Poison is a glam rock band from Los Angeles. Formed by drummer Rikki Rockett and singer Bret Michaels. they started out in Pennsylvania in the early 80s. Their first band together was called the Spectres. They left the Spectres and started Paris with bassist Bobby Dall. They then moved to Los Angeles, where they parted ways with guitarist Matt Smith. Many people tried out for Poison’s vacant lead guitar spot, including soon-to-be Guns N’ Roses lead axeman Slash.
After hiring C.C. DeVille, they changed their name to the more edgy ”Poison” and started working their way up the L.A. Club scene. In 1986 they recorded their debut album ”Look What the Cat Dragged In”, which was made successful by their massive hit ”Talk Dirty to Me”, whose video was played on a constant rotation on MTV. Poison’s next album, the fan favorite ”Open Up and Say… Ahh!” was carried on the shoulders of the chart topping ballad ”Every Rose Has Its Thorn”, written by Bret Michaels about his girlfriend cheating on him with Quiet Riot frontman Kevin DuBrow. Poison’s third album, Flesh & Blood, showed Poison’s more mainstream side. After Flesh & Blood came out, Poison started going downhill. C.C. DeVille was in a constant drug binge and couldn’t be found. When Poison was slated to play Unskinny Bop for the MTV Movie Awards, C.C. forgot what song to play and ripped into Talk Dirty To Me on live television. He was fired on the spot.
Guitarist Ritchie Kotzen was brought in to record the album Native Tongue, which showed a new creative turn for the band. Ritchie was a good guitarist, but was thrown out of the band for sleeping with drummer Rikki Rocketts fiance. Poison then brought in Blues Saraceno as guitarist, with whom they recorded ”Crack A Smile…And More!”, one of Poison’s lost gems.
After years of disconnection, C.C. DeVille came back to Poison for a full reunion. They have since toured with many acts, including KISS. They are currently planning a summer tour with fellow hair metal elite Cinderella and have just released a new 20th anniversary greatest hits cd.
In the 2007 game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, the track “Talk Dirty to Me” is featured.
There are other artists with the same name:
2) Poison is a German Death/Thrash Metal band, formed in 1982.
Named “Poison (ger)” on Last FM
3) Poison was a Japanese hardcore punk band formed in 1982. Their sound is a mix of traditional Japanese hardcore and metal. The band later changed their name to Poison Arts.
4) Poison is an American Heavy/Speed Metal band, formed in 1983.
5) Poison is an American funk group formed in the ’70s
6) Poison was a Finnish band formed by Albert Järvinen
7) For the Garage punk/blues rock band formed in 1984 in Austin, Texas. Originally active from 1984 to 1987, the band played a reunion show in 2000. See Poison 13 Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
