POISON A BRIEF HISTORY A resurgence in hard rock marked the year 1982 and in the minds of three Pennsylvania boys, it had never gone away in the first place.

Singer Bret Michaels and drummer Rikki Rockett were still playing barrooms and pool-hall nightclubs with a cover band throughout Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland when they met bassist Bobby Dall in early 1983. Wanting to be "everything they wanted to see" in a rock group, the three set out to create the ultimate high energy rock band. Chosen for his punk attitude and Aerosmith-like licks, Matt Smith became the first guitarist in Poison.

Poison wanted to play shows, not just gigs. Dragging everything from home-made lighting, piece-meal flash-pots, stolen drum risers and a concert PA system into the clubs earned them less than favorable reviews from the conservative club owners who still preferred hiring acts that weren't as loud and that performed new wave hits.

Forced out of many of these clubs, Poison soon promoted their own shows by renting out local dives and VFW halls and playing their own songs rather than the cover songs that were required on the regular club circuit. Poison's own way of doing things earned them opening slots at the larger rock clubs, where many national acts were featured monthly.

In March, 1984, hoping to land a record deal, Poison sold everything and moved to Los Angeles in a banged-up Chevette and an old ambulance van. The next few years would be spent in literal poverty as Poison used all their money to self-promote the band. Playing every club they could, Poison had risen to the top of the Hollywood circuit by 1985. While still being turned down by every major label, the pressure was too much and guitarist Matt Smith left the band and returned to Pennsylvania.

After 56 auditions, Poison selected C.C. DeVille for his writing style and in-your-face antics as a guitarist. A new fuse was lit and the Poison bomb started ticking again after just a few months with their new-found line-up.

-2-
November 12th marked the biggest show Poison had ever played, selling out two nights at the world-famous Troubador, with lines around the block. Poison went on to play larger venues selling more tickets than many national acts who played the same clubs.

Enigma Records, an independent record label, believed in the band and offered a small advance for a record and tour. With eight nights in the studio and a meager $30,000, Poison's first record "Look What The Cat Dragged In" was born. It sold more than 40,000 records out of the box with the little promotion Enigma Records could afford.

Playing in as many clubs as possible, the guys in Poison were paying their dues, criss-crossing America, all the while traveling in a rented camper.

Seeing the potential of Poison, Capitol Records offered a distribution deal and a video. With a small budget, Poison filmed a live video for the single, "Cry Tough" for MTV. Getting sparse MTV and radio airplay, Poison embarked on a number of tours opening for Quiet Riot, Loudness and Cinderella.

After returning from the tour, Poison decided to take one more crack at a single and video before moving on to the next record, if one could even be made.

With another small budget, Poison filmed "Talk Dirty To Me" in a wherehouse with limited props and cameras, and released the song as a single to radio.

The Poison bomb finally exploded as phones lit up at radio and MTV for the new single from this bizarre, new high-energy punk/glam band.

On tour with Ratt, and releasing two more singles, "I Want Action" and "I Won't Forget You," Poison's first album would eventually go on to sell more than four million copies.

In 1987, the band got ready to release their next record knowing they had to prove the "one-hit wonder" scenario wrong and record and release an album just as big if not bigger than "Look What The Cat Dragged In." The pressure was on, especially by critics who viewed Poison as merely a lucky-break party band pointing at their theatrical appearance as all flash.

-3-

Poison released the first single, "Nothin' But A Good Time" from their new album, "Open Up And Say Ahh..." which had a cover that had been banned from many stores for demonic inferences. The success smacked the faces of the "only a party band" critics, reaching platinum status within two weeks of the record's release.

The second single, "Fallen Angel" (a song about a good girl gone bad in the streets of LA) propeled "Open Up And Say Ahh..." to double platinum.

At the end of 1988, embracing the rock 'n roll adage of "anything goes," Poison took a hard right turn from their glam image and released a heart-felt ballad called "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," a primarily acoustic track that was unprecedented for its time. Radio stations around the world began to declare Poison the "real deal" and saw the band reach the #1 slot for several weeks in Billboard Magazine.

Poison's live show began to get rave reviews as the greatest show since KISS and a must-see extravaganza with a "what will they do when they headline?" punchline.

By the time Poison had finished a seven-month leg of the Ratt tour and a five-month excursion with David Lee Roth, Poison was out to prove they could headline.

With a remake of Loggins and Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance" as a new video and single, Poison trekked across the U.S.A. as headliners selling out almost every market and finally reaching the six-million album sales mark by the time the tour had finished.

Poison's third record, "Flesh And Blood" shipped platinum, and the first single was the hit, "Unskinny Bop."

By this time, many knock-off Poison-like bands started to release records. With the advent of MTV being the new marketing tool of the 80's, Poison was the nucleus of a revolution going beyond the cutting edge.

-4-

"Give Me Somethin' To Believe In" was the next single Poison released, a piano-centered ballad about their security guard, Kimo, who had passed away and a tribute to not forgetting about all the unfortunate things they knew were happening around them. The ballad became one of the longest running videos on MTV. "Life Goes On," a song about the loneliness and tribulaions of being on tour for so many months, was well received with a video that broke ground by being filmed in a dreamlike state. The title track "Flesh And Blood" pushed Poison's record sales into the multi- platinum stratosphere.

Being hailed as one of the few bands other than Metallica to ever spend two years at a time on the road, Poison finally gave in to exhaustion and pressure. The tour ended with the typical rock and roll wounds that kill so many bands: personal differences, fist fights, drug addictions, etc. Additionally, Bret's diabetes was responsible for a few cancelled dates and the overwrought barrage of media exposure warranted a much needed break.

Poison decided to release the live recordings from the "Flesh And Blood" tour for a live record. Told that most bands record live albums in the studio and dub in crowd noise, Poison refused. It was going to be live or not at all.

Poison added four new tracks and soon released "Swallow This Live" in 1991. Just prior to this, Poison was asked to play MTV's award show and the exhaustion and drug abuses were so evident that Bret Michaels and C.C. DeVille's differences had come to a boil as the two flailed at each other seconds after they came offstage. The break-up rumors flew.

Pressure from outside sources to do the impending "Next Album" forced in another guitarist, Richie Kotzen, to record Poison's fourth studio album, "Native Tongue" as evidence grew that C.C. DeVille was no longer a member of the band.

"Stand," the first single from "Native Tongue" broke into the Top Ten as the tour prematurely ended in May, 1994, when Bret totalled his Ferrari sending him to the hospital with an assortment of broken bones and teeth. Cancelled tour dates quelled the progress of "Native Tongue" and it was evident that Poison needed a break....for real this time.

-5-
On one last stint before the break, Poison toured South America with guitarist Blues Saraceno, playing to sold-out arenas in all the South American countries, including the prestigious HOLLYWOOD ROCK concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to over 165,000 people. The two-month tour was a welcome relief that proved that Poison wasn't over in spite of the problems and rumors.

It has been ten years since Poison entered the studio for the first time to record "Look What The Cat Dragged In" and it won't be the last, especially with the recent announcement that C.C. DeVille was returning to the band....