returned. I had enthusiastically played The Pretty Things for all my friends in Detroit, but it didn't do any good. No one played them on the radio and no one carried their records here in the US. They never caught on.
Maybe it was that name.
To learn more:
http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/60
http://musicforyoureyes.blogspot.com/2007/02/sf-sorrow.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/theprettythings/albums/album/322047/review/6067319/sf_sorrow
Posted by Martin Rots at 9/13/2009 2:00 AM 
Categories: The Musicians
Tags: Phil May Singapore Silk Torpedo slide guitar S.F. Sorrow John Stax Album of the Year for 1970 Piper at the Gates of Dawn London Central School of Art Joey's Dream Mick Jagger Brian Pendleton Bill Wyman Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys 1964 electric pianos Rolling Stones Abbey Road Dream/Joey playing bass Good Mr. Square Brian Jones Parachute The Who rhythm guitar Silk Torpedo Keith Richards vocal harmonies electric blues and pop Sgt. Pepper Dick Taylor the Stones Pink Floyd Viv Prince Sidcup Art College Ealing club Beatles English band The Pretty Things Don't Bring Me Down Bo Diddley Bridge of God Sickle Clowns Pretty Things rock opera Tommy Cheap Trick Rolling Stone 1968 psychedelica
Categories: The Musicians
Tags: Phil May Singapore Silk Torpedo slide guitar S.F. Sorrow John Stax Album of the Year for 1970 Piper at the Gates of Dawn London Central School of Art Joey's Dream Mick Jagger Brian Pendleton Bill Wyman Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys 1964 electric pianos Rolling Stones Abbey Road Dream/Joey playing bass Good Mr. Square Brian Jones Parachute The Who rhythm guitar Silk Torpedo Keith Richards vocal harmonies electric blues and pop Sgt. Pepper Dick Taylor the Stones Pink Floyd Viv Prince Sidcup Art College Ealing club Beatles English band The Pretty Things Don't Bring Me Down Bo Diddley Bridge of God Sickle Clowns Pretty Things rock opera Tommy Cheap Trick Rolling Stone 1968 psychedelica
Nice post. thanks for posting.
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Nice post . keep up the good work
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This is what I think rock n roll is supposed to be! Rough, fun and non-commercial music.
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