STEPHEN PEARCY Reflects On RATT's Early Years: 'I Was A Hustler, And It Worked'

In a new interview with 95.5 KLOS radio legend Frazer Smith, RATT frontman Stephen Pearcy reflected on the band's early years. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "As soon as discovered [VAN HALEN] in '78, I was in my band MICKEY RATT in San Diego, as Robbin [Crosby, late RATT guitarist] was in his band PHENOMENON, Jake E. Lee [future Ozzy Osbourne guitarist] was in his band TEASER, Warren [DeMartini, RATT guitarist] was in his band ENFORCER. When I went and saw [VAN HALEN] — well, first of all, I became friends with Ed that night, Eddie Van Halen, and we traded gear. We had a lot in common. And I went, 'You know what? January 1st, 1980, I'm fucking moving to L.A.' And I did. I took my band up there. We moved into a garage room kind of thing, and we started from scratch. 'Cause we were happening in San Diego; we were doing the Bing Crosby Hall, Golden Hall, Plaza Hall. And then here we are in L.A. and I'm doing blah blah café, Madame Wong's, playing these places. They paid me to not play. 'Here's your 50 bucks. Don't play. Go home.' And I was agent, manager, booker — I was doing everything. I was a hustler. And it worked.

"I saw [VAN HALEN] at the Whisky [A Go Go]," Pearcy continued. "They had just left Gazzarri's [nightclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California], and I went, 'Okay, I get it. You've gotta start here.' I pretty much followed their schematic, is what I did. I listened to Ed. Like I say, we became friends. I'd go to his pad, and he'd tell me this and blah, blah, blah. Anyway, I went, 'Oh, okay, Gazzarri's.' And sure enough, I harassed Bill Gazzarri until he let me in, and he was, like, 'All right, you can play on a Monday night at 12 o'clock, midnight.' And I played every night there until we became the house band. And then it worked. And then we were, like, 'See you later. We've gotta go down to the Whisky now.'"

Asked about his friendship with some of the other bands who were coming up on the Los Angeles scene in the early 1980s, Pearcy said: "People think that all these bands, which they're calling hair metal, we all came out of the same clump of clay, which is not true, because the first batch out of there — VAN HALEN pretty much started it all. But the real guys were, believe it or not, STRYPER was ROXX REGIME, regulars at Gazzarri's with me, and MÖTLEY [CRÜE], W.A.S.P., ARMORED SAINT. There was a real first batch that pretty much spearheaded that '80s thing. So I break it down to 1980 to '85, which we were off and running, and then you get the second batch. And then you've got all these bands from everywhere else who came to L.A., which people thought, 'Oh yeah, they're from Hollywood.' No, they're not — they're from fucking Pittsburgh. But I find it interesting, the whole trip, and I'm glad that we actually were part of that first [wave of bands]."

RATT exploded on to the national scene in 1984 with the release of "Out Of The Cellar". Featuring an undeniable hook and legendary music video, lead single "Round And Round" hit No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Out Of The Cellar" reached No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200 and was certified triple platinum. Two more charting singles followed with "Back For More" and "Wanted Man". RATT started the tour as an opening act, but by the end of the tour had climbed to arena headliner.

RATT returned in 1985 with its second full-length album, "Invasion Of Your Privacy". Certified double platinum and also reaching No. 7 on the Billboard 200, "Invasion Of Your Privacy" also featured the classics "Lay It Down" (No. 40 on Billboard Hot 100) and "You're In Love".

"Dancing Undercover" followed in 1986 as RATT toured North America with a then-brand new Los Angeles band called POISON as the opening act. Lead single "Dance" hit the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned another music video hit with "Slip Of The Lip", while "Body Talk" was featured in a key scene in the Eddie Murphy film "The Golden Child". "Dancing Undercover" became RATT's third consecutive platinum album and reached No. 26 on the Billboard 200.

1988's "Reach For The Sky" saw RATT return to the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 album charts, peaking at No. 17. Driven by the bluesy hit and MTV favorite "Way Cool Jr.", "Reach For The Sky" was also certified platinum and became RATT's fourth album in a row to move well over a million copies. "I Want A Woman" was also a successful single and the video captured the excitement and energy of RATT live.

RATT released its last full-length record of the Atlantic era, "Detonator", in 1990. Music was changing, but "Detonator" was still a success, peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and going gold. It was the first RATT album to feature major outside songwriting contributions (Desmond Child, Diane Warren) and guests (Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Schenker). Lead single "Lovin' You's A Dirty Job" hit No. 18 on the rock chart while the power ballad "Givin' Yourself Away" reached No. 39.

In 1991, they released the single "Nobody Rides For Free" from the hit film "Point Break", starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.

In January 2021, Pearcy told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he was open to the idea of making a new RATT album with all the surviving members of the band's classic lineup.

RATT hasn't released any new music since 2010's "Infestation" LP.