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.
It'll Never Be Me
The Pretty Things Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fingers trace the lines of the years have passed
Smears of lies upon the lips of someone standing by
(yeah)
No It'll never be me looking at you that way
No it'll never be me looking at you that way
The child of the fading name thats never said
White fantasies of the child's life is spinning round this mother's head
No It'll never be me looking at you that way
No it'll never be me looking at you that way
Face pressed is against the window of an early train
Arms twist out the message of unspoken plain
You wipe away a tear and then it starts to rain
No It'll never be me looking at you that way
No it'll never be me looking at you that way
The Pretty Things's song It'll Never Be Me is about unfulfilled expectations and shattered dreams. The first few verses describe a person looking at themselves in the mirror and feeling regret for the years that have gone by. They see "smears of lies" on someone else's lips, implying that they have been deceived and misled by someone close to them. However, the singer declares that they will never end up like that person, looking at someone else with the same regret and pain.
The next verse introduces the character of a grieving mother who keeps a photograph of her child who has passed away. The child's name has faded from memory, but the mother still dreams of what could have been. The subject matter of the song takes a turn towards a more somber tone, as it grapples with the idea of hopelessness and grief.
The final verse features someone on a train, struggling with unspoken emotions. The tears they wipe away start to mix with rain, illustrating the despair and helplessness they feel. The singer here is once again saying that they will never be caught in such a situation, never allowing their own sadness to consume them to the point of being unable to express themselves. Overall, It'll Never Be Me is an introspective and emotional track, with lyrics that speak to the universal human experiences of loss, disillusionment, and the struggle to keep hope alive.
Line by Line Meaning
Sad eyes turn away from the looking glass
The person is upset and refuses to look at themselves in the mirror
Fingers trace the lines of the years have passed
They run their fingers over wrinkles and other signs of aging
Smears of lies upon the lips of someone standing by (yeah)
Someone nearby is telling lies
No It'll never be me looking at you that way
The singer will never look at the other person with the same sadness and disappointment they see in themself
Mother keeps a photogragh of a child thats dead
The mother holds onto a photo of a deceased child
The child of the fading name thats never said
The child's name is rarely mentioned anymore
White fantasies of the child's life is spinning round this mother's head
The mother imagines what their child's life could have been like
Face pressed is against the window of an early train
The singer presses their face against the train window
Arms twist out the message of unspoken plain
Their body language communicates something left unsaid
You wipe away a tear and then it starts to rain
The singer wipes away a tear that starts to fall as it begins raining
Contributed by Kennedy D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Frank Andrews
Phil May had such a quiet confidence about him on stage. Nothing pretentious, no posturing. Tremendous front man and lyricist.
WinChun78
Don't you just wish there were groovy clubs and people like this still going?
C
I went to the Blow Up club in Camden in the early 90's, not the same but pretty damn good
Pauly Thornton
@Johnny Pissoff only you guys think the 60s was al that. Good for u but the people what came after u guys has there own music , clothes and that. My grand dad is from the 60s and he said it was a nice tme but only if you was a white middle class person in london. He said youngsters outside of London was still living like it was the 40s and 50s! He said he had mates who grew up on children homes and was abused. No thanks i am glad i live in these days….
Johnny Pissoff
@Pauly Thornton I know a few things that has changed since the cool 60s, the music, the people, the fashion….hell everything has changed…. Compared to the 60s, 70s and the 80s everything now sucks and that is a fact and why do youth think that things today are better than the 60s because clearly they are not and not even close!
Pauly Thornton
What makes you think nothing like that goes on now? Why do old people think only the 60s was all that? Get over yourselve.
MarsHottentot
I love the version Pretty Things did with Phil DeBarge on vocals (the whole album is quite good - "Eagle's Son" is particularly amazing).
OIL WELL HOLDINGS
Masterpiece!!! 1960`s Rock For Ever!!!
shorelineboy
I saw these guys ( pretty things) in 1968 at the Isle of Wight first festival at godshill. They were brilliant and really crazy . Loved it among others Jefferson airplane were there also sensational. What times they were will we ever see them again.
Robert Lyons
shorelineboy wow am so JEALOUS FKIN LOVE THE PRETTY THINGS , more than any other BAND