Pretty Rare

There was never a band quite like The Pretty Things Fiercer than many of their contemporaries, endlessly adventurous, and gloriously unwilling to follow fashion, they travelled a path from raw rhythm and blues through psychedelia, proto-progressive rock, hard rock & beyond, leaving behind one of British music's richest and most inimitable catalogues. Yet much of their story has remained hidden - preserved on acetates, home demos, rehearsal tapes & audience recordings that reveal how the music was really created.

Across twelve CDs, Pretty Rare opens that archive and follows The Pretty Things from their earliest recordings in 1965 through to Phil May and Dick Taylor's final recordings over fifty years later. Rather than simply revisiting familiar albums, it captures the moments in between: the songs taking shape on home tape machines, abandoned versions, alternate mixes, legendary lost projects, intimate rehearsals and electrifying live performances that document the band's evolution in real time.

The journey begins with extraordinary early studio material, including previously unheard demos, acetates & alternate recordings from the 'Emotions' and 'S.F. Sorrow' era, before moving through stunning concert performances from Paris, Hyde Park & Amsterdam that find the group at the height of their psychedelic powers. The Philippe Debarge sessions finally take their rightful place alongside the remarkable Westbourne Terrace Revox demos, revealing Phil May and Wally Waller building the musical language that would culminate in the masterpiece 'Parachute'. The archive continues through the band's long-overdue American breakthrough with powerful performances from Aurora, Illinois in 1973 & Cleveland's legendary Agora Ballroom in 1975, before documenting the remarkable rebirth of the 1980s with 'Live At Heartbreak Hotel', rare studio recordings, singles & long unavailable tracks. Later discs explore Wally Waller's fascinating rehearsal tapes, capturing the band refining classics over more than a decade, alongside anniversary concerts, the acclaimed live recreation of their debut album at London's 100 Club, & the poignant final recordings made by Phil May & Dick Taylor.

Throughout, the collection reveals a different side of The Pretty Things. These recordings capture inspiration in its purest form: songs still evolving, arrangements being tested, musicians rediscovering old favourites, & performances that prove why the band remained one of Britain's most compelling live acts for more than half a century. It is a portrait not simply of a great band, but of a restless one that never stopped searching. Accompanying the music is a beautifully produced hardback book featuring extensive new liner notes, rare photographs and memorabilia, placing every recording in its historical context & drawing on recollections from Phil May, Dick Taylor, Wally Waller, Jon Povey, Skip Alan & many of those who shared the journey. For devoted followers, 'Pretty Rare' gathers together some of the most elusive recordings in the band's history in one definitive collection. For anyone discovering The Pretty Things for the first time, it offers the fullest picture yet of a group whose influence reached far beyond their commercial success - and  whose reputation has only continued to grow with time. This is the hidden history of one of Britain's greatest rock bands, finally brought together in one extraordinary collection.