The first album
Imaginatively entitled 'The Pretty Things' this was seminal British r'n'b. The sound was not unlike the Rolling Stones; indeed Dick Taylor the band's guitarist was a founding member of the Rolling Stones having played bass in their earliest incarnation, but it was a harder, tougher sound. Taylor's stinging guitar work and Phil May's trademark snarl saw to that. This was a band to be reckoned with.
The album contained a number of the great Bo Diddley's tunes, opening with '
Roadrunner' and including the song, which the band had adopted as their moniker 'Pretty Thing'. Other diddley beats were 'Mama, keep your big mouth shut' and 'She's fine, she's mine',The album also contained a number of originals by the band such as
'13 Chester Street', named after the flat that some of the bands members shared in London. 'Unknown blues', 'I can never say', 'We'll be together' and 'Get yourself home' all proved that they were not just 'pretty' faces, they could write too.Blues standards
'Judgement Day', 'Big Boss Man' and 'The Moon is Rising' were also given the pretties treatment and the first singles 'Honey I need', 'Don't Bring Me Down' and 'Rosalyn' were also included.Line up:
Phil May, Dick Taylor, Viv Prince, John Stax and Brian Pendleton.
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