Why bands like PRETTY BOY FLOYD are still flying over to the UK to play live is beyond me. It certainly can’t be for any financial gain, as a pitiful crowd of less than 50 gathered on a cold December night in Dudley to sing a long with the hair metal classics sure to be in the set. In homage to it’s 20 year anniversary, the classic PRETTY BOY FLOYD debut album ‘Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz’ was played in it’s entirety, much to the delight of the hardy few in attendance.

The ‘Leather Boyz…’ album is probably the best example of clichéd hair metal. The songs follow a simple, yet effective formula of catchy choruses, and party lyrics, all with a pungent whiff of cheese. Although it could never be described as a masterpiece, those into the hair metal genre rate the album very highly. The likes of ‘48 Hours’ and ‘Only The Young’ were lapped up by the crowd, with plenty of headbanging and no shortage of fists in the air.

Classic members Steve ‘Sex’ Summers (vocals) and Kristy ‘Krash’ Majors (guitar) were joined tonight by Criss 6 (bass) and Troy Patrick Farrell (guitar). Summer’s voice is very similar to that of Vince Neil, but live, he’s a better performer, and a great frontman, as he even managed to drum up at least some noise from the small crowd. Kristy Majors played the guitar more than capably, and Troy Patrick Farrell was particularly strong on the drums. However, the bass sound was terrible all night. A really low rumble on the bass was present throughout, with frequent distortion also noticeable. It was amazing and certainly disappointing that this wasn’t sorted out during the set.

The poor sound did little to dampen spirits, and one spirit in particular was flowing as Summers offered the front row a swig of his neat vodka. The brilliant, party-tastic ‘Saturday Night’ was thoroughly enjoyable, as was the ‘arms in the air’, sing-a-long ballad ‘I Wanna Be With You’. The hour long set was finally wrapped up with a cover of KISS’ ‘Let Me Go, Rock’n'Roll’, aptly leading into the awesome anthem ‘Rock and Roll (Is Gonna Set The Night on Fire)’. The band didn’t return for an encore, but with the whole ‘Leather Boyz…’ opus played, that was probably enough as anyone would have wanted. PRETTY BOY FLOYD are a good live band, and would go down a storm at a festival. However, pulling in crowds like tonight’s, I worry that they probably won’t be able to afford to play too many more UK headline shows like this one, and that’s a damn shame.

Setlist: Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz / The Last Kiss / Rock and Roll Outlaws / Only The Young / Your Mama Won’t Know / Wild Angels / Saturday Night / Toast Of The Town / Junkie Girl / 48 Hours / I Wanna Be With You / Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ roll / Rock and Roll (Is Gonna Set The Night on Fire)

Review by James Allman