Poison Rock Band

Poison began life in 1983 under the name Paris and consisted of lead vocalist Bret Michaels, guitarist Matt Smith, bassist Bobby Dall, and drummer Rikki Rockett. Moving to Los Angeles in March 1984, they started playing the club circuit. The name Poison was picked by the band after a T-shirt worn by drummer Mick Shrimpton in This is Spinal Tap, as the band knew that they fit the stereotypes of rock stars in the movie.

Smith, who was about to father a child and was concerned about the band's future, returned to Pennsylvania. The band began auditioning replacement guitarists when Smith left the group. After narrowing down the candidates to three - Slash, who would later join Guns N' Roses, Steve Silva from The Joe Perry Project, and C. C. DeVille - the band eventually agreed that DeVille's "fire" made him the best choice.

The band began to gain notoriety on the Sunset Strip for its theatrical live shows and striking "glam" image. Without money for effects, they would fill the stage with old Harleys and car parts, blow up car fuses and pour confetti onto themselves from boxes in the ceiling. The band's live antics were, however, widely considered to have been copied from the band Kix.

During this period, Poison's manager negotiated a deal under which West Hollywood club The Troubadour would pay for shows by covering the band's monthly rent and "recreation" bill. Ultimately, the shows drew sufficient crowds to enable the band to make a profit from them.

Michaels, Dall, Rockett and DeVille signed to independent label Enigma Records in 1986 (see 1986 in music) for approximately $US 30,000. Their debut album, Look What the Cat Dragged In was released on August 2, 1986. It included one single, "Cry Tough", that never charted followed by three hits, "Talk Dirty to Me", "I Want Action", and "I Won't Forget You". Sales for the album topped 2 million copies. The record's production would later fuel a public feud between the band and producer Ric Browde, who stated that Poison was a "triumph of image over substance" and that DeVille was the only member of the band who had any musical talent.

In 1987 the band also recorded a cover of the Kiss song "Rock And Roll All Nite" for Less Than Zero's soundtrack. In the same year, a Geffen publicist successfully sued Michaels and Dall for assault after they poured a bucket of ice water over her at a party. The stunt appeared to have been in retaliation for various negative comments made about Poison by Geffen band Guns N' Roses.readmore>>

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