Magazine Article - Hit Parader 1985
Ratt - out of control by Steve Gett
From the pages of Hit Parader magazine, March 1985
(Text in picture has been transcribed below)
No doubt about it, 1984 was a phenomenal year for Ratt. Spurred on by the multi-platinum triumph of their debut LP Out of the Cellar, the rocking rodents rapidly established themselves as America’s hottest new metal act. Touring with the likes of Motley Crue and Billy Squier allowed the band tremendous road exposure, and they also gained strong TV with the videos Round and Round, Wanted Man and Back For More.
Although they are generally recognized as a product of the Los Angeles HM scene, lead vocalist Stephen Pearcy, together with guitarists Robbin Crosby and Warren De Martini originally hail from San Diego. However, it wasn’t until they set up base in the City of Angels that they were able to make their mark.
An early formation of Ratt had featured Stephen Pearcy singing alongside Ozzy Osbourne axe star Jake ‘E.’ Lee, but the current lineup which also includes drummer Bobby Blotzer and bassist Juan Croucier, came together toward the end of 1981. After amassing a strong following on the American club circuit and independently releasing their self-titled EP, the group scored a deal with Atlantic Records in the summer of ’83, from which point they’ve never looked back.
In an exclusive interview with fret-burner Robbin Crosby, conducted shortly before Ratt began work on their eagerly awaited second album, Hit Parader was able to trace the band’s meteoric rise to the top.
Hit Parader: Looking back, why do you think you were forced to leave San Diego to get a break?
Robbin Crosby: Well, there was nowhere to play unless you were doing Top 40 material. Nobody wanted to hear original music, which made it tough on rock groups. The last band I had in San Diego played all original stuff, but the only gigs we could get were for kids at dances and things like that. Even worse, though, we’d probably only play once a month.
HP: Was Stephen the first to make the move?
RC: Yeah, but it wasn’t long after that I came to L.A. with another group. That lasted a while and then we broke up, with all the other guys migrating back south. Stephen was already playing with Jake ‘E.’ Lee and so I joined up with them. I guess we played four or five gigs together and then Jake left to join Ronnie Dio. When that didn’t work out for him, he ended up going with Ozzy. Meanwhile, as soon as Jake left Ratt, I immediately called up Warren, my long time friend, and persuaded him to join us. We also went through a couple of other changes and when Warren arrived from San Diego we went straight into rehearsals.
HP: How did you actually come up with the name Ratt?
RC: We needed a name because we had gigs to play. At the time, we were rehearsing and living in this basement hole, and one night this big greasy rat came running across. Steve said, “ Hey we’re a bunch of rats!” so we decided to call ourselves Ratt. We were going to change the name but our following grew so we stuck with it. I think it’s pretty funny – I mean, I wouldn’t name my band Queen either!
HP: Once the band was together, did you concentrate on playing the L.A. clubs?
RC: Yeah that’s all we did; we never went anywhere else for ages. But then our following grew to the point where we figured we might as well put out a little record for our fans. We recorded an EP, which we released independently ( on the Time Coast label ) and suddenly we started picking up loads of radio airplay. We never thought that it would amount to much and, like I said, it was basically just for the fans. But we ended up selling about 50,000 copies.
HP: Did the success of the EP precipitate the deal with Atlantic?
RC: NO, it didn’t. Some of the labels were interested in us because of the EP, but Atlantic had never heard of it, knew nothing about it and signed us strictly on the strength of our live show. We did a showcase at the Beverly Theater in July ’83 and got the deal.
HP: How did you go about selecting the material for Out of the Cellar?
RC: We pulled everything we were doing and picked out the ‘for sure’ stuff. In Your Direction was one of Stephen’s older songs and Warren had actually come up with Lack of Communication before he was in Ratt. I wrote I’m Insane andScene of the Crime in another band; Warren’s got credit on Scene because we changed it around a little. Those four songs were pre-Ratt, but they worked. The other stuff was done by Stephen, Warren and myself collaborating. The next album will be more cohesive because it’ll be all new material. We’ve got tons of new numbers which we’re really excited about recording.
HP: Do you think that the so-called heavy metal explosion helped Out of the Cellar to take off?
RC: I’m not so sure about that. It’s safe to say that our time was going to come. You’ve got to consider that Out of the Cellar was a pretty strong record and had quite a few catchy songs.
HP: Were you at all surprised at how quickly the album raced up the charts?
RC: Well, we always wanted success and knew we’d get it, but the speed of things was quite amazing. When we hit Top 10, it was almost like, “Where do we go from here?” All in all, I’d have to contribute Ratt’s success to a hit song (Round and Round) and the fact that we don’t look like all the other bands.
HP: Going on the road with Motley Crue obviously helped – can you tell us about Ratt’s close ties with the Crue?
RC: We’ve always been on their heels and played quite a few gigs together, even before the 1984 tour. They were bigger than us in the beginning and got signed first. But there was never any rivalry and we were always good friends. Their music’s totally different, so I don’t think anyone can compare us. I see them as being a little heavier and us more melodic. Oddly enough, they actually sound more like we used to sound, and we sound a little more like they used to.
Nikki (Sixx) and I are real good friends. Originally we were just bums around the Hollywood area; we decided we liked to get drunk together and ever since then we’ve been the best of pals. The way that we became roommates was that I was once going on vacation to Mexico and I asked him if I could drop some things off at his pad for a couple of weeks – when I came back, I never moved out!
HP: Did it seem at all strange to still be an opening band, even though you had a Top 10 album?
RC: Well, as an opening band, you almost short-change the kids. Because things happen so fast, I think a lot of people were coming to see us and we had to work extra hard to give them the full impact of our show. When we go out and headline properly next year, it’ll be more exciting to have the right lighting and stage act together. As we expand in the future, you’ll see more lights and bigger production. We’ll never blow up cars on stage or anything like that. We’ll never get away from the music because that is what we’re here to play. This ain’t no freak show – this is Ratt ‘n’ roll.
HP: On the whole, were you satisfied with the first phase of Ratt’s plans for world infestation?
RC: To hell with world infestation – we want inter-galactic super stardom!