Band founder "Dizzy" Dean Davidson hooked up with ex-Cinderella guitarist Michael Kelly Smith in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the summer of 1985. With the addition of ex-Cinderella drummer Tony "Stix" Destra and local bassist Billy Childs, the band Britny Fox was complete.
They immediately hit the road with several songs penned by Dean; playing up and down the East Coast in clubs and bars. As their following began to increase, their demo recording, In America, began to get noticed, and they were signed by Columbia Records. On February 8, 1987, drummer Tony Destra was killed in a car accident after a show in Pennsylvania. After briefly adding drummer Adam West, the band chose ex-Waysted drummer Johnny Dee.
Britny Fox's self-titled debut was one of the most successful premieres of the 1988-89 season, selling about one million copies and bringing more than 625,000 fans to their 130+ shows. They also won Metal Edge Magazine's 1988 Reader's Choice Award for Best New Band.
Boys In Heat, the band's second album was released in 1989. "The intent of this album was to keep the style and sound the same, but slicken up the production and explore more emotional topics," explained Michael Kelly Smith. "We were able to do all that with the help of [producer] Neil Kernon."
Although it was a great album, it sold roughly half as many as it's predecessor. Soon after, singer and principal songwriter Dean Davidson left the band to form Blackeyed Susan, leaving the rest of the band searching for a new lead singer.
After listening to hundreds of demos, the band finally selected Tommy Paris. With the help of famous names like Poison's Rikki Rockett and Ozzy's Zakk Wylde, they released the hard rockin' Bite Down Hard. Although it sold only about half as much as its predecessor, it was an album of tremendous growth. Unfortunately, the band broke up after the album ran its course.
In 1998, drummer Johnny Dee teamed up with singer Tommy Paris to form a new band, Uncle Edna. They released a self-titled EP on the band's web site.
Dean Davidson, on the other hand, recorded his own solo demo album under the name Jarod Dean. His album, A Weekend Soul Massage, helped get him signed to a record deal; soon after he dropped the stage name of Jarod Dean and started the band Love Saves the Day. The debut album, Superstar, was released in September of 2001. Look for it to be re-released on a new label sometime in 2003 or 2004.
In mid 2000, Britny Fox reunited under lead singer Tommy Paris for a mini-tour of some east coast clubs. They recorded these shows for a live album, Long Way to LIVE, released in February of 2001.
Fresh off the road and the live album, the members of Britny Fox started writing material for their new album. However, due to legal issues with the record company, the band could not record their material. Drummer Johnny Dee went on tour with Doro in Europe, Tommy Paris wrote and recorded his solo debut album, 2009, and Michael Kelly Smith signed with Perris Records to release material from his 1990's band, Razamanaz.
After finally deciding to release their new album on Spitfire Records, the band started recording. The result was Springhead Motorshark, released on July 29, 2003.
For more up-to-date news, visit the news section of this site.
Source: http://www.wcafe.com/britny/
