Poison Profile

Poison hit it big in the late 80s, during the hair metal boom that swept the mainstream airwaves. Their sophomore album Open Up And Say…Ahh! was a major success, with the single “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” swooning the hearts of women worldwide. Like most bands in the genre, the ‘90s were a rough time for the quintet, but they bounced back and have become relevant again, thanks to a few summer tours and front man Bret Michaels starring in his own reality show, “Rock Of Love.”

Poison formed in 1983, but didn’t really get going until they relocated to Los Angeles in 1984. Playing in small clubs throughout the city, the quintet gained a large following as the year went on. This publicity helped them to signed Enigma Records, a subsidiary of Capital Records.

Their 1986 debut album, Look What The Cat Dragged In, didn’t sell well at first. The album gained momentum behind singles “Cry Tough,” “Talk Dirty To Me,” and “I Want Action.” The band continued to climb their way up the ladder; they would reach the top rung in 1988.

With the blockbuster success of sophomore album Open Up And Say…Ahh!, Poison became one of the top bands in hair metal, standing alongside Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe. While “Nothin’ But A Good Time” and “Fallen Angel” were high charting singles, it would be the acoustic ballad “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” that won the band instant fame.

The band packed stadium worldwide and seemed to get more and more popular as time went on. Poison entered 1990 with another big hit in Flesh & Blood, which charted in the top five on the Billboard and included singles “Something To Believe In” and “Unskinny Bop.” The tour in support of the album was one of their biggest to date, and spawned their first live album, 1991’s Swallow This Live.

Guitarist C.C DeVille began to develop a drug addiction during this time. The cracks between him and the rest of the band members became public with a disastrous performance at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. DeVille would be kicked out of the band and Richie Kotzen replaced him.

1993’s Native Tongue showed a harsher side of the band, fueled by the growing grunge movement of the early 90s and the input of new guitarist Kotzen. The album sold poorly compared to their ‘80s output, and Kotzen left the band after tensions rose in the band. He would be replaced by Blues Saraceno. The band languished through the rest of the decade, with no new material released, due to issues with the record label over the release of Crack A Smile. It would later be released in 2000 with a new title, Crack A Smile…And More.

In 2000, DeVille rejoined Poison and the band released five new tunes with DeVille on Power To The People, which also featured live cuts. The band began their rise back up to the spotlight with 2002’s Hollyweird, the first full-length album with DeVille in almost a decade. The album received a lukewarm response, but the band continued to tour in support of the album.

In 2007, Bret Michaels starred in the VH1 reality show “Rock Of Love.” In it, Michaels looked to find his one true love amongst a sea of women. Like most reality shows, the first time wasn’t the charm, so Michaels came back to do another two seasons. “Rock Of Love” was one of the high-rated shows on the network and gave Michaels a renewed celebrity status that rivaled his fame in the late ‘80s.

Poison released a covers album, Poison’d!, in 2007, but has largely remained quiet on word of new material. The band continues to tour, usually doing a major tour in the summer with another fellow hair metal band, and their fan base still comes out in droves to see old favorites in a live setting.

If You Like Poison, You Might Want To Check Out

Mötley Crüe, Whitesnake, Ratt

Current Band Members

Bret Michaels- Vocals, Guitar
C.C DeVille- Guitar, Backing Vocals
Bobby Dall- Bass
Rikki Rockett- Drums

Former Band Members

Matt Smith- Guitar (1984-1985)
Richie Kotzen- Guitar (1991-1994)
Blues Saraceno- Guitar (1994-1999)

Poison Discography

1986 Look What The Cat Dragged In (Capitol)
1988 Open Up And Say…Ahh! (Capitol)
1990 Flesh & Blood (Capitol)
1991 Swallow This Live (Capitol)
1993 Native Tongue (Capitol)
2000 Crack A Smile…And More (Capitol)
2000 Power To The People (Cyanide)
2002 Hollyweird (Cyanide)
2007 Poison’d! (Capitol)

Recommended Album

Open Up And Say…Ahh!
Poison’s 1988 sophomore album is still their most consistent effort to date, with stellar material from top-to-bottom. From the hard rockers to the cheesy ballads, Bret Michaels and company crafted mainstream-friendly, corporate rock that got lots of airplay on MTV. The album doesn’t feel as dated as most hair metal, and the guitar work of C.C DeVille is solid and energetic.