Retro Spins: Britny Fox - Boys In Heat

 

With the massive success of their debut, and sudden boost in popularity, Britny Fox found themselves touring with the likes of Ratt, Warrant, and Poison, performing in massive arenas, which only served to push them more and more into the limelight. Critics praised them, and fans awarded them as the best debut band of 1988.

Returning to the studio, they released their sophomore album, Boys In Heat. With it would come a handful of singles, none of which would hit the charts. This was odd, considering the album peaked at number seventy-nine on the Billboard 200.

Welcome to 1989, where albums are predominantly being pushed on CD format, and as a result are bloated. By song eight, it felt like it had been playing for an eternity, and still had five more tracks to go in this over hour long album. Mind you, by this point, I hadn't heard anything that left me saying, "Wow, that's great!" In fact, I found myself tuning things out.

In Motion is a decent opening track. It brings with it the high energy expected from the boys. But that's about where it all ends. Overall, I don't need Britny Fox in my life. They're just another hair band, lost in the pool of an over saturated market of better options.

After its release, lead singer "Dizzy" Dean Davidson would make the decision to depart the band. He'd cite a dislike for the band's material, calling it label and management controlled, as well as prefabricated. He'd go on to form Blackeyed Susan, and release Electric Rattlebone in 1991 under label, Mercury. The album would be a complete failure, resulting in the label pulling support during the middle of their tour. A second album, Just A Taste, would be self released in 1992. However, it too would fail to garner any attention.

The departure of Davidson, and the failure of their second album would lead to the band departing CBS Records. However, they wouldn't throw in the towel. Instead, they'd hire new singer, Tommy Paris, and release their third album, Bite Down Hard in 1991. It ultimately would also fail, swallowed up in the emerging grunge scene. They'd disband in 1992.

This lineup would reunite in 2000, and release their final studio album to date, Springhead Motorshark, in 2003. Unsurprisingly, it was not successful. The boys would once again disband. By 2006, Billy Childs would be the only remaining original member, and once again launch Britny Fox. Greg D'Angelo would replace original drummer, Johnny Dee, only to be replaced the following year by Henry Now. Tommy Krash would replace guitarist Michael Kelly Smith, but he too would be out the following year, replaced by Greg Polcari. Tommy Paris would return as lead singer, but if you're following the trend so far, you guessed it. By 2007 he too was out, replaced by Jamie Fletcher. This lineup stayed intact through 2014.

In 2010, Davidson unsuccessfully attempted to reunite the original members of the band. Instead, the above noted lineup would change in 2015, with drummer Johnny Dee, and Tommy Paris returning. They'd join Childs with new guitarist Chris Sanders. This would only last until 2017, and the band would go dormant until 2022, when Childs once again reformed the band with Ronnie Rogers, Greg Polcari, and Henry Now. This iteration is the current lineup, but who knows how long that will last. 

As of late, I've been getting a lot of band recommendations from a co-worker of mine. Specifically, a co-worker who was big into 80's metal. He's made some recommendations of bands that probably should be in my ever expanding CD collection already, but also some I've never heard of. Over these past few weeks, I've been crossing off several albums, many I don't know. Will I find myself some new music? Or will I discover I've yet again wasted a bunch of money on bands and albums I don't need? We'll find out soon enough as I get the remaining stragglers in and start playing through them.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

Retro Spins: Britny Fox - Britny Fox

Ah, the 80's. Where the men were so into their long hair, high heels, slinky clothes, and makeup, that Steven Tyler himself would be duped by one from behind, prompting him to write, Dude (Looks Like A Lady). You couldn't swing a stick without hitting a hair band. For the girls, it was bad boys singing ballads to them. For the guys, it was hard rock energy and rebellion.

Britny Fox emerged in the mid 80's, securing a recording contract thanks to their ties with Tony Destra, and Michael Kelly Smith, of Cinderella, who were both part of the original lineup. Prior to Destra's death in 1986, the band recorded the demo, In America. This was followed by Rock Is Gonna Fight, with new drummer, Adam West, in 1987. This would lead to their 1988 self-titled debut, which would be considered one of the best of the year, being certified gold. This allowed them the opportunity to tour extensively, opening for acts such as Poison, Warrant, and Ratt. They would also win Metal Edge magazine's Readers Choice Award for Best New Band.

MTV would help push their success with the steady rotation of videos for Girlschool, Long Way To Love, and the power ballad, Save The Weak. Despite this, only Long Way would see any chart success, and just barely by making number one hundred on the Billboard Hot 100. Chart success was far better for the album as a whole, peaking at thirty-nine on the Billboard 200.

All of this, and would you believe I never heard of them until recently? It's true. I came across them while doing a general search of Google for 80's hair bands. Though I went back and forth a few times, I eventually pulled the trigger, grabbing both of their albums from the decade.

Firing it up, I was immediately greeted by Girlschool. Seeing the album cover, I was expecting a Bon Jovi type album. What I instead got was beaten over the head by the raspy powerful vocals of "Dizzy" Dean Davidson. I honestly had to stop after track three, and take a break to regroup myself, and start over.

I'm glad I did because my original impression was, "I didn't sign on for this." Whereas coming back a few days later, mentally prepared for what I was instore for, things resonated better.

The back to back openers, Girlschool, and Longway To Lover were pretty solid entries. Nothing amazing by any means, but definitely rocking that 80's hairband sound.

When ballad, Save The Weak started up, I didn't even need to read the song title to know what it was. Not because I knew it, or had heard it previously. Rather, it just had that cheesy ballad sound to it right from the start. It definitely wasn't for me. It's the kind of track you'd easily find on those compilation albums that you ordered off a television ad from Time Life in the 90's. It's terrible in all the right ways.

As for the rest of the album, it was relatively forgettable, and quickly fell into background noise territory. There was nothing bad about it by any means. But in the world of your Mötley Crüe's, Bon Jovi's, Def Leppard's, and everyone else in the hair metal scene, they just don't stand out as much.

Britny Fox would return to the studio to release 1989's Boys In Heat, an album title which really doesn't excite me to listen to next. However, shortly after it dropped, so to did lead singer Davidson. He dropped right out of the band, and went on to form another group. We'll pick up there tomorrow. 

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.