Cross Talk

The Pretty Things, led by founding vocalist & guitarist Phil May & Dick Taylor, are iconic 1st wave R&B cult heroes who created some of the most exciting & innovative records of the sixties, early seventies & beyond. Winners of the very first Mojo Hero Award, the band have been a massive success & a huge influence on artists as diverse as David Bowie, The Ramones, Bob Dylan, The Sex Pistols, The White Stripes & many more.

The band burst onto the scene in 1965 with a blend of raw, explosive R&B. Over the course of several albums, they evolved their sound, highlighted by the release of the first ever rock opera S.F. Sorrow. They followed this with a string of albums which secured the band a firm & loyal fanbase.

Cross Talk was to be the triumphant return of the Pretty Things. The band had been dormant for more than three years, but in 1979 Phil May & Pete Tolson started writing together again & with the help of Dave Gilmour recorded some demos. Pulling together an A-team Pretty Things line-up of Pete Tolson, Wally Waller, Jon Povey, Skip Alan, & making his return to the fold after ten years away, founding member Dick Taylor. The boys were back.

Released in August 1980, Cross Talk marked a brave new sound for the Pretty Things. Not for the first time they had completely reinvented themselves & in doing so created one of their defining albums. Cross Talk was also a starkly personal statement for Phil May as a lyricist. May considered Cross Talk to be among his proudest artistic achievements; its commercial failure remained one of his bitterest disappointments.

Cross Talk from legendary British rock band The Pretty Things is available on CD via Madfish.