Pretty Things
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The Pretty Things are a 1960s and 1970s rock and roll band from London. Guitarist Dick Taylor was an original member of The Rolling Stones before founding the band with singer Phil May. Their only U.S. hit was their first single, "Rosalyn," in 1964, but the band had considerable success in their native United Kingdom and in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and the Netherlands in the middle of the decade.
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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" behavior and shocking the establishment; their song "Midnight to Six Man" defined the Mod lifestyle. Beginning in 1966 they drifted more towards psychedelia, with the 1968 concept album S.F. Sorrow. This album was arguably one of the first rock operas, beating out Pete Townsend's Tommy by about a year. It was also recorded in the legendary Abbey Road Studios at the same time as The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and each album shares a similar forward thinking late 60's psychedelic sound (as well as reported shareing some instraments).
From this point on they would enjoy 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, on albums like Silk Torpedo, although still blues based. 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.
The band also managed to make 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 to records and released under the alies Electric Banana: 1967's Electric Banana, 1968's More Electric Banana, 1969's Even More Electirc 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 instramental tracks. Subsequent releases of these albums generally keep the true identity of the band secret.