The unique and inimitable Michael Des Barres made his first foray into the world of rock ‘n’ roll fronting the glammed-up, London proto-rock/metal, scuzz punks Silverhead. Recording two LPs for Deep Purple’s own label, Purple Records from 1972 until the band imploded in 1974, Des Barres made brief stab at a solo career, before catching the attention of Led Zeppelin’s own label imprint, Swan Song. Joined by Michael Monarch on guitars, Tony Kaye on keyboards, Bobby Pickett on bass and Jon Hyde on drums, Detective were born. • Fuelled by the phenomenal success of Led Zeppelin, Swan Song didn’t appear to be in a rush to hear the fruits of Des Barres’s labours with his new band, who spent a year making their self-titled debut. Evidently taking some inspiration from their new patrons, their first LP carried a dark swagger, with enough punch to make some quarters at least want to believe it was in fact a Zep record in a secret guise. • Having previously been happy to let the band sit on their debut for a year until its 1977 release, their label suddenly wanted a follow-up, and quick. Possibly in an act of too much too soon, “It Takes One To Know One” was released before the end of 1977, a mere six months after their debut. Picking up where the first LP left off, it in fact made a better placing on the US charts, no doubt helped by a heavy touring schedule with the likes of KISS. • Detective even made a brief foray into the mainstream, appearing on popular US TV show, WKRP In Cincinnati as “Scum Of The Earth”, as a sort of US vision of a punk rock group. A move from Swan Song to parent label Atlantic, with Tom Dowd lined-up to produce their third record, sadly came to nothing, and the band subsequently split. • This new version of “It Takes One To Know One” features liner notes based on interviews by Malcolm Dome with Michael Des Barres, recording engineer Richard Digby-Smith and guitarist Michael Monarch. Long out of print, this is the first time it has been made available on CD outside of Japan and the U.S. and Germany
