Stephen Pearcy
Encyclopedia
Stephen Erica Pearcy is the lead singer of the 80's metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band Ratt
Ratt
Ratt is an American heavy metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s. The band is best known for songs such as "Round and Round," "Wanted Man," "Lay It Down," "You're in Love", "Slip of the Lip", "Back For More", "Dance", "Body Talk", "I Want a Woman", and "Way Cool Jr." Ratt...

. He has also been in the bands Arcade
Arcade (band)
Arcade is a rock band formed in 1991 by ex-Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy, ex-Sea Hags guitarist Frankie Wilsex , ex-Talas/Michael Monroe guitarist Johnny Angel, and Cinderella drummer Fred Coury. Its originally proposed name was to be Taboo....

, Vicious Delite
Vicious Delite
Vicious Delite was an alternative metal band formed by Stephen Pearcy in 1995 after Arcade. They released a limited self-titled EP in 1995 followed by a full length version...

, Vertex
Vertex (band)
Vertex was a band formed in 1995 featuring singer Stephen Pearcy , guitarist Al Pitrelli , and drummer Hiro Kuretani .They released a self-titled album in 1996 as well as a single for the track "One Like a Son"...

, Nitronic, and Band From Hell. He has also recorded as a solo artist.

Pearcy has also worked as an actor, playing the killer hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...

, Timothy Bach, in the horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

 "Camp Utopia".

Early career

In his early teens, Pearcy aspired to be a top fuel race car driver and expressed no desire to pursue a career in music.
He listened to music and occasionally went to concerts in the 1970s, however he had not so much as played a note in his whole life. Fate interfered in the form of a hit-and-run driver who struck Pearcy while he was riding his friends bike one night during the summer of 1974. While he was in the hospital recovering from his bike accident, somebody gave him an acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...

. After fiddling around with the guitar for a short time, Pearcy decided to shift his vocational focus from a race car driver to playing music. He started a band which he named Mickey Ratt, a take on the Walt Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

 character Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...

, in San Diego during the late 1970s. After he and the band moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 in 1980, the band's name was shortened to Ratt and the original lineup was solidified. Playing clubs like The Roxy
The Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre is a famous nightclub, on the Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood, California. The Roxy is owned by Lou Adler and Adler's son, Nic, who operates the club.- History :...

 and The Whisky, Ratt amassed a large local following. After releasing an eponymous six song EP in 1983, Ratt released their breakthrough album Out of the Cellar
Out of the Cellar
Out of the Cellar is the breakthrough album by heavy metal band Ratt, released in 1984. It is currently certified 3x platinum by the RIAA. Produced by Beau Hill, the album features their best-known hit, "Round and Round", and other hits such as "Wanted Man", "Lack of Communication" and a...

 on Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 in 1984, and it went multi-platinum. After releasing one gold and four platinum albums, Pearcy left the band in February 1992. Pearcy and former Cinderella
Cinderella (band)
Cinderella is an American heavy metal band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They emerged in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum albums and hit singles whose music videos received heavy MTV rotation. They were famous for being a glam metal band, but then shifted over towards a more hard...

 drummer Fred Coury
Fred Coury
Fred Coury is best known as the drummer for the glam metal band Cinderella. Coury lists Neil Peart, Peter Criss, Bobby Blotzer, Eric Carr, Tommy Lee and Tommy Aldridge as his drumming inspirations....

 formed the band Arcade in 1992. Arcade released a self-titled album in 1993 and another album the following year. In 1996, Pearcy dabbled with an industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...

 band called Vertex
Vertex (band)
Vertex was a band formed in 1995 featuring singer Stephen Pearcy , guitarist Al Pitrelli , and drummer Hiro Kuretani .They released a self-titled album in 1996 as well as a single for the track "One Like a Son"...

 (with Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...

