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.
Cries From The Midnight Circus
The Pretty Things Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We members of the midnight circus,
Our bodies so brightly adorn
In your long sedans and your Oldsmobiles,
Through that slit in your face, you ask me,
How it feels.
Can you hear me, can you hear me,
I'm a-telling you again.
With faces greased and a mouth full of shine.
With iron hand you bruise the flesh,
Then through a closing door you ask,
Pray why the distress.
Hear me, can you hear me, can you.
Midnight sailors can stay,
We won't send you away,
See me here on my knees.
You lie in the alley, with blood on your clothes.
As fingers round your throat they close.
Your cries of murder, splash on the walls
As you die, you think about the injustice of it all.
Can you hear me ...
Hear me ...
See Satan's daughters' red light,
They have such good appetites,
Another clown packs his drag ...
The lyrics to The Pretty Things's song Cries From The Midnight Circus are poetic and haunting, exploring the darker corners of society through vivid imagery. The opening lines set the scene of a stormy cityscape, with the members of the midnight circus, likely referring to those who roam the streets after dark or those on the fringes of society, all adorned with bright or colorful clothing. The song's narrator is then approached by someone likely driving a fancy car, asking how it feels to live such a life. The next verse sings of Satan's daughters standing in line with their mouths full of shine, possibly referring to sex workers, and the violence they experience from their clients. The closing lines of the song describe a violent death in a dark alley, with cries of murder splashing on the walls and the victim reflecting on the injustice of the situation.
The song is a commentary on the darker side of urban life, exploring themes of violence, loss, and injustice. It paints a vivid and unsettling picture of a world that is rarely explored in mainstream art.
Line by Line Meaning
In the concrete valleys the electric storm.
We're in the city during a thunderstorm.
We members of the midnight circus,
We're performers in a late-night circus.
Our bodies so brightly adorn
We're dressed in flashy circus costumes.
In your long sedans and your Oldsmobiles,
You're wealthy spectators arriving in expensive cars.
Through that slit in your face, you ask me,
You're trying to talk to me through the window of your car.
How it feels.
You want to know how it feels to be a circus performer.
Can you hear me, can you hear me,
I'm repeating myself to make sure you're listening.
I'm a-telling you again.
I'm about to repeat myself again.
Daughters of Satan all stand in line,
Other performers in our circus are dressed in devilish outfits.
With faces greased and a mouth full of shine.
They have oily makeup and shiny teeth.
With iron hand you bruise the flesh,
Our circus director is physically abusive.
Then through a closing door you ask,
After hurting us, he asks why we're upset.
Pray why the distress.
He wants to know why we're in pain.
Hear me, can you hear me, can you.
I'm repeating myself again to make sure you're listening.
Midnight sailors can stay,
People out late can watch our circus show.
We won't send you away,
We won't kick you out.
See me here on my knees.
I'm performing an act on my knees.
You lie in the alley, with blood on your clothes.
You're lying in an alley with blood on you.
As fingers round your throat they close.
Someone is choking you with their hands.
Your cries of murder, splash on the walls
Your screams echo in the alley.
As you die, you think about the injustice of it all.
You reflect on the unfairness of your death as it happens.
Can you hear me ...
I'm repeating myself yet again.
Hear me ...
Repeating again to get your attention.
See Satan's daughters' red light,
The girls in devil costumes have red lights shining on them.
They have such good appetites,
They're eager to perform.
Another clown packs his drag ...
Another performer gets ready for their act.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ALAN WALLER, PHILIP MAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeff Dawson
Man, they changed a lot in four years. Really heavy here, and Phil sounds spectacular. Everyone is great on this.
dogwarbossanova
Just incredible. Deep down in the pocket and feeling no pain. Killer drums.
OZ
Heavy stuff man, amazing guitar and drumming work. Phil's one of the best vocals in Rock. Great vid, thx for sharing.
Tony Fleck
My God this Band still sounds Sensational!!!...
Have loved them for Decades!!...
What can I say!
As good as or possibly better than their contempries the Strolling Bones!!..
But they never got the breaks?!!!...
Still digging the music and the Vibe!! .
Dom Mirra
Just awesome balls out rock!!! A little funky & bluesy love the electric piano & kick ass drummer great vocals awesome guitar solo!!!!
Tod Levandoski
Started listening in 1974 still love playing all songs way under rated
AJ Mac74
The tone of this suits things these days, doesn't it? Especially when it's nice and slowed down with the old school mandies as thus. Stoner rock as it should be.
Uncle Rhebus
The Parachute album still sounds fresh and exciting.
My favourite Pretties song?
October 26.
Darren Siegel
Thats some great early stoner rock right there. Also love how this clip has no dislikes.
Aislan LEITE PEREIRA
Rock'n'Roll yesterday, today and forever