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.
L.S.D.
The Pretty Things Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I say talk is easy and moneys never free, L.S.D., L.S.D
But I always tell them life it ain't so black
For everything I'm given, something's taken back
L.S.D., yes, I need L.S.D.
Yes, I need L.S.D., yes, I need L.S.D.
Yes, I need L.S.D., yes, I need L.S.D.
Mercy is in his deed I find
He hasn't got a care, he might not be going fast
But is he going anywhere
L.S.D., L.S.D., L.S.D.
The Pretty Things's song "L.S.D." talks about the complexities of life and how people turn to drugs to cope or escape from the harsh reality. LSD, a powerful hallucinogenic drug that alters one's perception and mood, can make one feel free from their worries, but the song suggests that money is required to obtain it. The lyrics suggest that people might use LSD or other drugs to escape the harsh reality and the monotonous routine of everyday life, but sometimes they do not realize that there could be a price to pay for their escape.
The lyrics "For everything I'm given, something's taken back" suggests that every time someone indulges in the temporary high that LSD gives, something valuable and permanent is lost. The line "Mercy is in his deed I find, he might not be going fast, but is he going anywhere" reflects how people feel about their lives when they turn to LSD. The song questions whether people are moving forward or merely existing in a stagnant state both mentally or physically.
Overall, "L.S.D." speaks about the human desire for something more than what they have, sometimes going to great lengths to obtain it. People use drugs like LSD to escape from their problems, but the song suggests the long-term consequences of such choices.
Line by Line Meaning
Everybody's talking about my L.S.D.
People are discussing my use of L.S.D., a hallucinogenic drug.
I say talk is easy and moneys never free, L.S.D., L.S.D
I don't take their opinions seriously, as it's easy to talk and they don't understand the cost of drugs.
But I always tell them life it ain't so black
Contrary to popular belief, life is not all negative.
For everything I'm given, something's taken back
No matter what I receive in life, there's always something taken away from me.
L.S.D., yes, I need L.S.D.
I feel a strong need to continue using L.S.D.
Mercy is in his deed I find
I find compassion and kindness in his actions.
He hasn't got a care, he might not be going fast
He is carefree, and doesn't necessarily need to be in a hurry.
But is he going anywhere
Is he actually making progress and achieving something?
L.S.D., L.S.D., L.S.D.
Continuing to emphasize the importance of L.S.D. in their life.
Contributed by Max M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Robert-tv9rq
This song is about money and not the drug. Actually it is £sd (pound shilling dime) and the text of this great song is very clear about it, but ofcourse in general people think it is about the drug. Phil May and Dick Taylor wrote it very cleverly in 1965, so it could not be banned on the radio back then.
@chrisroby9740
LSD was legal at that point tho. Af least in the us. Didn’t get banned til 68
@alistairproductions
@@chrisroby9740this guy is making stuff up
@CircleOfTyrants666
Epic moment in history of music, this riff and these lyrics rips every wimpy ass, in their way to hell with LSD....
@redriderbbgun8018
Everybody needs a little LSD in their life 🎉 🌫️🍭🌫️🍭🌫️🍭
@stefanytomalin6857
the Pretty Things were all students at the same time as myself at Art School in London UK in the sixties... !
@oldsoulone7557
Thats awsome. Stefany. What a great time to have grown up. :)
@Meandgenevieve
Holy crapons!! Yes I've had this song in my collection since about 1980, but still, listening back again, incredibly wild for the time the single was released, April 1966.
@psychedelicbassplayer3191
Let's drop some cid and play some groovy music, man!
@fntime
And then buy a bottle and fuck up some hippies.