Bitch

Bitch is an American heavy metal band, formed in Los Angeles in December 1980. They gained notoriety as a result of their theatrical live performances inspired by Alice Cooper, which featured sadomasochistic themes. Bitch was the first artist ever signed to Metal Blade Records. History Bitch was formed in December 1980, and played their first show in May 1981 alongside Dante Fox (later to become Great White). Shortly after the band was formed, guitarist David Carruth met Brian Slagel, future CEO of Metal Blade Records, and the two became friends. Slagel was working on a compilation album to tie into a heavy metal fanzine he had started called The New Heavy Metal Revue, and offered to place Bitch on the compilation if they would submit a demo to him. This project would become the landmark compilation Metal Massacre (1982), which would become famous for launching the career of Metallica and for being the first album ever released by Metal Blade Records. Bitch's contribution to Metal Massacre was a demo version of "Live for the Whip", which would be rerecorded for their debut EP Damnation Alley. Bitch signed for the label and released a self-financed EP titled Damnation Alley (1982). The following year, the group released their first full-length album, Be My Slave. During the tour of the album, Bitch developed their controversial and elaborate stage shows. These included sadomasochistic elements such as bondage clothing and paraphernalia, and the humiliation of a male "slave" on stage. The band then became a target in the Parents Music Resource Center controversy. The Be My Slave LP was featured on talk shows and in a televised congressional hearing that took place before the United States Senate’s Committee On Commerce, Science, and Transportation on September 19, 1985. Throughout this time, Bitch played regularly in Sunset Strip clubs like The Whiskey-a-Go-Go, Gazzarri's, The Roxy, and many others, sharing the bill with other metal groups such as W.A.S.P., Slayer and Armored Saint. Due to problems with their management, the group's follow-up album, The Bitch Is Back (1987), was not released until four years after the release of Be My Slave. The Bitch is Back became the band's best-selling album due in part to the publicity created by the P.M.R.C. The band even went as far as thanking Tipper Gore and the P.M.R.C. for "keeping our name in the press" in the album's liner notes.