Tim Hughes looks forward to a timely, and quite possibly outrageous, appearance by The Pretty Things

The Rolling Stones were the original bad boys of British rock, right? Wrong!

While Mick and Keith grabbed all the headlines – and the ire of parents – their antics were child’s play compared to another bunch of hard-rocking, and even harder partying, Londoners, who are still creating a racket today.

The Pretty Things are one of British rock’s most enigmatic bands. They had the tunes, they had the attitude and they had the looks. They just didn’t quite get the fame they deserve.

“The Pretty Things are the best true rock and roll act, as they never had much money,” the band’s manager, and some-time drummer, Mark St John tells me before boarding a flight to New York (to sort out a little bit of “legal stuff” for the Bay City Rollers, he says).

“They are vainglorious.

“They spawned a whole generation of psychedelic acts and many younger bands too. And after more than 45 years of continuous service, they remain a significant, challenging force.

“They are like a great boxer, and they are still uncompromising. They are certainly not for the faint-hearted.”

Formed by original Rolling Stones guitarist Dick Taylor – who left The Stones to join The Pretty Things (to be replaced by Bill Wyman), the R&B legends have an enviable legacy which far exceeds their commercial success.

The list of ‘firsts’ is impressive.

They are recognised as the world’s first garage band (Iggy Pop, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Nirvana and The Libertines have all cited them as a major influence), recorded the first garage anthem (Rosalyn) and cut the first rock opera (S F Sorrow – acknowledged by The Who as the model for Tommy).

Their classic album Parachute, recorded at Abbey Road and released on the Motown label, was voted Rolling Stone magazine’s first Record of The Year of the 1970s – beating Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, The Stones and The Who. It was cited by Pink Floyd as the inspiration for Dark Side of The Moon.

The Pretty Things (who took their name from a 1955 Willie Dixon song) were also the first to be signed to Led Zeppelin’s Swansong label.

Page and Plant have been friends and collaborators ever since, along with Floyd’s David Gilmour, Bruce Springsteen (who asked them to join him on stage in Hyde Park), and Aerosmith’s Stephen Tyler – who acknowledges the band’s long-haired singer Phil May as a key influence.

David Bowie was so enamoured, he covered two of their songs for his album Pin Ups. The Thin White Duke is said to have written, next to Phil May’s number in his telephone book, the words “...is God!”

Another fan was the late John Peel who famously said: “The Beatles were cute, The Stones were students, but The Pretty Things were plain frightening!”

The band were the first major 60s act to regain ownership of their back catalogue – including their song LSD – hailed as the first rock drug anthem (another first) which was banned by the BBC.

More salaciously, they were also the target of the first ever rock and roll drugs bust, and the first, and probably only, band to earn a lifetime ban from Australia and New Zealand.

“They are underrated and often overlooked,” Mark says, “but The Pretty Things have had a seminal influence on rock music.

“Despite their veteran status, their contemporary relevance, undiminished energy and inspirational commitment inspire emerging generations of artists and young fans, but they have also retained their devoted, fanatical, core fan base.

“They have had countless imitators, many of whom have seen greater commercial success, but The Pretty Things remain the original and the best. “And they still retain the energy they had back in the 60s – as befits one of this country’s most exciting live acts.”

On Saturday, May, Taylor, Frank Holland (guitar) and new, young members, George Perez (guitar) and Jack Greenwood (drums) hit Cowley Road for a show at The Bullingdon.

Oxford Mail:

  • Rock legends: The Pretty Things – complete with their newer (prettier) members

The show will see them exploring their impressive back catalogue – right up to recent, 11th, album Balboa Island.

Wild things are expected.

“They have always been out there,” says Mark, proudly. “At one point, Phil was getting the stuffing kicked out of him every night. He would end up in casualty every Friday night. They almost saved a room at the hospital for him.”

So which colourful incidents from the band’s lurid history stand out? “Well the drugs bust, for a start,” says Mark.

“They were stopped in Brian Jones’s Bentley with Judy Garland and Rudolph Nureyev,” he says. “They also kept a 12-bore shotgun in the van, and their driver (the colourfully-named Phil the Greek) once pulled it on an unruly audience in Trowbridge.”

Fortunately the gun failed to go off.

“Phil is uncompromising, fearless, challenging and honourable,” says Mark. “He is the greatest friend anyone could have – the rock that roll was built on.

“His voice, meanwhile, is a force of nature, unique in its power, depth and delivery. And he is still a role model for any aspiring rocker, maintaining his 40-a-day smoking habit and drinking two bottles of red a day.”

And that Antipodean ban? “Ah yes, that was for setting fire to an aeroplane in flight,” he says, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“It was all to do with a bag of crayfish which caught fire. It’s not as bad as it sounds though; the crayfish were already dead.”

And, says Mark, they remain relevant. “They are not fooling around,” he says.

“They are certainly not doing the Pontins graveyard circuit – and this is the only place you’ll get to see a Rolling Stone without paying a fortune at some corporate event.”

“Through their entire career they have written, performed, and created informed, intelligent, ground-breaking and original music, enabled by powerful, melodic writing that has kept them alive for more than 45 years.

“What stands out is their strength, self-belief and indelible power – all required to sustain this great cult act who are as relevant today as when they first prowled the stage in 1964, sporting the world’s longest hair and the worst rock and roll attitude ever seen! This should be a secret that everyone knows.”

Where and when
The Pretty Things play The Bullingdon, Oxford on Saturday.
Tickets are available from wegottickets.com