The Pretty Things was an English rock band formed in September 1963 in Sidc… Read Full Bio ↴The Pretty Things was an English rock band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent, with their name from Willie Dixon's 1955 song "Pretty Thing". They pioneered a raw approach to rhythm and blues (and later, psychedelia) that influenced a number of key bands of the 1960s British 'invasion', particularly The Rolling Stones, and David Bowie whose first hero was Phil May (born 1944; died 2020). The band did their final tour in 2018.

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.

Out In The Night
The Pretty Things Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Out in the night it seems so cold
Without you baby
When you're not in sight my heart don't beat
Without you baby

Every night I cry myself to sleep
Though people may say, a man can't weep
But I can yeah

Without you baby yeah

I never felt the hand of love, before yer baby
I never knelt ashamed of myself, before yer baby

It seems like illusion that a people could cry
But now I know, I found the reason why
'Cause I cry yeah
Without you baby yeah

The hands of the clock are moving so slow
'Cause you're not around
And each of the chimes
Is such a, such a heartbreaking sound yeah

Sun filled my days
Remember when I was with yer baby
None could have taken that warmth away
When I was with yer baby

Now life will be hard no sun in my sky
I may get along, lord knows I'll try
But I can yeah, without you baby yeah
Without you now
Without you babe, yeah
Without you, yeah
Without you
Without you
Without you babe
Without you
I need it bad
I need it bad
Need it bad
Need it bad
Need it bad
Without you
I want you real bad

Want you bad
I want you bad

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Pretty Things' song Out In The Night express a deep sense of longing and heartache for a lost love. The singer of the song begins by stating that the night feels cold and empty without their lover by their side. The absence of this person is palpable and their heart no longer beats with the same passion and joy as when this person was around.

The song then goes on to describe the intense sadness and pain that the singer feels every night when they cry themselves to sleep. They feel ashamed for their tears because society often tells men that they shouldn't show emotion, but the singer can't help it. They never knew love before they met this person and now that they are gone, life seems like an empty illusion. Even the passing of time feels slow and painful without them there.

Throughout the song, the singer continues to express their need and desire for their lost love. While life may go on without them, it will be hard and lonely. The song ends with a repeated chorus of "Without you" that emphasizes the deep ache of this individual's heart and the constant longing for what they have lost.

Overall, the lyrics to Out In The Night capture the all-consuming grief and yearning that one can feel after losing a great love. It is a poignant reminder of how powerful and transformative love can be and how much it can hurt when it's gone.

Line by Line Meaning

Out in the night it seems so cold
Being outside at night feels cold and lonely

Without you baby
Without the presence of the person addressed as 'baby', everything feels empty and incomplete

When you're not in sight my heart don't beat
The singer's heart feels dead and without purpose when 'baby' is not around

Every night I cry myself to sleep
The artist is so overcome with sadness that they cry themselves to sleep every night

Though people may say, a man can't weep
The artist acknowledges societal pressure that men should not cry

But I can yeah
The singer rejects this expectation and cries regardless

Without you baby yeah
This sadness is specifically due to the absence of 'baby'

I never felt the hand of love, before yer baby
The artist has never experienced love before meeting 'baby'

I never knelt ashamed of myself, before yer baby
The artist was never open enough to love and trust someone, and is now vulnerable in a way they never thought possible

It seems like illusion that a people could cry
To the artist, crying seems like something impossible to experience until they felt this level of sadness

But now I know, I found the reason why
The singer has discovered that 'baby' is the source of both immense joy and overwhelming sadness

'Cause I cry yeah
This newfound knowledge is what makes the artist cry

The hands of the clock are moving so slow
Time feels like it's dragging on endlessly without 'baby'

'Cause you're not around
This slowness is attributed solely to the absence of 'baby'

And each of the chimes
The singer is specifically fixating on the sound of the clock chimes

Is such a, such a heartbreaking sound yeah
These chimes serve as another reminder of the sadness they feel

Sun filled my days
Before 'baby', the artist's days were filled with happiness

Remember when I was with yer baby
The singer is reminiscing about the happier times spent with 'baby'

None could have taken that warmth away
The love and happiness they experienced with 'baby' was unparalleled - nothing could erase those memories

Now life will be hard no sun in my sky
Without 'baby', life will be bleak and joyless

I may get along, lord knows I'll try
The artist acknowledges that they will attempt to live without 'baby', but it will be a difficult and painful adjustment

But I can yeah, without you baby yeah
The artist has no choice but to try and live without 'baby'

Without you now
Reiterating the intense sadness and emptiness they feel due to 'baby's' absence

Without you babe, yeah
Saying 'baby' one more time for emphasis

Without you, yeah
Further emphasizing the feeling of emptiness without 'baby'

Without you
Repeating this phrase once more for impact

Without you babe
Repeating 'baby' one last time

I need it bad
The artist expresses their intense desire for 'baby'

I need it bad
Repeating this sentiment again to emphasize the desperation

Need it bad
One more time for impact

Need it bad
And one last time for extra emphasis

Without you
Bringing the focus back to the absence of 'baby'

I want you real bad
The artist now shifts from expressing a need for 'baby' to a want for them