Faster Pussycat
The mid-'80s Los Angeles glam/sleaze scene which produced Guns N' Roses also saw the formation of Faster Pussycat in 1986 around vocalist Taime Downe and guitarist Mick Cripps—although Cripps later departed for L.A. Guns along with original bassist, Kelly Nickels. Downe, formerly co-owner of LA club The Cathouse, recruited guitarists Brent Muscat and Greg Steele, bassist Eric Stacy and drummer Mark Michals, and, with a name taken from Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! film, the band signed to Elektra in December 1986. FASTER PUSSYCAT was recorded with Poison producer Ric Browde on a low budget, and was an infectious collection of Aerosmith/Rolling Stones-influenced numbers, with the band's sense of humour shining through in Bathroom Wall, Don't Change That Song and Babylon. A UK tour with Guns N' Roses and US dates with Alice Cooper, Dave Lee Roth and Motörhead helped build respectable album sales and the band had matured considerably by the time they recorded WAKE ME WHEN IT'S OVER with John Jansen. This buried the glam image under a heavier sound and greater lyrical depth, with Pulling Weeds addressing the abortion issue, while the emotive House Of Pain examined the effects of divorce through a child's eyes. The humour still permeated through, however, on Slip Of The Tongue and Where There's A Whip There's A Way. Michals left in disgrace, jailed on drugs charges, on the eve of a European tour with the Almighty and Dangerous Toys, and Frankie Banali filled in before Brett Bradshaw took the drumstool for further US touring with Kiss and Mötley Crüe. WHIPPED showed further progression and a diverse approach, but emerged into a much different musical climate. Despite the quality of the album, Faster Pussycat fell victim to a combination of the recession and the success of the Seattle bands—ironically, Downe was a Seattle native—with Elektra dropping them while they toured America with Kiss. The band split shortly thereafter. Taime Downe was later spotted helping out Pigface.