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.
Defecting Grey
The Pretty Things Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mirrored above in the sky
Wondering if you will say goodnight
Leave me a grave and goodbye
Night sky hangs in blackness
Night threads, patterns weaving
Somebody going tells you where I need me
The lights flash, someone is driving
Heat exchange, car on a highway going my way
Sitting alone on a bench with you
Talking 'bout your life and mine
I find and bet you just don't like snakes
They are just no friend of mine
You've seen it all but you're foregoing
You passed it by but you're not knowing
You've heard it all before, you're going home
You've seen them dying, now they're all alone
Sitting alone on a bench with you
Dipping my eyes in the stream
Breath of your lips chases shadows away
Clearing the mist from a tree
Sitting alone on a bench with you
Just as you get up to leave
Holding my breath as I touch your hand
Then with the brush of your sleeve
Later in the morning
Just as dawn starts snoring
Sitting alone on an empty bench
Mirrored above in the sky
The Pretty Things's song "Defecting Grey" is a psychedelic folk-rock masterpiece filled with vivid and surreal imagery that transports the listener to another world. The lyrics are written in a stream-of-consciousness style that touches on themes of loneliness, nostalgia, and the passing of time. The song begins with the singer sitting alone on a bench with someone, possibly a lover, gazing at their reflection in the night sky. The singer wonders if this person will say goodbye and leave them alone in the darkness. The imagery of the night sky is striking, with "Night threads, patterns weaving" and "Casting gardens of shadow."
As the song progresses, the singer talks with their companion about life and how they don't like snakes - "They are just no friend of mine." The lyrics are quite enigmatic and seem to suggest a deeper meaning, perhaps a metaphor for something else entirely. The singer also reflects on how they've seen everything and have heard it all before, but are still unsure of where they are going or what they want.
The final verse features the singer sitting alone on the bench once more, dipping their eyes into a stream and breathing in the breath of their companion's lips. As the companion gets up to leave, the singer holds their breath, gently touching their hand before they brush past and the moment passes. The song ends with the singer sitting alone on an empty bench, once again staring up at the sky.
Overall, "Defecting Grey" is a haunting and beautiful song that captures the essence of the late 1960s, when counterculture and psychedelia were at their peak.
Line by Line Meaning
Sitting alone on a bench with you
The singer is sitting next to their companion on a bench.
Mirrored above in the sky
The sky is reflecting in some way above them.
Wondering if you will say goodnight
The singer is unsure if their companion will say goodnight before leaving.
Leave me a grave and goodbye
The artist is asking their companion to leave them with a goodbye that will represent the end of their relationship/friendship.
Night sky hangs in blackness
The sky is dark and black during the evening.
Night threads, patterns weaving
The patterns in the sky created by stars or clouds are shifting and weaving during the night.
Somebody going tells you where I need me
Someone is pointing their companion in the direction the singer wants them to go to find them.
Casting gardens of shadow
The night-time surroundings are casting varied shadows around them.
The lights flash, someone is driving
Flashing car lights indicate someone is driving in the area around them.
Heat exchange, car on a highway going my way
The warmth generated by a car on the highway is passing by the artist, and the car is going in the same direction the artist wants to go.
Talking 'bout your life and mine
The singer and their companion are discussing their mutual experiences in life.
I find and bet you just don't like snakes
The artist believes their companion doesn't like snakes.
They are just no friend of mine
The singer doesn't like snakes.
You've seen it all but you're foregoing
The companion has seen everything, but is choosing to ignore it.
You passed it by but you're not knowing
The companion passed by an important moment, unknowingly.
You've heard it all before, you're going home
The companion is bored because they've heard everything before, and they are leaving.
You've seen them dying, now they're all alone
The companion has seen people die and are now alone.
Dipping my eyes in the stream
The singer dips their eyes in a nearby stream.
Breath of your lips chases shadows away
The companion's breath is causing shadows to fade away from the singer's mind, helping to clear their thoughts.
Clearing the mist from a tree
The surroundings are becoming clearer, allowing the artist to see better.
Just as you get up to leave
The companion's getting ready to leave.
Holding my breath as I touch your hand
The artist is holding their breath when they touch the companion's hand.
Then with the brush of your sleeve
The companion brushes the singer's sleeve as they are leaving.
Later in the morning
At a later time (in the morning).
Just as dawn starts snoring
Dawn is personified as snoring when it starts (meaning: when the sun is about to rise).
Sitting alone on an empty bench
The singer is sitting on an empty bench by themselves.
Mirrored above in the sky
The sky is reflecting in some way above them.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ALAN WALLER, PHILIP MAY, RICHARD TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@stevenmilliman412
This shit is so advanced for the time. The experimentation. The heaviness of some of the guitar parts. It’s just an amazing piece of music
@wojciechgac
Arguably, it's advanced even for today. The heaviness does not overwhelm, but leaves a mark. The varying tempo feels a little disorienting for the mind.
@Valientlink
@@wojciechgac It's easily THE heaviest guitar to come out of 1967. Norman Smith could've done a little better on production, but their budget wasn't great at the time
@wojciechgac
Got here after watching Trash Theory's "Before Black Sabbath". Despite having been into 60s psychedelia for many years, I somehow completely missed this one. Wonderful, outlandish, totally captivating! Thanks for the upload.
@47.Infinity
Just watched it myself and here I am
@TheseUseless
There’s so many great psych albums. And yet they go so unknown.
@benwhite8924
@@TheseUseless do you know Peter thoroughgood haunted
@WocklessGamingforAnimeMoms
@@TheseUseless there were a lot of them and a lot of them aren't nearly as remembered as they should be. Stopped around The Mid 1970s I would say. Even the famous Dark Side of The Moon was around 1973 and the last really classic Amon Düül ii is in 74 with Viva La Trance. Prog definitely continued on longer. But from really 66-74 is about the full era.
@TheseUseless
@@WocklessGamingforAnimeMoms fully agree. It’s a massive shame that psych music can now only be enjoyed in niche bands like claypool lennon and king gizzard. It was such an amazing genre, and I’m glad we got prog for a good couple decades longer.
@terryenglish7132
"Yesterdays Papers " just featured this. Thanks. I missed it at the time, not being a hit.