Ratt

Ratt is an American hard rock and glam metal band from Hollywood, California, active from 1976 to the present. The group is associated with the Los Angeles glam metal scene, also described as hair metal or pop metal, and its best-known line-up centres on singer Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Warren DeMartini, bassist Juan Croucier, drummer Bobby Blotzer and the late guitarist Robbin Crosby.

Early history

The band begins in Hollywood in the early 1970s and performs under a sequence of names, including Firedome, Crystal Pystal and Mickey Ratt, before shortening to Ratt in 1977. The early Mickey Ratt line-ups include Pearcy alongside musicians such as Crosby, DeMartini and Croucier.

Commercial breakthrough

After signing with Atlantic Records, Ratt releases a self-titled EP in 1983 that sells more than 100,000 copies. Its first full-length album, Out of the Cellar (1984), becomes a major commercial success and includes “Round and Round”, which reaches No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helps establish the band on radio and MTV.

The follow-up, Invasion of Your Privacy (1985), is certified double platinum in the United States and includes “You’re in Love” and “Lay It Down”. The band tours widely in the United States, Japan and Europe during this period and appears at the Monsters of Rock festival in 1985.

1980s albums and singles

Ratt continues its run of commercial releases with Dancing Undercover (1986), which is certified platinum and includes “Dance” and “Slip of the Lip”. Reach for the Sky (1988) also reaches platinum sales and produces “Way Cool Jr.” and “I Want a Woman”.

The band’s fifth album, Detonator (1990), includes work with Desmond Child and Jon Bon Jovi and features “Givin’ Yourself Away” and “Lovin’ You’s a Dirty Job”.

Line-up changes and later activity

During this period, Crosby struggles with substance abuse and leaves the band, and Pearcy departs in 1992 for other projects. Ratt reunites in 1996 with Pearcy, DeMartini, Blotzer and new bassist Robbie Crane, issuing the compilation Collage in 1997 and a self-titled album in 1999. Pearcy leaves again in 2000 and is replaced by Jizzy Pearl, while Keri Kelli joins on second guitar.

Crosby discloses that he is HIV-positive in 2001 and dies in 2002 from a heroin overdose. Ratt reunites again with Pearcy and Croucier in 2006, and in 2007 plays shows including Rocklahoma and other North American festivals. John Corabi briefly joins in 2008 before Carlos Cavazo replaces him.

Recent years and legal disputes

The band releases Infestation in 2010, its final studio album, and follows it with a world tour before entering an indefinite hiatus later that year. Pearcy and Croucier return in 2012, but Pearcy leaves again in 2014. Between 2015 and 2018, disputes over the right to use the Ratt name lead to separate touring versions of the band, one led by Blotzer and another by Pearcy, Croucier and DeMartini. Court rulings later confirm that Blotzer does not hold trademark rights to the name.

In 2018, Pearcy and Croucier form a new line-up with drummer Pete Holmes and guitarists Jordan Ziff and Chris Sanders. Sanders retires from music in 2020 and Frankie Lindia joins on guitar. The group plans the Big Rock Summer Tour in 2020, but it is cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024 and 2025, Pearcy and Croucier perform shows focused on the band’s classic material without using the Ratt name, and Pearcy and DeMartini reunite as a duo for the M3 Rock Festival in 2025.

Style and legacy

Ratt is identified with glam, glam metal, hard rock, heavy metal and metal, and is recognised as one of the bands that helps define the Los Angeles glam metal scene in the 1980s. Its recordings are issued through Atlantic Records and Ratt Music, and its catalogue includes the studio albums Out of the Cellar, Invasion of Your Privacy, Dancing Undercover, Reach for the Sky, Detonator, Ratt and Infestation.