Detective (band)

For other uses, see Detective (disambiguation).

Detective
Origin	United States of America
Genres	Hard rock, funk rock, soul
Years active	1977–1979
Labels	Swan Song, Atlantic
Associated acts	Steppenwolf Yes Silverhead Chequered Past Kozmic Blues Band Power House
Past members
Tony Kaye Michael Monarch Michael Des Barres Bobby Pickett Jon Hyde

Detective was an American/English rock band that toured and recorded in the late 1970s. Detective consisted of vocalist Michael Des Barres, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Bobby Pickett, ex-Yes organist Tony Kaye, and drummer Jon Hyde. The band released two albums^[1], Detective (produced by the band, Andy Johns and Jimmy Robinson) and It Takes One to Know One in 1977, as well as Live From The Atlantic Studios, a promotional LP recorded only for radio broadcast, in 1978.

In support of their second album, "It Takes One To Know One," Detective went on the road with Kiss as their supporting act. Kiss liked Detective so much that they actually considered recording one of their songs, "Ain't None Of Your Business", with Peter Criss on lead vocals. While the song never made it onto a Kiss album, they did perform it live several times.

Detective did go into the studio in 1978 with producer, Tom Dowd, to record their third album. While their first two albums were on Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label, Atlantic Records took over the band for their third release. Atlantic wanted a hit single from the band. Dowd brought in a song from a then unknown singer-songwriter named John Cougar, "I Need a Lover". According to Monarch, they really didn't want to record it, but they did. It remains unreleased to this day along with a couple of other original songs. Monarch went on to say that the members of Detective were moving in different directions and the group decided to disband.

The band appeared on episode 104 of WKRP in Cincinnati as the fictional hoodlum rock group Scum of the Earth.

Their record label was Swan Song Records.

Discography

• Detective (Swan Song Records, 1977) U.S. #135^[2]
• It Takes One to Know One (Swan Song, 1978) U.S. #103
• Live from the Atlantic Studios (1978)

References

1. ^ Detective discography at Discogs
2. ^ Billboard, Allmusic