The Pretty Things were an English rock band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent, taking their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing", and active in their first incarnation until 1971. They released five studio albums, including the debut The Pretty Things and S. F. Sorrow (the first rock opera), four EPs and 15 UK singles, including the Top 20 UK Singles Chart "Don't Bring Me Down" and "Honey I Need". They reformed later in 1971 and continued through to 1976 issuing three more studio albums, and reformed once again from 1979 to 2020 releasing another five studio albums, the last of which was Bare as Bone, Bright as Blood.
The group were formed by vocalist Phil May, who was a constant presence until his death in 2020, and guitarist Dick Taylor – who left before the end of their first incarnation but rejoined for the entirety of the third – along with John Stax (bass), Brian Pendleton (guitar), and Pete Kitley, who was replaced on drums by Viv Prince before any recording began. There have been many personnel changes with Peter Tolson (guitar), Jon Povey (keyboards), and Skip Alan (drums) being involved in all three incarnations, while bassist Wally Waller was involved in the first and third.
The Pretty Things recorded stock music for film soundtracks which were issued as the Electric Banana series of albums, and collaborated with other artists and bands in the 1990s, such as Pretty Things & the Yardbird Blues Band, and Pretty Things 'N Mates.
History
1962–1964: Formation
The Pretty Things were preceded by Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys, which consisted of Dick Taylor, fellow Sidcup Art College student Keith Richards, and Mick Jagger, among others. When Brian Jones was recruiting for his own band, all three joined Brian and Ian Stewart and were dubbed "Rollin' Stones" by Jones in June 1962. Because there were too many guitar players in the band, Taylor switched to bass. He quit the Stones five months later, when he was accepted at the Central School of Art and Design in London. Phil May, another Sidcup student, convinced him to form a new band. Taylor was once again playing guitar, with May singing and playing harmonica. They recruited John Stax on bass and harmonica, Brian Pendleton on rhythm guitar, and Pete Kitley on drums. Kitley was soon replaced by Viv Andrews, also known as Viv Broughton.
Bryan Morrison, a fellow student at the Art College where May and Taylor studied, was recruited as their manager. Morrison was to manage them for the rest of the 1960s, building his own Bryan Morrison Agency. This agency represented Pink Floyd among many other bands. Forming a partnership with songwriter Jimmy Duncan, he got the Pretty Things a recording contract with Fontana Records in early 1964. The band was never actually banned from re-entering New Zealand, contrary to what can be read in some sources.
The first of what would be many personnel changes over the years also began, with Prince, whose wild antics had become too much for the other members to endure, being the first to go in November 1965. In early 1966, the band made a short film The Pretty Things on Film; it featured live footage and a music video prototype for "Can't Stand the Pain", which also featured their manager, Morrison. Rarely screened at the time, the film can be found as a bonus multimedia item on the Snapper CD re-issue of Get the Picture. 1966 saw the R&B scene fall into decline and the Pretty Things began moving away, flirting with soul music. S. F. Sorrow was commercially unsuccessful, with no immediate release in the United States. With Tolson, they released two singles before disbanding in mid-1971.
During the recording of Savage Eye, the follow-up to Silk Torpedo, tensions arose between the members of the band, with May finding himself at odds with newcomers Edwards and Green over the band direction and writing credits. After the release of Savage Eye, May did not show up at a major London gig, and he was fired soon after. Alan, Edwards, Green and Tolson tried to form a new band called Metropolis, but Swan Song was not interested in offering them a contract and they went their separate ways. Edwards briefly joined the Kinks for their Misfits tour, while Green became a member of Rainbow for a few weeks before launching a solo career.
1980s
thumb|upright|Phil May and Skip Alan in 1999
The 1967 line-up of Alan, May, Povey, Taylor and Waller reformed in 1978 for a one-off gig in the Netherlands. Adding Pete Tolson, the six-piece recorded Cross Talk for Warner Bros. Records in 1980. Disillusionment with manager St John meant Waller and Povey were unable to continue with the band. A new line-up emerged around May and Taylor with Frank Holland on guitar, Jack Greenwood on drums and George Woosey on bass.
thumb|Dick Taylor, Phil May, Jack Greenwood, George Woosey, Frank Holland @ the Downtown Blues Club (Hamburg) in April 2017
In June 2009, May, Taylor, Waller, Povey and Alan reunited to receive the "Heroes" award at the annual Mojo Awards ceremony. Waller, Povey, Alan and Tolson reunited in the middle of 2010 to re-record Parachute, to commemorate its 40th anniversary. Using the byline 'The XPTs', the album was released by Esoteric Recordings on 30 April 2012. Tolson died in April 2016.
On 30 April 2012, a re-imagining of S. F. Sorrow, entitled Sorrow's Children and featuring covers by contemporary bands of each track, was released on Fruits de Mer Records, only on vinyl and in a limited edition of 700. The album included an interview with May and Taylor, and had a live version of "Loneliest Person". The latter was recorded at their gig at London's 100 Club in December 2010, at which they played the whole of their first album.
In 2012, the band returned to New Zealand for the first time since the bad publicity of 1965. They also toured Australia and were reunited with original bass player, John Stax, for their Melbourne shows. This was the first time May, Taylor and Stax had played together since 1967.
In 2013 the Pretty Things celebrated their 50th Anniversary Tour with dates in the UK and Europe. The band's studio album, The Sweet Pretty Things (Are in Bed Now, of Course...), was released on 10 July 2015. This is the first album recorded with touring members Greenwood and Woosey.
In 2018, the band announced that they were splitting up at the end of the year. All live dates throughout 2018 were billed as part of a farewell tour. The group (May and Taylor accompanied by Woosey, Holland and Greenwood) recorded a live session for BBC Radio 6 Music show Marc Riley on 17 July 2018 at Maida Vale Studios performing versions of "Same Sun", "You Can't Judge A Book", "She Says Good Morning", "Mister Evasion" and "Rosalind".
Phil May died, aged 75, on 15 May 2020 following complications after hip surgery.
22 May 2020 saw the release of two tracks from an upcoming "stripped back, acoustic-driven" album recorded by May, Taylor, and Mark St. John before May's death. The album, Bare as Bone, Bright as Blood, was released in September 2020.
On 9 May 2023, Jon Povey died at the age of 80. Mark St. John died in Brighton, after a long illness, on 17 May 2025. Viv Prince died at the age of 84, on 11 September 2025.
Musical style
Influenced by Bo Diddley,The Pretty Things were a key part of London's blues rock scene and a beat, R&B, From 1967 to 1975, the band pursued a progressive rock and psychedelia sound. Academics Paul Hegarty and Martin Halliwell argued that the Pretty Things were "not merely as precursors of prog but as essential developments of progressiveness in its early days". PopMatters says that after their S. F. Sorrow album, the Pretty Things were mainly a prog/hard rock band. They were also categorized as yacht rock.