's Al Pitrelli
Al Pitrelli
Al Pitrelli is a guitarist, best known for his work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Joe Lynn Turner, Asia and Savatage.-Early career :...

 and drummer / electronic producer Hiro Kuretani). Pearcy reunited with Ratt in 1997, only to leave the band for a second time in 2000 on the eve of a tour due to differences over financial allocation amongst band members.

Recent efforts

The year 2000 was a prolific one for Pearcy. He put out a collection of previously released songs called Before and Laughter. He also re-released an independent side project from 1995, called Vicious Delite (VD), in conjunction with the label, Triple X, distributing his own record label Top Fuel Records. Pearcy released Social Intercourse, his first album of new solo material, in 2002.

His May 2005 album, Fueler, features a song called "Drive With Me" that has been featured on ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...

's weekly program devoted to National Hot Rod Association
National Hot Rod Association
The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...

 drag racing. Pearcy also released a compilation of reworked Ratt and Mickey Ratt songs in June 2005 called Rat Attack that included spots from ex-Dokken
Dokken
Dokken is an American heavy metal and hard rock band formed in 1978. They split up in 1989 but reformed four years later. The group accumulated numerous charting singles and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide...

 guitarist George Lynch
George Lynch (musician)
George Lynch is a hard rock/heavy metal guitarist best known as a member of the band Dokken, his own bands Lynch Mob and Souls of We.-Pre Dokken:...

 and former L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns is the name of a hard rock group formed in Los Angeles, California, of which two rival incarnations currently exist due to numerous line-up changes. The first incarnation of the group was formed, by Tracii Guns, in 1983 but disbanded in 1985 following its merger with fellow Los Angeles...

 axeman Tracii Guns
Tracii Guns
Tracii Guns is an American guitarist best known as the founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns as well as the supergroups Brides of Destruction and Contraband. He was also involved in the formation of the first lineup of Guns N' Roses but eventually left the group and was replaced by guitarist...

. After touring with W.A.S.P. and L.A. Guns earlier in 2005, Pearcy he appeared on VH1 Classic
VH1 Classic
VH1 Classic is a television network, launched on May 8, 2000. It is operated as part of MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom and primarily features music videos and concert footage from the 1970s through the mid-1990s, though it formerly included a wider range of genres and time periods...

's Metal Mania Stripped tour along with Kip Winger
Kip Winger
Charles Frederick Kip Winger is an American rock musician, both a member of the hard rock band, Winger, and a solo artist.-Early days:Winger was born in Denver, Colorado to parents who were both jazz musicians....

, Jani Lane
Jani Lane
Jani Lane , born John Kennedy Oswald, later changed to John Patrick Oswald, was an American recording artist and the lead vocalist, frontman, lyricist and main songwriter for the hard rock band Warrant....

 of Warrant, FireHouse, and Don Dokken
Don Dokken
Donald Maynard Dokken is best known for being the lead singer and founder of the band Dokken. He is known for his vibrato-laden, melodic vocal style which has made him an influential figure in American heavy metal. After enjoying mainstream success with Dokken, he parted ways with the band in 1988...

. His acoustic version of the Ratt song "Round and Round" appears on the VH1 Classic Metal Mania Stripped Volume 2: The Anthems CD. Top Fuel Records is now associated with the Cleopatra label and continues to release material from Pearcy as well as find new upcoming talent. Top Fuel Entertainment is developing a funny car
Funny Car
Funny Car is a drag racing car class. In the United States, other "professional" classes are Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and carbon fiber automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers'...

 dragster with driver James Day.

On October 6, 2005, Pearcy posted a message on his website denying rumors of a Ratt reunion. Even so, a Los Angeles Daily News
Los Angeles Daily News
The Los Angeles Daily News is the second-largest circulating daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, a branch of Colorado-based MediaNews Group....

 article published on October 9, 2005 quoted Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer
Bobby Blotzer
Robert John Blotzer, better known as Bobby Blotzer and nicknamed "Blotz" , is a drummer most famous for playing drums for glam metal band Ratt...

 saying that the band was "very close" to reuniting with Pearcy. However, Blotzer posted a message later that day on Ratt's website stating the interview was out of date and inaccurate.

