Stephen Pearcy | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Stephen Eric Pearcy |
Born | Long Beach, California, U.S. | July 3, 1956
Genres | Heavy metal, glam metal, hard rock, alternative metal, industrial |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Years active | 1970–present |
Stephen Eric Pearcy (born July 3, 1956) [1] is an American musician who is the founder, singer, songwriter of the heavy metal band Ratt. He has also created the bands Firedome, Crystal Pystal, Arcade, Vicious Delite, and Vertex. He has also recorded seven albums as a solo artist.
In his early teens, Pearcy aspired to be a top fuel race car driver[ clarification needed ] and expressed no desire to pursue a career in music. [2] He listened to music and occasionally went to concerts in the 1970s.[ citation needed ] One night during the summer of 1970, a hit-and-run driver struck Pearcy while he was riding his bicycle.[ citation needed ] While he was in the hospital for six months recovering from his accident, someone gave him an acoustic guitar.[ citation needed ] After fiddling around with the guitar for a short time, Pearcy decided to shift his focus from driving race cars to playing music.[ citation needed ] He started the bands Firedome and Crystal Pystal. Pearcy also wrote music for a band that he named Mickey Ratt (formed in San Diego in 1977). Pearcy moved his band to Los Angeles in 1980 after seeing Van Halen at The Whisky a Go Go.[ citation needed ]
In 1981, the band's name was shortened to Ratt, and the original lineup was solidified in 1983. Playing clubs such as The Troubadour, The Roxy and The Whisky, Ratt amassed a large local following. After releasing an eponymous six-song EP in 1983 that sold 200,000 copies, Ratt released its breakthrough album, Out of the Cellar , on Atlantic Records in 1984. The band opened arena shows and tours for ZZ Top, Ozzy Osbourne and Billy Squier. "Out of the Cellar" went five times multi-platinum, and the band headed its own arena tours around the world for the next ten years. After releasing four multi-platinum records and three gold albums with Ratt,[ citation needed ] Pearcy left the band in 1992. [3]
Pearcy and former Cinderella drummer Fred Coury formed the band Arcade in 1992. Arcade released a self-titled album in 1993 and another album the following year. In 1996, Pearcy dabbled in an industrial metal band called Vertex (with Megadeth's Al Pitrelli and drummer / electronic producer Hiro Kuretani).
Pearcy reunited with Ratt in 1996, minus Robbin Crosby and Juan Croucier, only to leave the band for a second time in 2000 on the eve of a tour due to differences over the financial allocation amongst band members.
Pearcy rejoined Ratt in 2006 [3] before leaving again on April 24, 2014, explaining he was "officially done with having anything to do with them due to the constant turmoil, unresolved business, personal attacks/threats in the public forum, and most of all, the disrespect to the fans". [4] [5]
On November 29, 2016, Pearcy and other members of Ratt announced the upcoming Back for More Tour. [6] [7]
A new Ratt lineup including Jordan Ziff (lead guitars) and drummer Pete Holmes (from the band Black and Blue) performed a handful of shows in late 2018 and embarked on a world tour starting in May 2019.
In April 2020, Pearcy appeared with Ratt in a television commercial where new homeowners lament that they "have a Ratt problem." [8]
Pearcy has recorded four solo records under his own indie label Top Fuel Records. The latest, "View to a Thrill", was released on Frontiers Music/Top Fuel Records in November 2018; the music from the album was written by Pearcy and guitarist Erik Ferentinos.
2024, as a guest, Pearcy is singing the song "Shoot Shoot" on the Michael Schenker album My Years with UFO.
Pearcy is married to Kristi Adair. He has a daughter from his first marriage, born 1995.
Pearcy underwent knee replacement surgery in 2019, three months after two Ratt shows that saw him incapacitated to the point where he had difficulty remembering the words to some of the band's songs. [9]
In the rockumentary "Nothing to Lose: A Stephen Pearcy Rockumentary" (2021), produced and directed by Kristi Adair, Pearcy confirmed that he beat his liver cancer after having had chemotherapy and an ablation procedure that removed his cancer completely. He was subsequently on a maintenance program to make certain that his cancer did not return. As of 2022, four years after having been diagnosed, he was free of cancer. [10] [11]
With | Year | Title | Label | US Billboard peak | US sales |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ratt | 1983 | Ratt | Time Coast / Atlantic | 133 | 150,000 |
1984 | Out of the Cellar | Atlantic | 7 | 5 million | |
1985 | Invasion of Your Privacy | 7 | 3 million | ||
1986 | Dancing Undercover | 26 | Platinum+ | ||
1988 | Reach for the Sky | 17 | Platinum+ | ||
1990 | Detonator | 23 | 750,000 | ||
1991 | Ratt & Roll 81-91 | 57 | Platinum | ||
Arcade | 1993 | Arcade | Sony | 133 | 100,000+ |
1994 | A/2 | 40,000+ | |||
Vicious Delite | 1995 | Vicious Delite | Top Fuel Records | ||
Vertex | 1996 | Vertex | Blue Dolphin | ||
Ratt | 1997 | Collage | RATT Records | ||
1999 | Ratt | Portrait Records | 169 | (200,000 est world) | |
Solo | 2000 | Before And Laughter | Top Fuel Records | ||
2002 | Social Intercourse | Top Fuel Records | |||
2006 | Fueler | Top Fuel Records | |||
Stripped | Sidewinder Records | ||||
2008 | Under My Skin | Top Fuel Records | |||
Ratt | 2010 | Infestation | Loud & Proud / Roadrunner Records | 30 | 150,000+ |
Solo | 2017 | Smash | Frontiers Music SRL / Top Fuel Records | ||
Solo | 2018 | View to a Thrill | Frontiers Music SRL / Top Fuel Records | ||
TBA | Legacy (compilation album) |
Out of the Cellar is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Ratt, released in 1984 by Atlantic Records. The album was an immediate success, with wide airplay on radio and heavy rotation on MTV of its singles, especially the hit "Round and Round". The album is certified as triple platinum by the RIAA. The album brought Ratt to the top of the glam metal scene in Los Angeles. Out of the Cellar would prove to be the band's most successful album.
