Pretty Maids is a Danish hard rock/heavy metal band from Horsens. They were formed in 1981 by Ken Hammer and completed with Ronnie Atkins in 1982.

The band have supported well known acts such as Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, and Saxon, and were also featured at the 1987 German version of Monsters of Rock, where Deep Purple headlined.

After a prolonged international touring hiatus before the release of the 2006 Wake Up to the Real World album, the band have every year since been touring their primary markets of Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany and Japan.

History

1980s

Pretty Maids were formed in 1981 by friends Ken Hammer and John Jacobsen in Horsens, Denmark as a cover band initially called Pretty Panic. Ronnie Atkins joined Pretty Maids in 1982, replacing John Jacobsen on vocals. They wrote their own material and a self-financed demo resulted in a deal with the English record label Bullet Records.

In 1983, the band released their debut self-titled EP under the name Pretty Maids, recognition was fuelled by their UK tour the same year. In 1984 they signed to CBS Records in Denmark, who remixed and re-released their self-titled EP with a different cover.

In 1984, the band released their debut studio album, Red Hot and Heavy, which was a success.

More acclaim followed with their second studio album, Future World, released in 1987. In May 2010, it was announced that American bass player Hal Patino (formerly of King Diamond) had temporarily replaced Jackson. Patino announced in April 2011 that he had left Pretty Maids.

Celebrating their 30th anniversary, Pretty Maids played a concert at Tivoli, Copenhagen, which featured Rene Shades [Mike Tramp] on bass.

On 15 September 2012, Pretty Maids played in the US for the first time at the ProgPower festival.

Pretty Maids released their thirteenth studio album, Motherland, on 22 March 2013 in Europe and on 26 March 2013 in North America through Frontiers Records. Ronnie Atkins has called it the band's "best album song by song".

In December 2015, Pretty Maids announced that their fifteenth studio album is set to be released in 2016.

In February 2016, Pretty Maids announced that keyboard player Morten Sandager had left the band. In September 2016, Pretty Maids announced that Chris Laney has joined the band, playing keyboards and guitars.

Pretty Maids released their fifteenth studio album, Kingmaker, on 4 November 2016 through Frontiers Records.

On 1 May 2017 it was announced that drummer Allan Tschicaja had left the band. In a statement he said: "It’s been a difficult decision for me, but I want to focus more on family, friends and other projects." He was replaced by Allan Sørensen on 9 May 2017, where he played for the first time with Pretty Maids on their opening slot for Kiss in Horsens, Denmark.

On 9 July 2019 it was announced that Pretty Maids were forced to cancel their September 2019 ProgPower appearance due to personnel changes. The band's latest album Undress Your Madness was released in November 2019.

2020s

In March 2020, the band's lead singer and frontman Ronnie Atkins revealed that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of 2019. Despite the initial treatment proving successful, his cancer went out of remission in October 2020. In 2021, Atkins released his debut solo album One Shot in lieu of touring or working in the studio with Pretty Maids, mainly for health and logistical reasons. Ken Hammer was also doing side projects around that time and in 2022 he released the album Taboo with H.E.R.O. vocalist Christoffer Stjerne.

In November 2021, the band released two authorized books. One in Danish called "40 år med Pretty Maids", based on interviews with Ken Hammer and Ronnie Atkins. "We Came To Rock – The Official Pretty Maids Journals" is written in English and based on interviews with former and present members of the band, managers etc as well as a journal of the whereabouts for 40 years.

In June 2024, Pretty Maids returned to the stage after a five year break and performed a few shows including at Copenhell 2024 festival and the Time to Rock festival in Sweden.

Band members

Current

  • Ken Hammer — lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Ronnie Atkins — lead vocals
  • Rene Shades — bass, backing vocals , rhythm guitar
  • Allan Tschicaja — drums
  • Chris Laney — keyboards, rhythm guitar

Discography

Studio albums

  • Red Hot and Heavy (1984)
  • Future World (1987)
  • Jump the Gun (1990)
  • Sin-Decade (1992)
  • Stripped (1993)
  • Scream (1994)
  • Spooked (1998)
  • Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing (1999)
  • Carpe Diem (2000)
  • Planet Panic (2002)
  • Wake Up to the Real World (2006)
  • Pandemonium (2010)
  • Motherland (2013)
  • Louder Than Ever (2014)
  • Kingmaker (2016)
  • Undress Your Madness (2019)

References

  • Official website
  • Comprehensive German fansite and fanclub
  • Japanese fanclub
  • Complete discography with pictures and small bio