Phil May of 'The Pretty Things' , DECEASED

[1972coronet]

Phil May ( 09.11.1944 - 15.05.2020 ) , lead singer of The Pretty Things , left this world yesterday at age 75 . 

Some of you may recall their most-recognised songs 'Midnight To Six , Man' and '£sd'  ( alleged to stand for Pounds , Shillings , Pence ... haha ) . Their 1968 album SF Sorrow is a psychedellic masterpiece as well .

 

 

 

[iamsuperdan]

I'm not into a lot of 60s music, but always liked these guys.

 

[Bernard Kron]

I always was a huge fan of these guys. Dick Taylor formed the band along with May after Taylor left his position as bass player for the Rolling Stones. Combining Phil Mays distinctively exaggerated  "bad voice" singing style with Taylor's raucous jangling post-Chuck Berry (and pre-Clapton et al sustain tone) lead guitar cemented their position as the reining the Bad Boys of seminal British Rock. While SF Sorrow is undoubtedly an important and Classic concept album the material on the Pretty's first 2 or 3 LPs which features Phil May's brilliant vocalizing, are my faves (Midnight to 6, naturally, but also Rosalyn, Don't Bring Me Down and of course their brilliant cover of Bo Diddley's Pretty Thing) for their raw energy and a style of anti-social edge that would soon disappear until it reappeared a decade later with punk.  There was never anything pretty about the Pretty Things but that's what made them so great.

The cover of their first LP (a parody of a Rembrandt painting, a joke almost nobody got). Phil May second left next to Dick Taylor with the beatnik beard.

Modern-retro video but with the original single audio of Rosalyn - Phil May at the top of his game! RIP Phil...

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by Bernard Kron

[STYRENE-SURFER]

Discovered this band late. It was a CD of "FS Sorrow" maybe 10 years ago.

Am I correct in thinking it was the first rock concept album?

My memory of these things are getting fuzzy.

[Bernard Kron]

30 minutes ago, STYRENE-SURFER said:

Discovered this band late. It was a CD of "FS Sorrow" maybe 10 years ago.

Am I correct in thinking it was the first rock concept album?

My memory of these things are getting fuzzy.

Not a whole album, but side 2 of the Who's second album, A Quick One. Entitled A Quick One while He's Away. it was a rock opera in six songs, the best known being "Ivan the Engine Driver". That was in 1966 and S.F. Sorrow was in 1967. The Who's Tommy, which most closely resembles Sorrow, is from 1969, two years later. So, yes, it has a pretty strong claim to being the first no-holds-barred full concept LP. A Quick One wimps out by having an "A" side which is basically a compilation of singles and cover songs.

[1972coronet]

Not to mention the Small Faces 1968 concept album (also their last studio album)  Ogden's Nut Gone Flake whose 2nd side is entitled Happiness Stan . 

Then there's the Moody Blues albums from 1967 - 1972 ; those albums are all fluid-stories and tales .