On December 1, 2006 the website "Metal Sludge" reported that Pearcy and Juan Croucier might re-unite with Blotzer and Warren DeMartini and will thus, Robbie Crane and stated that John Corabi will most likely stay with the group. In March 2007 it was announced that Ratt would take part in the "Rocklahoma" summer festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, with original lead singer Stephen Pearcy but without original bassist Juan Croucier, who decided not to participate in the reunion tour.

The three remaining members, Pearcy/De Martini/Blotzer, toured alongside Poison in 2007 for a very promising future. The band has since toured the world in 2008; Japan, Spain, Europe, Australia, and many other countries.

On April 1, 2007, hip-hop artist, KRS-One
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...

 released the rock-rap single 'We Will Rock You'. Pearcy featured on the single's B-side track 'Round & Round'.

Pearcy collaborated with The Donnas
The Donnas
The Donnas are an American all-female rock band from Palo Alto, California. They draw inspiration from The Ramones, The Runaways, AC/DC, Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Kiss. Rolling Stone has stated that "the Donnas offer a guileless take on adolescent alienation; they traffic in kicks, not...

 on a remake of the Ratt mega hit "Round and Round", which is included on the U.S. release of Pearcy's third solo album, Under My Skin.
July 22, 2008 on Airline Records/Top Fuel Records.

In late 2010 he announced that Ratt won't do anything until at least 2012, with him.

On May 3, 2011, Pearcy announced Suckerpunch as the title of his new solo album. The CD's first single, "Don't Want To Talk About" will be released digitally via iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 on Tuesday, May 3. Pearcy will hit the road in June 2011 as part of the "Metal In America" tour with his new solo band. The new line up consists drummer Greg D'Angelo
Greg D'Angelo
Greg D’Angelo, is a drummer most famous for his work in the American band White Lion.-Early career :...

 (ex-White Lion
White Lion
White Lion is an American/Danish hard rock/heavy metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, the band achieved double platinum status with their #8 hit "Wait" and #3 hit "When the...

, Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...

), guitarist Greg Walls (ex-Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...

), bassist Mike Duda (W.A.S.P.
W.A.S.P.
W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982. They emerged from the same Los Angeles scene that spawned Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Quiet Riot and others. The band's popularity peaked in the 1980s, yet they continue to record and tour, making them one of the most enduring of the West Coast heavy...

) and guitarist Erik Ferentinos (Antidivision; signed to Pearcy's Top Fuel Records).

Personal life

Pearcy married American Model Melissa Pearcy
Melissa Pearcy
Melissa Pearcy is an American model, designer and actress. She has appeared in music videos, magazines, radio, print, and television. She also operates a business, Not So Shabby Pets, and is involved in animal rescue....

 on September 12, 1999 after dating for 4 years. The couple has one daughter, Jewel (born July 25, 1996). The family currently lives in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California.

Discography

With Year Title Label US Billboard Peak US sales
Ratt 1983 Ratt (EP) Time Coast/Atlantic
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

133 300,000
1984 Out of the Cellar
Out of the Cellar
Out of the Cellar is the breakthrough album by heavy metal band Ratt, released in 1984. It is currently certified 3x platinum by the RIAA. Produced by Beau Hill, the album features their best-known hit, "Round and Round", and other hits such as "Wanted Man", "Lack of Communication" and a...

Atlantic
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

7 3 million
1985 Invasion of Your Privacy
Invasion of Your Privacy
Invasion of Your Privacy is the second album by American Heavy metal group Ratt. It was released in 1985 and featured the singles "Lay It Down", "You're in Love" and "What You Give Is What You Get"...

7 2 million
1986 Dancing Undercover
Dancing Undercover
- Side Two :-Personnel:* Stephen Pearcy - Lead vocals* Warren DeMartini - Lead guitar, backing vocals* Robbin Crosby - Lead guitar, backing vocals* Juan Croucier - Bass guitar, backing vocals* Bobby Blotzer - Drums, percussion-Certifications:...