Juan Croucier is a Cuban-born American musician. He is best known as the bassist for the hard rock/glam metal band Ratt.
Robert John Blotzer is an American musician best known as the drummer for metal band Ratt. He attended Torrance High School in Torrance, California along with his future Ratt bandmate Juan Croucier.
Invasion of Your Privacy is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Ratt. It was released in 1985 and featured the singles "Lay It Down", "You're in Love" and "What You Give Is What You Get". Beau Hill produced the album, and the cover model is Playboy model Marianne Gravatte, who also made an appearance in the "Lay It Down" music video. In 2015, Loudwire ranked the album as the 8th best metal album of 1985.
Ratt is the debut EP by American glam metal band Ratt. It was released independently in 1983 on the band's Time Coast label.
Reach for the Sky is the fourth studio album by American glam metal band Ratt, released in 1988 by Atlantic Records.
Collage is a compilation album by American glam metal band Ratt. It consists of alternate recordings, B-sides, and versions of songs from the band's Mickey Ratt period. It was mostly recorded and released in 1997, concurrently with Ratt's reunion tour, so that they would have a new album to promote. In 1998, the band would sign a new major label deal with Sony.
"Lay It Down" is a single by American glam metal band Ratt. It was the first single released to promote the group's second album, Invasion of Your Privacy.
"Wanted Man" is the first track on American heavy metal band Ratt's album Out of the Cellar. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the 1985 film Weird Science. The song was composed by Robbin Crosby, Stephen Pearcy, and Joey Cristofanilli, and it was the second biggest hit on the album, reaching number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 38 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
"Shame Shame Shame" is a single by American heavy metal band Ratt, released on their album Detonator. The song's lyrics focus mainly on cheating. The song was co-written by famed songwriter Desmond Child, Ratt guitarist Warren DeMartini and lead singer Stephen Pearcy. The song features a slow detuned opening guitar solo, titled "Intro To Shame", that suddenly speeds up at the 0:55 mark until the drums and the bass come in at 1:01 into the song.
"Dance" is a song by American heavy metal band Ratt. It is the first track off their 1986 album Dancing Undercover and the tenth track of their compilation album Ratt & Roll 81-91. It reached #59 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Stephen Pearcy, guitarists Robbin Crosby and Warren DeMartini, and album producer Beau Hill.
"I Want a Woman" is a song by American heavy metal band Ratt.
"Slip of the Lip" is a song recorded by American heavy metal band Ratt in 1986 from the album Dancing Undercover and is also on their greatest hits album Ratt & Roll 81-91. It was written by Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy, bassist Juan Croucier, and guitarist Warren DeMartini.
"Lovin' You's a Dirty Job" is a single by the American heavy metal band Ratt. It was released as the first single from their 1990 album Detonator. The song was co-written by Ratt bassist Juan Croucier, guitarist Warren DeMartini, lead singer Stephen Pearcy and songwriter Desmond Child. The song is known for its anthemic chorus, and Pearcy's raspy vocals. The B-Side of the US single was "What's It Gonna Be", taken from their previous album Reach for the Sky. There was also a UK 12" which included a remix of "Lovin' You..." which was eventually included on Collage.
"Nobody Rides for Free" is a single by the American heavy metal band Ratt. It was originally taken from the Point Break soundtrack.
"Body Talk" is a song written and recorded by American heavy metal band Ratt. The song is primarily written by Ratt's bassist Juan Croucier. Ratt's guitarist Warren DeMartini had the song's opening riffs for years. However, no one was able to develop it into a song. Under a very tight deadline, Ratt bassist Juan Croucier stepped in. He wrote all the vocal melodies and lyrics, adding additional chord progressions to the one riff that had been around for years. The song title was apparently conceived of by Ratt producer Beau Hill or vocalist Stephen Pearcy.
"You're in Love" is a song by the American heavy metal band Ratt. It is the first track on the group's 1985 album Invasion of Your Privacy, and the second single released from the record by Atlantic Records.
Ratt was an American glam metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is perhaps best known for hit singles such as "Round and Round" and "Lay It Down", tracks that ranked on Billboard's top 40 at No. 12 and No. 40, respectively, as well as other songs such as "Wanted Man", "You're in Love" and "Dance". Along with bands such as friendly rivals Mötley Crüe, Ratt has been recognized as instrumental in the formation of the early 1980s Los Angeles glam metal scene, also known as "hair metal" or "pop metal".
Bradley Allen Lang is an American bassist. He became known for playing with Y&T, replacing long-time group member Phil Kennemore, after the latter was diagnosed with lung cancer. He later played with Bobby Blotzer's Ratt. He currently is playing with the BulletBoys.