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.
Is It Only Love
The Pretty Things Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's time to speak the truth
Say what I feel inside
There's nothing left to lose
Only time can turn the tide.
Is it only love that lets you down
Is it only love that lets you
The morning came, it brought the rain
Waking up to find she'd gone
And there's no-one else around
And your feeling so alone
And you knew it all along.
Is it only love that lets you down
Is it only love that lets you
Is it only love that lets you down.
But you need it, 'cause you said so,
Were you crying, when he said no, no,
Did he want it, did he say it,
Would you still forgive him
Even it he said, I'm sorry.
Is it only love that lets you down
Is it only love that lets you
Is it only love that lets you down.
The Pretty Things's song "Is It Only Love" explores the theme of love's power to uplift a person's emotions and its ability to hurt and disappoint them. The lyrics begin with the singer speaking about his previous reluctance to express his true feelings about his current state of affairs but now he is certain and realizes that there is nothing to lose. He feels that it is necessary to express what is in his heart, even though the truth may be painful. The lyrics suggest that time alone can fix things and turn the tide.
The second verse suggests that the morning brings rain, which symbolizes sadness and heartache. The singer wakes up to find the one he loves has left, and he is left all alone with his emotions. The lyrics imply that he knew all along that something like this was going to happen. The chorus repeats, asking the question whether love is the only thing that can bring someone down.
The final verse poses the question whether the person whom the singer is referring to was seeking love, or was it forced upon them. Were they crying when the other person said no? Did the other person who caused the pain apologize, and if they did, would the hurt party forgive them? The song leaves these questions unanswered, but it suggests that love's power to hurt is profound.
Line by Line Meaning
I said before, and now I'm sure
I've mentioned this in the past, but now I'm certain
It's time to speak the truth
It's necessary to be honest
Say what I feel inside
Express my internal emotions
There's nothing left to lose
There's no more risk involved
Only time can turn the tide.
Only the passing of time can change the situation.
Is it only love that lets you down
Does love always disappoint you?
The morning came, it brought the rain
The new day began with sadness.
Waking up to find she'd gone
Realizing that she had disappeared without telling.
And there's no-one else around
No one else is present.
And you're feeling so alone
You feel like you're the only one.
And you knew it all along.
You knew this would happen from the beginning.
But you need it, 'cause you said so,
You want it because you asked for it.
Were you crying, when he said no, no,
Were you weeping when he rejected you?
Did he want it, did he say it,
Did he desire it, did he express it?
Would you still forgive him
Will you still pardon him?
Even it he said, I'm sorry.
Even if he apologized.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PHILIP MAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David Flynn
Wonderful music. Thanks to all those U-Tube users who share such magical moments.
Cliff Carr
Love this song
Javier Bustamante
Happened the same to me, Heather, i was only aware of its existance thank to good friend Richard Greenhalgh, from London, who rates them as 5 stars and i was enchanted by the song. Sorry for Phil May, RIP and God bless him. Thanx to Johnnie as well.
Mike Marvin
Great song. Should have been a hit!
Candy Raider
Epic album.
Heather Gambier
I can't believe that I only discovered this song today, played on BBC's Johnnie Walker's Sounds of the Seventies. I didn't think that I was a lover of this band!
Paul Wilkinson
me too
Jenni Bale
I only heard this track for the first time on Sounds of the Seventies on Sunday too, Heather. It's just brilliant!
john sullivan
First I heard it. Can't get it out of my head now
J. B.
First time I heard it too.