| Pretty Boy Floyd | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Hollywood, California, United States |
| Genres | Hard rock Glam metal |
| Years active | 1987–1991 1995–present |
| Labels | MCA Cleopatra Records Deadline |
| Members | |
| Steve "Sex" Summers Kristy "Krash" Majors Criss 6 Ben Graves |
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| Past members | |
| Dish Keri Kelli Kari Kane Keff Ratcliffe Chad Stewart Lesli Sanders Aeriel Stiles Vinnie Chas (deceased) Eddie Electra Traci Michaels Davey Lister Scotti D Mikki Twist Tommy Thayer Troy Patrick Farrell |
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Pretty Boy Floyd is a glam metal band from Hollywood, California formed in 1987. They are most famous for their 1989 debut album Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz and the two singles from it; "Rock and Roll" and "I Wanna Be With You". The band broke up in 1991, but reformed in 1995 releasing several new records since that time, and continue to the present.
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The origins of the band can be traced back to a group named Doll in Hollywood, California. It reportedly went through several different line-ups, all of them featuring lead vocalist Kerry Doll. At least one line-up featured then future Pretty Boy Floyd guitarist Aeriel Stiles.
Doll recorded a demo tape in 1986. Several songs on it were later rerecorded by Pretty Boy Floyd.
When Doll broke up, former Doll guitarist Aeriel Stiles then formed Pretty Boy Floyd with vocalist Steve Summers, bassist Vinnie Chas, and drummer Kari Kane. Soon Aeriel Stiles was replaced by former Jett Blakk guitarist Kristy Majors. The band's name was reportedly given to them by producer Kim Fowley with whom the band were working at the time.[1]
After vigorously rehearsing and playing lots of shows in the San Fernando Valley, Pretty Boy Floyd got their big break at MCA Records. Their debut album named Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz was released in 1989 and produced by producer Howard Benson. The recording sessions were plagued with problems from the start, technically and manually but was finally released after some regret from their record company. It managed to get into the United States Billboard charts. The majority of the material featured on the debut album was written by former guitarist Aeriel Stiles, Kristy Majors wrote the song "Rock and Roll (Is Gonna Set the Night on Fire)". The LP was not well received by the LA music scene or by the industry.
Two singles, and accompanying promotional videos were released from the album; "Rock and Roll (Is Gonna Set the Night on Fire)" and "I Wanna Be With You", which gained rotation on MTV. They were also having success in Europe at the time, by being the cover subject of hard rock magazine Kerrang! on December 16, 1989.
Pretty Boy Floyd became embroiled in a dispute over the copyright of their band name, with a Canadian band also called Pretty Boy Floyd. The Canadian group released their debut Bullets and Lipstik the same year, but after a negotiated settlement agreed to surrender use of the name.
Their music featured on two movie soundtracks, first the demo version of "48 Hours" was included on the 1989 The Karate Kid, Part III film. Two years later the previously unreleased "Slam Dunk" was released on the Ellen Barkin movie Switch soundtrack. However, by that time MCA Records had dropped the band.
They recorded a second album, Tonight Belongs To The Young, but it was only released years later.
By late 1995 Pretty Boy Floyd had reformed. They went into the studio to record a five song E.P. titled A Tale of Sex, Designer Drugs, and the Death of Rock N Roll in 1998. The band featured former Big Bang Babies guitarist Keri Kelli, L.A. Guns bassist Keff Ratcliffe as well as Steve Summers, Kristy Majors, and Kari Kane. The EP featured a cover of a song by Keri's previous band Big Bang Babies.
A full length album Porn Stars followed, and it featured five re-recordings of tracks from their debut album, and eight others including a cover of Alice Cooper's "Department of Youth".
In February 2006 they toured the States together.
In 2007 Majors and Summers fought on the internet. Majors challenged Summers to a kickboxing match,[2] Summers replied demeaning Majors previous role in the band and insulted the guitarist.[3] Majors replied refuting Summers claims and deeming him a "liar".[4] When they did eventually have their kickboxing match as a live webcast, both of their wigs came off, revealing both to be completely bald underneath.
Kristy Majors also performing as a solo aristst, released the album Sex, Drugs 'N' Rock N Roll and toured Europe in March 2007
On March 1, 2008, Kristy Majors and Kari Kane joined Steve Summers played on stage at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood California. On December 31, 2008, they played Reno's chop shop in Dallas, Texas.
In 2009, the band celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the release of Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz with a world tour.
The band say they will perform at Stockholm Rock Out Festival 2010 and Hard Rock Hell IV in Wales at the end of the year.
Original bassist, Vinnie Chas died on April 5, 2010.[5]
On September 9, 2010 it was announced that Troy Patrick Farrell had been fired. On September 11, 2010 the band announced that Vik Foxx (formerly of Enuff Z'Nuff, Vince Neil band, The Veronicas) had been hired as their new drummer.
As of April 2011, Pretty Boy Floyd has announced a brand new full length album of all new original material and a tour to support the album. The band has also announced that Ben Graves (Formally of Murderdolls and Dope) has been hired as the new drummer, and the band has stated that this is "the best lineup Pretty Boy Floyd has ever had."
| Date of Release | Title | Label | US Billboard Peak |
| 1989 | Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz | MCA | 130 |
| 1997 | A Tale of Sex, Designer Drugs, and the Death of Rock N Roll | Perris Records | Did not chart |
| 1998 | Porn Stars | Deadline | Did not chart |
| 2001 | Live At The Pretty Ugly Club | Perris Records | Did not chart |
| 2002 | The Vault | Perris Records | Did not chart |
| 2003 | The Vault 2 | Perris Records | Did not chart |
| 2003 | Tonight Belongs to the Young | Perris Records | Did not chart |
| 2004 | Size Really Does Matter | Deadline | Did not chart |
| 2004 | Dirty Glam | Mausoleum | Did not chart |
| 2004 | The Greatest Collection - The Ultimate Pretty Boy Floyd | Deadline | Did not chart |
| 2007 | Live Hard Live Fast | Independent | Did not chart |
| 2009 | Glam As Fuck | Cleopatra | Did not chart |
| 2010 | Kiss Of Death - A Tribute To KISS | DIY Records | Did not chart |