Group

The Pretty Things

English rock band

From: London, United Kingdom
Since: 1963–present
Rating: ★ 4.35 (3 votes)
Releases: 75

garage rock
psychedelic rock
rock
british rhythm & blues
pop rock
psychedelic pop
rock opera

About

The Pretty Things were an English R&B and rock band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent, taking their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing", and active in their first incarnation until 1971. They released five studio albums, including the debut The Pretty Things and S. F. Sorrow (often considered the first rock opera), four EPs and 15 UK singles, including the Top 20 UK Singles Chart "Don't Bring Me Down" and "Honey I Need". They reformed later in 1971 and continued through to 1976 issuing three more studio albums, and reformed once again from 1979 to 2020 releasing another five studio albums, the last of which was Bare as Bone, Bright as Blood.

The group were formed by vocalist Phil May, who was a constant presence until his death in 2020, and guitarist Dick Taylor – who left before the end of their first incarnation but rejoined for the entirety of the third – along with John Stax (bass), Brian Pendleton (guitar), and Pete Kitley, who was replaced on drums by Viv Prince before any recording began. There have been many personnel changes with Peter Tolson (guitar), Jon Povey (keyboards), and Skip Alan (drums) being involved in all three incarnations, while bassist Wally Waller was involved in the first and third.
The Pretty Things recorded stock music for film soundtracks which were issued as the Electric Banana series of albums, and collaborated with other artists and bands in the 1990s, such as Pretty Things & the Yardbird Blues Band, and Pretty Things 'N Mates.

From The Pretty Things on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Members

Dick Taylor 1963–now · original member electric guitar
Wally Waller 1967–now bass guitar
John Stax now
Brian Pendleton 1963–1966 · original member · former guitar
Phil May 1963–2020 · original member · former harmonica, lead vocals
Viv Prince 1964–1965 · former drums (drum set)
Skip Alan 1965–1968, 1969–1976, 1978–1980, 1994–2007 · former drums (drum set)
Jon Povey 1967–1981, 1994–2007 · former choir vocals, lead vocals, organ, piano, sitar, background vocals, drums (drum set)
Twink 1968–1969 · former drums (drum set)
Victor Unitt 1969–1970 · former electric guitar
Pete Tolson 1971–1976 · former electric guitar
Gordon John Edwards 1974–1976 · former choir vocals, electric guitar, keyboard, lead vocals
Jack Green 1974–1976 · former bass guitar, choir vocals, lead vocals
George Woosey 2007–2018 · former bass