Talk Dirty To Me

In his VH1 reality show Rock Of Love, Poison lead singer Brett Michaels made it clear that he prefers girls who are rather adventurous. In Poison's first hit, "Talk Dirty To Me," he's singing about just this kind of girl: one who will make love just about anywhere and talk dirty while doing it. Probably not the girl you'll marry, but a good time nonetheless.

Poison formed in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in 1984, and soon relocated to Los Angeles, where they added veteran guitarist C.C. DeVille. They wrote original songs and hit the clubs, where they refined their sound and their look, embracing the burgeoning "hair metal" genre (their secret weapon: Bobby Dall, who was a licensed cosmetologist). The group got a deal with Enigma Records, which released their first album, Look What the Cat Dragged In, in August 1986. "Talk Dirty To Me" was released as a single, and while Poison toured as the opening act for Ratt and Cinderella, the song made a steady move up the charts, peaking at #9 US in May 1987 (the album spent 101 weeks on the US chart, eventually reaching #3). The swaggering rocker helped the group establish a solid male fanbase that sent the follow-up single, "I Want Action," to #50 in July. The next single was a ballad, "I Won't Forget You," which made #13 in November. Poison's next album, Open Up and Say... Ahh!, was released in 1988 and contained their #1 hit "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." Their original songs were group compositions, with every member receiving a songwriting credit.

The video was directed by Doug Freel, who also worked on clips for Def Leppard ("Hysteria," "Animal") and Tesla ("Little Suzi"). The video shows the band unleashing their arsenal of stage moves, which was quite impressive. Their energy and striking look popped on MTV, which put it in rotation, giving much of America their first look at these stylized rockers.