The Brats

When guitarist Rick Rivets left the fledgling NEW YORK DOLLS in 1972, he didn’t switch gears so much as he just assembled one of the toughest US Glam Rock bands of the era…

The Brats were among the earliest offshoot bands from the New York Dolls. The New York-based quartet was formed by Rick Rivets, an alumnus of the Dolls, with drummer Sparky Donovan, vocalist Keith West (not connected at all to the singer from the U.K.-based Tomorrow), and Andy Doback. The group was organized by Rivets in the early ’70s and based in Queens, NY. Rivets was already putting together a band, and had Donovan on board when he chanced to visit the Music Box, a now-legendary record store on Union Turnpike in Queens, where Keith West offered the best in used records, underground U.S. releases, U.K. and German imports, and bootlegs. A leading exponent of the Flamin’ Groovies, Dr. Feelgood, and a brace of lesser-known but equally important acts of the time, West was already a kind of rock & roll guru to a lot of teenagers and college students in the area. West was also a good singer with a charismatic persona, and soon became part of Rivets’ plan. With David Leeds filling out the fourth spot, they rehearsed in SoHo (then a newly opened industrial-cum-residential part of Manhattan) and moved into Bleecker Street, where their early rehearsals and gigs had them brushing up against a pre-fame Kiss.

Their sound was a punchy brand of Glam Rock, somewhat similar to the New York Dolls (for whom they opened at their first gig) and they were also heavily influenced by the Kinks, the Yardbirds, and the early Rolling Stones. Their mix of originals and covers of the latter bands’ repertory attracted a fair amount of attention at venues such as Max’s Kansas City, and they earned the imprimatur of no less a figure than Alice Cooper (who, so it is said, came up with the group’s name) — they wrote a song for him, in turn, entitled “I’m So Cruel.” Their lineup went through numerous changes between 1973 and 1975, with Leeds departing, Mark Mayo joining on lead guitar, and Mark Polott taking the bass spot. They lasted into the Punk era, which they may have helped herald, and may have been an influence on the Ramones; it was rumored for years that the latter group’s “Beat on the Brat” was a reference to the rival group.

Criminal Guitar (2002)

01 - Keep Doin'

02 - If You Can't Rock

03 - Be A Man

04 - Quaalude Queen

05 - Criminal Guitar

06 - Seventeen

07 - Be A Man

08 - Quaalude Queen

09 - Take What I Can

10 - Hog Ridin  Fools

11 - I'm So Cruel

12 - Bang Bang Bullet

13 - Hot Lips

14 - Saturday Night

15 - You Got A Lover

16 - Perfect Stranger

Rock Candy (2012)

01 - Rock Candy

02 - Tonight Tonight

03 - Pretty Woman

04 - Right On The Money

05 - On Her Way

06 - Sweet Dreams

07 - Perfect Stranger

08 - Take It Or Leave It

09 - Forever

10 - Teen Tears

11 - Radio

12 - I Will Be There

Bratology: The Brats Collection (2017)

01 - First Rock Star On The Moon

02 - Keep Doin' What You Re Doin'

03 - Be A Man

04 - If You Can't Rock You Can Roll

05 - Criminal Guitar

06 - Quaalude Queen

07 - You Got A Lover

08 - Cold Turkey

09 - Airfield Love Affair

10 - Pretty Woman

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