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 Wolverhamptonโdied 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 โ "Rosalyn" #41, "Don't Bring Me Down" #10, and the self-penned "Honey I Need" at #13 โ 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.
Office Love
The Pretty Things Lyrics
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The morning screamed, neath the traffic's feet
The razor burned commuters reflections
It didn't seem a visual treat.
The office staff begin the humdrum
Making the hours and the money flow.
The guilty lovers keep their secret
Oh no office love is such a bitch
Oh no like a knife in the back
He catches the train up every morning
From his Croyden executive estate
He's convinced he needs a new future
But she's prepared to wait
He swears to step cleanly from a marriage
That's become so tangled and confused
She knows he's lying for his pleasures
He doesn't see her cry.
He doesn't see her die.
Oh no office love is such a bitch
Oh no like a knife in the back
She goes home, knowing that it can't go on
Her secret fears become too strong
Seeing what little love she has she's losing
He's the type that manages to sleep at night
The guilt is safely locked away
But it was just another day, and he's so tired.
Her heart seemed set on destruction
With lips drawn pale and thin
She offered up love like a sacrifice
And he was closing in.
Her mother sat on the end of the bed
Through the dark hours of the night
Wagging her finger saying honey
This just isn't right.
Oh no office love is such a bitch
Oh no like a knife in the back
The Pretty Things's song "Office Love" tells the story of two office workers who are in a secret affair. The song begins with a description of a grey and unattractive morning, highlighting the mundane and unfulfilling nature of office life. The lyrics then go on to describe the two lovers' struggle to keep their affair a secret, as they fear that if their colleagues find out, it will ruin their careers and personal lives.
The song speaks to the unfulfilling nature of corporate life, where people often seek comfort and excitement outside of their marriages or long-term relationships. The lyrics suggest that the affair has taken a toll on both parties, with the woman being depicted as offering up her love as a sacrifice, while the man is shown as lying to himself and those around him about his feelings.
Overall, "Office Love" is a melancholic take on the realities of working in an office and the often-unhealthy relationships that can develop in that environment.
Line by Line Meaning
It was a grey dawn, penciled in lightly
The morning was dull and unremarkable
The morning screamed, neath the traffic's feet
The noise and bustle of traffic were overwhelming
The razor burned commuters reflections
The razor refers to the sharp edges of the buildings created by reflections of the commuters, showcasing the impersonality of work life
It didn't seem a visual treat.
All of this was not a pleasant sight
The office staff begin the humdrum
The routine of everyday office life starts
Making the hours and the money flow.
The staff spend their time working to earn money
The guilty lovers keep their secret
Two colleagues are having an affair and trying to keep it a secret
And hope it doesn't show.
They are hoping their affair won't be revealed
Oh no office love is such a bitch
Having a romantic relationship in the office can be very difficult
Oh no like a knife in the back
It can feel like a betrayal when office love goes wrong
He catches the train up every morning
A man travels from his fancy executive home to work by train
From his Croyden executive estate
The man lives in a wealthy area called Croyden
He's convinced he needs a new future
He feels like he needs to make a change in his life
But she's prepared to wait
The woman he's having an affair with is willing to be patient
He swears to step cleanly from a marriage
The man promises to leave his marriage without any complications
That's become so tangled and confused
His marriage has become complicated and messy
She knows he's lying for his pleasures
The woman he's having an affair with knows he is not being truthful
He doesn't see her cry.
The man is unaware that his actions are causing the woman to cry
He doesn't see her die.
He is oblivious to the emotional pain and turmoil she is experiencing
She goes home, knowing that it can't go on
The woman knows that the affair can't continue indefinitely
Her secret fears become too strong
Her anxieties about being caught in the affair are becoming too much to bear
Seeing what little love she has she's losing
She realizes that the affair is not worth losing whatever little love she has left
He's the type that manages to sleep at night
The man is able to sleep soundly without feeling guilty about his actions
The guilt is safely locked away
The man has managed to suppress any feelings of guilt he may have
But it was just another day, and he's so tired.
The man is tired of the routine of everyday life and his affair
Her heart seemed set on destruction
The woman feels like her heart is being torn apart
With lips drawn pale and thin
She looks physically drained and worn out
She offered up love like a sacrifice
She has sacrificed her feelings for the man
And he was closing in.
He is getting closer to her emotionally
Her mother sat on the end of the bed
The woman's mother is present in the room
Through the dark hours of the night
The scene is set during the night
Wagging her finger saying honey
The mother is scolding the woman
This just isn't right.
The mother disapproves of her daughter's affair
Lyrics ยฉ O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: PETE TOLSON, PHILIP MAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind