Poison (American band)



An American Glam Rock group, Poison was formed in Pennsylvania in The Eighties by Bret Michaels (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Bobby Dall (bass guitar) and Rikki Rockett (drums) before relocating to Los Angeles, where they were joined by C.C. DeVille (lead guitar) and quickly established themselves as one of the most popular bands in the Hair Metal scene.

Their greatest success was the album Open Up and Say... Ahh!, which included the number one hit "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" and peaked at number two on the Billboard charts, held off the top spot by Appetite For Destruction, New Jersey and Hysteria. While their next album (Flesh and Blood) did pretty well, they were eventually undermined by the rise of Grunge, intra-band tensions and unsuccessful attempts to adjust their style to changing trends within rock music.

For many listeners, Poison is the group that embodies the late eighties glam scene (and less charitably, it's often cited by folks who aren't so keen on hair bands as one the reasons why the style sucks balls). They were famed for their hard-partying lifestyle, their seemingly endless bickering with one another and their ability to fill arenas and stadiums and sell millions of records even though music critics (and most metal fans) aren't terribly keen on them.

Still a popular live draw, they've enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years.

Bret Michaels has since become a VH-1 reality star, and has his own series of dating shows, Rock of Love.


 * Chorus-Only Song: "Unskinny Bop", "Nothin' But A Good Time" and many more.
 * Contemptible Cover: Their first album, Look What the Cat Dragged In, featured the band in makeup so heavy they ended up looking like somewhat masculine women. Open Up and Say... Ahh! was better, but it's picture of a creepy-looking demon girl was eventually censored (in this version, only her eyes are shown) to avoid provoking too much hostility.
 * Cover Album: They had one called Poison'd, which mostly consisted of their versions of older glam rock songs.
 * Cover Version: "Your Mama Don't Dance" by Loggins and Messina, which appeared on the Open Up and Say... Ahh! album.
 * Creative Differences: Cited as a reason for C.C. DeVille's departure back in 1990; he was kicked out because the others thought his substance abuse issues were going a bit out of control (which is saying something), culminating in a highly publicised bust-up between him and Michaels at the MTV Music Video Awards in 1991.
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady: On the cover of their first album (pictured above).
 * Hair Metal: Archetypical example.
 * Intercourse with You: Almost all of their songs.
 * Power Ballad: "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is a particularly famous one.
 * Pretty Boy: The whole band, back in the 1980s.
 * Reality TV: They enjoyed a revival when they were featured on VH-1's Behind the Music, and Bret Michaels' has been involved in reality TV shows like Rock of Love and Celebrity Apprentice.
 * Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll: Their excessive tendencies were the stuff of legend in their heyday.
 * What Could Have Been: A number of guitarists were auditioned before C. C. DeVille joined the group. One of them was none other than Slash, who had yet to join Guns N' Roses; he was almost successful, but eventually decided to turn them down because he didn't like their glam image.