Detective (band)

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, 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.

Contents

• Detective Swan Song Records 1977 US 135
• It Takes One to Know One Swan Song 1977 US 103
• Songs
• References

"They were good," recalled Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, on whose Swan Song label Detective debuted. "That first album of theirs, it was really good. It should have been more popular, shouldn't it?"

In support of their second album, "It Takes One To Know One," Detective went on the road as the supporting act for Kiss. 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. Demos exist of the Kiss version, but the song never made it onto a Kiss album or was ever played live.

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.

Michael Des Barres from the band performed songs on the fourth episode of the first season of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati as part of the fictional hoodlum rock group "Scum of the Earth". Michael Des Barres and two other actors played the part of the band during most of the TV show, but the band Detective performed on the end of the show segment.