26 platinum+
1988 Reach for the Sky 17 platinum+
1990 Detonator
Detonator (album)
Detonator is Ratt's fifth studio album, released in August 1990.Though their previous album, Reach for the Sky, went platinum, it met with much criticism regarding the quality of their songs. In an attempt to regain the popularity that Ratt had in the mid-1980s, the band parted ways with long-time...

23 Gold+
1991 Ratt & Roll 81-91
Ratt & Roll 81-91
Ratt & Roll 8191 is a compilation album collecting most of the biggest hits from 1983 to 1991 from the American glam-metal band Ratt. It charted at #57 and remained a consistent seller in Ratt's catalog , with sales around 700,000 by 2002 , when another compilation , The Essentials, was released...

57 Gold
Arcade 1993 Arcade
Arcade (album)
Arcade is an album by the band Arcade.It featured 2 tracks that charted in the Top 30 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart :"Nothin' To Lose" & "Cry No More" .- Track listing :# "Dancin' With The Angels"...

Epic
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

133 100,000+
1994 A/2
A/2
A/2 is the second album by the band Arcade.-Track listing:# "Angry"# "The Move"# "So What"# "Get off My Back"# "When I'm Gone"# "Welcome"# "Kidnapped"# "Chain to Me"# "Room with a View"# "Your Only Age"# "Hot Racin'"...

20,000+
Vicious Delite 1995 Vicious Delite
Vicious Delite (album)
Vicious Delite is the one and only full-length album by Vicious Delite released in 1995. It was re-released in 2000.-Track listing:#"The F"*#"k"– 2:13#"So Depressed"– 3:13#"Just Like the Rest"– 2:42#"Outta Sight Outta Mind"– 3:19#"Railbreak"– 2:59...

Top Fuel Records
Vertex 1996 Vertex Blue Dolphin
Ratt 1997 Collage RATT Records
1999 Ratt
Ratt (album)
Ratt is the self titled and sixth album of Ratt. Often referred to as "1999" by fans . This album saw the band's musical direction to a more blues influenced rock sound and further away from their previous glam metal roots...

Portrait Records
Portrait Records
Portrait Records was a sister label of Epic Records and later of Columbia Records. Cyndi Lauper and Sade signed with Portrait, but their contracts were absorbed by Epic after that incarnation of the label was shuttered....

169 estimated 200,000 worldwide
Nitronic 2000 D.O.A. Live 2000 Top Fuel Records
Solo 2002 Social Intercourse
Social Intercourse
Social Intercourse is the infamous album by legendary New York City glam metal group Smashed Gladys.-Track list:# Lick It into Shape# 17 Goin' on Crazy# Play Dirty# Dive in the Dark# Eye of the Storm# Hard to Swallow# Legs Up# Eye for an Eye...

2006 Fueler
Fueler
Fueler is a solo album by Ratt singer Stephen Pearcy.There were multiple pressings of this CD, some tracks were omitted,notably, a cover of the Real Life song "Send Me An Angel" ,and a track called "Sinister Minister" ,...

Top Fuel Records/Cleopatra Records
Cleopatra Records
Cleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music...

Stripped Sidewinder
Sidewinder
Sidewinder may refer to:* Crotalus cerastes, a venomous pit-viper species found in the southwestern United StatesIn military and aviation* AIM-9 Sidewinder, a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile...

2008 Under My Skin Top Fuel Records/Airline Records
Ratt 2010 Infestation
Infestation (album)
Infestation is the seventh studio album by American glam metal band Ratt. It is the band's first original effort since their self-titled album in 1999. It marks the Ratt studio debut for guitarist Carlos Cavazo, formerly of Quiet Riot...

Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...

30
Solo 2011 Suckerpunch Top Fuel Records

External links

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