Poison Power On Thanks to Excess

Posted on May 1st 2009 5:00PM by James Sullivan
Comments

Reality shows, video games, comeback tours: How can we miss the hair bands of the '80s if they won't go away? The continuing ubiquity of bands like Poison makes us nostalgic for that tackiest of decades, when the professional moralists could take offense with an album cover of Bambi.

OK, so "Bambi" was a model, with tiger stripes on her face and a serpentine tongue that made Gene Simmons' look like a kitten's. In the heyday of the Parents Music Resource Center, church groups were outraged by the demonic-looking image on the cover of the album, 'Open Up and Say... Ahh!' Later versions featured a censored cover, with all but the model's eyes obscured.

It was just the sort of silly controversy Poison needed to assure its place as one of the decade's biggest pop-metal bands.

The group was already a breakout success, with its 1986 debut, 'Look What the Cat Dragged In,' selling two million copies. The album was co-written by singer Bret Michaels and guitarist CC Deville, who ticked off his future band mate right from the get-go, playing his own riff, 'Talk Dirty to Me,' at his audition. Despite the disagreement, the rest of the band backed the glam-y New Yorker, and he beat out a guitarist named Slash for the job.

Like any self-respecting band of the era, Poison made the most of its excesses. In a feud with Axl Rose, the band was slapped with a lawsuit after members poured hot water on a record company publicist.

Deville befriended wildman comedian Sam Kinison, and photos of Michaels with needles backstage (he's a diabetic) led to rumors that he was a junkie. Meanwhile, Deville's struggles with cocaine and alcohol were proving more than just a rumor.

After six Top 10 hits and a certified blockbuster (the 8 million-selling 'Open Up...'), Deville was still playing his first riff. At the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, he sabotaged his band's performance of 'Unskinny Bop' by breaking into a sloppy version of 'Talk Dirty to Me.' Backstage, he and Michaels got into a brawl that led to the guitarist's firing.

Some things never change. Fifteen years later, with all original members reunited, Michaels and bassist Bobby Dall got into a fight onstage in Atlanta. It was the band's 20th anniversary tour. To celebrate, Capitol Records released remastered versions of the band's first three albums. On the cover of 'Open Up...,' Bambi was once again sticking her tongue out.

Download Poison Songs