Poison

Poison biography

Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including six Top 10 singles and the Hot 100 number-one single, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". In the 2000s, with the original line up back together, the band found new popularity after a successful greatest hits reunion tour in 1999. The band toured almost every year in the 2000s to sold out stadiums and arenas. Band members have released several solo albums and starred in successful reality TV shows. After 25 years, the band is still recording music and performing.

Since their debut in 1986, they have released eight studio albums, four live albums, five compilation albums, and have issued 28 singles to radio.

Early years (1983-1986)

Poison was formed in 1983, and consisted of lead vocalist and more Bret Michaels, guitarist Matt Smith, bassist Bobby Dall, and drummer Rikki Rockett. Bret Michaels and Rikki Rockett first joined forces to form a band called the Spectres in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and then teamed up with Matt Smith and Bobby Dall to form Paris. After playing mostly rock cover songs in Mechanicsburg-area bars they moved to Los Angeles on 6 March 1984 and changed the name of the band from Paris to Poison.

Rise to fame (1986-1991)

Poison promoted themselves up and down Hollywood's Sunset Strip, passing out flyers and making the rounds performing in the famous local clubs. During this period, Poison's manager negotiated a deal under which the West Hollywood club, The Troubador, would pay for shows. At this time, Smith, who was about to become a father and was concerned about the band's future, left the band to return home to Pennsylvania. The band auditioned for a replacement guitarist, eventually narrowing down the field to three candidates: Slash, who would later join Guns N' Roses, Steve Silva from The Joe Perry Project, and New York-born guitarist C.C. DeVille, although Michaels and Dall did not initially get along with Deville, the band eventually agreed that DeVille's "fire" made him the best choice.

Michaels, Dall, Rockett and DeVille signed to independent label Enigma Records in 1986 (see 1986 in music) for approximately $30,000. Their debut album: Look What the Cat Dragged In, was released 2 August 1986. It originally included only one single, "Cry Tough"; however, Look What the Cat Dragged In became a surprise success and subsequently spawned three charting hits: "Talk Dirty to Me", "I Want Action", and "I Won't Forget You", The record became the biggest-selling-album in Enigma's history. With heavy rotation on MTV, their debut earned the band tours with fellow glam rockers Ratt, Cinderella, and Quiet Riot, as well as a coveted slot in the Texxas Jam in Dallas. The album ultimately has sold 4 million copies worldwide.

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