The Pretty Things was preceded by Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys which consisted of Dick Taylor, fellow Sidcup Art College student Keith Richards, and Mick Jagger. When Brian Jones joined Little Boy Blue and the Blues Boys as guitarist, Taylor was pushed from playing guitar to bass and the Rolling Stones were formed.
Several months later Dick Taylor (born Richard Clifford Taylor, 28 January 1943, in Dartford, Kent) quit the newly formed Rolling Stones to pursue his schooling when he was accepted at London Central School of Art, where he met up with Phil May (born Phillip Arthur Dennis Kattner, on 9 November 1944, in Dartford, Kent: died 15 May 2020) and they formed Pretty Things.
Taylor was once again playing his preferred guitar with May singing and playing harmonica. They recruited Brian Pendleton (born 13 April 1944 in Wolverhampton–died 16 May 2001 in Maidstone, Kent) on rhythm guitar; John Stax (born John Edward Lee Fullegar, 6 April 1944 in Crayford, Kent) on bass; and, after trying a couple of different drummers, including Pete Kitley and Viv Andrews, stuck with Viv Prince (born Vivian St John Prince, 9 August 1944, in Loughborough, Leices).
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 1964-1965. 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" in humorous contrast to their unkempt long-haired appearance) 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 after 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 album for a young French millionaire, Philippe DeBarge, which was intended only to be circulated among the man's social circle. The acetate has since been bootlegged.
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. By the end of the decade their profile had almost disappeared, when founder members Phil May and Dick Taylor reformed the band for a successful European blues tour in late 1990 with Stan Webb's Chicken Shack and Luther Allison. This gigging outfit included drummer Hans Waterman (formerly of Dutch rock group Solution), bassist Roelf ter Velt and guitarist/keyboardist Barkley McKay (Waco Brothers and Pine Valley Cosmonaut's with Jon Langford of Mekon Fame). This line up regularly toured the European mainland playing a revitalised set that show cased their earlier, rootsy blues and r'n'b materiel, until late 1994. By 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 on May 16, 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.
The band did their final tour in 2018.
Balloon Burning
The Pretty Things Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Grey and sorrow there to meet her
Night sky hangs
Around to greet her
She throws down
Lifeline of kisses
Anchored to the ground
Balloon descending
Then I see balloon is burning
Turning round burning
This balloon, burning
Fragments of my life
Falling
Sky of tire
All consuming
Then I see balloon is burning
Turning round burning
This balloon, burning
The Pretty Things's song Balloon Burning is a vivid and powerful representation of losing control of one's life. The song begins with a bleak portrayal of New York and an individual who is greeted by a grey and sorrowful atmosphere. The main character throws down "lifeline of kisses," an attempt to anchor themselves to the ground and find a sense of stability. As they send the kisses down, a balloon descends and starts to burn, consuming everything in its path. The balloon represents the individual's life, and the burning refers to their sense of loss and the decay of their sense of self.
The imagery in the song is particularly poignant, as it presents a stark contrast between the bright and festive image of a balloon and the destructive powers of its burning. This contrast is echoed in the chorus, where the lyrics are repeated twice: "Then I see balloon is burning / Turning round burning / This balloon, burning." The repetition and rhyming structure emphasizes the point, which is that the individual's life is going up in flames, while everything around it continues to carry on. The song is ultimately an exploration of what it means to lose control of one's life, and the intense and emotional impact that this can have on an individual.
Line by Line Meaning
New York
Beginning of the story, describes the location where the events take place.
Grey and sorrow there to meet her
The character arrives in a gloomy place, reflecting sadness that might already exist within her.
Night sky hangs
Describes the atmosphere and sets the mood of the scene.
Around to greet her
The character is surrounded by the environment and its darkness.
She throws down
The character takes a certain action.
Lifeline of kisses
An object that symbolically depicts affection, tenderness and love that the character desires.
Anchored to the ground
The character is anchored to something, maybe symbolizing the inability to detach from the situation.
Balloon descending
The balloon descends, an object that can represent freedom or hopes and dreams that are eventually falling down.
Then I see balloon is burning
Transition to a different moment in the story when the balloon starts burning.
Turning round burning
Emphasizes the burning process of the balloon, turning around while on fire.
This balloon, burning
The focus is on the burning balloon as being something that represents the character's feelings or goals.
Fragments of my life
Visualizes the idea of something breaking apart, or the character's life being slowly destroyed while the balloon burns.
Falling
The fragments of the character's life are falling apart as the balloon burns, emphasizing how everything is going out of control.
Sky of tire
The character's view of the world is bleak and tiresome, possibly indicating her feelings of despair and hopelessness.
All consuming
The burning balloon is all-consuming, expressing the idea of how it occupies the entire character's world and consumes her with its flames.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ALAN EDWARD WALLER, JOHN CHARLES ALDER, PHILIP ARTHUR DENNIS MAY, RICHARD CLIFFORD TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind