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.
Parachute
The Pretty Things Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now fall.
Below savage moon
Iron cities soon to rust.
Warned first by the gathering shadows
They fled.
They turned turned towards the sea.
Pale worn the walking, pass
Through concrete glades.
Torn shadows, slashed silence
The lyrics to The Pretty Things' song "Parachute" are rich with imagery and paint a picture of a post-apocalyptic world. The first two lines speak of "white ice towers" that are slowly dissolving and falling. This imagery could be interpreted in multiple ways, but it could be a reference to melting glaciers and climate change. The next two lines mention "savage moon" and "iron cities soon to rust," which is indicative of a world that is decaying and suffering the consequences of human activity.
The following lines seem to describe a group of people who are attempting to escape this world. They are warned by the "gathering shadows" and ultimately flee towards the sea. The reference to "pale worn walking" and "concrete glades" conveys a sense of exhaustion and a lack of sustenance. The final line, "torn shadows, slashed silence," is an apt description of a desolate and destroyed world that the characters are attempting to navigate.
The song is open to interpretation, but it suggests themes of environmentalism, apocalypse, and social critique. The imagery used is vivid, and it paints a picture of a world that is both beautiful and terrifying.
Line by Line Meaning
White ice towers, slow dissolving
Tall towers made of white ice are melting slowly and gradually.
Now fall.
They are now collapsing and falling apart.
Below savage moon
Under the fierce and untamed moonlight
Iron cities soon to rust.
The cities made of iron are soon to deteriorate and rot.
Warned first by the gathering shadows
The approaching threat was first signaled by the shadows that began to gather.
They fled.
Those in danger ran away in order to escape.
From wide vapor deserts
Emerging from vast, desolate deserts of vapor
They turned turned towards the sea.
They changed direction and headed towards the ocean.
Pale worn the walking, pass
Those who walked that path looked tired and weak.
Through concrete glades.
They passed through the urban spaces, paved with concrete.
Torn shadows, slashed silence
The shadows were distorted and the silence was abrupt and cut off.
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: KEVIN HOGDAHL, VICTOR THELL, MARIA JANE SMITH, ANTON EWALD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrStickyMouse
''White ice towers, slow dissolving,
now fall,
below savage moon,
Iron cities soon to rust.
Warned first by the gathering shadows.
They fled
from wide vapour deserts
they turned turned towards the sea.
Pale worn the walking, pass
through concrete glades.
Torn shadows, slashed silence.''
@cliveculbertson2855
One of the greatest British albums ever made. Sonically glorious.
@babyfactory587
Funny because I say that about sf sorrow
@WillieEWoof
@@babyfactory587 They are both great! Still, I like this one better! :)
@WillieEWoof
My favorite album, ever! Just love it!
@neilfriedman
Probably my favourite album of all time. It has definately been the record I have played more often since 1970, than any other album. Truely great
@erkkinikkila714
Can You imagine that? Way up in North, Finland,1966? Later I saw them all! Hendrix, Tull, Cream, Zep and most of all, Fleetwood Mac! Pete Green, hero of them al!
@Bunbunfunfun
One of the few bands that seemed to just get better with age. Required listening if you want to hear great 70s rock.
@bumpasaurus487
It’s amazing how few people have even heard of this band let alone heard any of their music. And I’m talking about plenty of people who claim to know a lot about rock music. This is one of my all time favorite albums.
@kiethblack3870
@@bumpasaurus487 Ha ha! I know! I remember talking to a woman around 20 years ago who claimed "I like / am into classic rock". Every band I mentioned she'd never heard of -- even some famous ones. Oh well. More for 'us' then, heh heh.
@uselessdogs6443
RIP Phill May, you´re the best.