All language subtitles for Biography.Rock.Legends.S01E01.REPACK.720p.WEB.H264-JFf

["Talk Dirty To Me"
by Poison]

Bret:
My life is a series
of roses and thorns.

A series of great moments

and humbling
experiences all collide.

When you get to
Madison Square Garden,

you have succeeded.

Even if it's for a night.

My family, everybody,
you name it,

was there to see the show.

New York City!

[audience cheering]

Bret:
I'll never forget
walking out on that stage

and I already knew I
didn't feel great.

Woo!

New York City!

And we got to about maybe the
fourth song, the fifth song,

everything went blank.

[dramatic music]

Rikki:
I could see in his face
he kept turning around

like looking at me
weird and I'm like,

am I going too fast?

Like what, what's up?

Bret:
My mouth went numb.

Everything's
spinning for real.

Rikki:
And then he goes running
out to grab the mic

and he just,
straight down.

That was it. I collapsed

and I'm thinking,
"it's over."

["Nothin' But A Good Time"
by Poison]

♪ Don't need nothing
but a good time ♪

Lyndsey:
Bret Michaels is a rock star
with all of the boxes checked

for what a rock star is:

handsome, rich, successful,

living this hedonistic dream.

Rikki:
We were definitely rock and
roll pigs at that point.

Riki:
Bret is a really
good performer,

but he became a major celebrity
because of 'Rock of Love'.

[upbeat rock music]

Bret:
The craziest, most out
of control debauchery

of my dating life.

Ladies, are we ready
to rock the house?

[cheering]

[acoustic guitar music]

Bret:
I've looked death in
the face a lot of times.

I've paid some prices for
less than good decisions.

Lyndsey:
I remember the meeting
where it was like

we should probably write an
obituary for Bret Michaels.

♪ Every rose has its thorn

Raine:
We went and saw him and he
was hooked up to everything,

it was like,
it was scary, yeah.

Yeah I look back and
I'm like, oh God.

Yeah, very scary.

♪ Just like every cowboy

Bret:
Sometimes you have to go
to the edge and you go,

you know what?

I need to step back
from that edge.

♪ Every rose has its thorn

[energetic rock music]

[upbeat rock music]

♪ One, two, three, four

♪ Summertime,
the windows down

♪ In my old car,
we drive around

♪ Small town life

We are in the borough
of Mechanicsburg.

This neighbourhood
was my world.

That was John,
right there,

lived up there
and his family.

They were the only ones
in the neighbourhood

that had an inground pool,

so we thought they
were billionaires.

The rest of us
were above ground,

usually a Doughboy.

We could throw a
Doughboy pool together

and we could
party all summer.

♪ Back in the day,
the radio played

♪ We rocked the world
back in the day ♪

This is the family home
right in front of us

that I grew up in.

Those trees that we
planted right there,

they weren't
even a foot high.

[light music]

My mom and dad
loved people.

My dad served in
the military,

he loved making
people feel good.

They'd come to the house

and whether they were downstairs
playing poker, drinking,

having a great time with
everyone from the naval base,

he really liked to
treat people great.

My mom, the same way.

And my sisters,
Michele and Nicole.

They would have people
over all the time.

There were just kids
running around.

It was social. I'd say
they were social people.

Michele:
Yeah, our house

was the party
house for sure.

[light music]

Bret:
I grew up loving sports.

[twangy music]

We shot BB guns, right?

Bow and arrow
in our basement.

I'm out playing every day,
riding my little mini bike

and all of a sudden,
I started to get really sick.

Michele:
Bret just going to the
bathroom all the time

was starting to lose
a lot of weight, um,

you know, just was
real fatigued.

Bret:
And my parents, they
were convinced I had

just a really bad flu.

They took me to
the emergency room

and they said, you know,
to my mom and dad,

"Your son is a
Type 1 diabetic."

And they were floored.

So I'm doing the four or five
injections a day, right,

and-and this was
six years old.

There's no one in my
school that's diabetic.

And in school,
I went into insulin shock,

so I'm in the middle of the
cafeteria and I'm face down,

which also looks like
an epileptic seizure.

And they take me to
the emergency room,

saved my life.

You can take on this
victim mentality

or take in that this was
the card you were dealt.

And you just have to
work twice as hard,

which also paid off
in my work ethic.

[soft acoustic guitar music]

Michele:
My mom played the guitar to
us to go to bed at night.

She would play and sing.

And I think he just started
picking up her guitar.

We had an acoustic guitar
and I learned to play music

from listening to albums.

Everything from
Johnny Cash,

the early Jim Croce,

Harry Chapin.

And then falling
into the rock vein,

Skynyrd, KISS.

[rock music]

Bret:
So me and my
buddy Marlin,

we would just go back
and forth and jam.

Yeah, he, um, wanted
to play guitar,

wanted to sing,
even at age 12,

and so he got me to basically
buy a bass and take lessons.

Bret:
We had a whole concert figured
out down in the basement.

In my brain, I wanted us to
be the biggest rock show ever.

We decided during
a performance

that Marlin was
gonna play the bass

while his arm was on fire.

Marlin:
Seeing Gene Simmons for the
first time on television,

that was, you know, a plan.

Bret:
Marlin took a whole
bottle of alcohol

and I believe it may have
been Hai Karate cologne...

Commercial VO:
Hai Karate,
regular and oriental lime.

Bret:
And we lit his
arm on fire,

which we were sure
couldn't go bad.

[light music]

Bret:
These weren't
smart decisions.

But it looked badass.

His arm on fire
looked great,

you know what I mean?

But looking back,
I'm pretty sure that

Gene Simmons didn't
set himself on fire

with Hai Karate cologne.

Woo!

Commercial VO:
Hai Karate,

be careful how you use it.

Bret:
Here I am, 16 years old
and then the next big step,

I came over and met Rikki.

[rock music]

The band that I was in at
the time, the bass player,

he was a short order cook at a
place called the Amity House.

And he said,
"Look, this new guy,

"his name is Bret, I think,
and he's a singer.

"He's got long hair,

"he looks cool and
he has his own PA."

I went, "We need him to
come over like ASAP."

And he did.

Bret:
I pull up in the driveway and
I'm unloading my Peavey amp.

You know, clogs were
big back then, right?

He's like bringing, like,
a PA column down the steps

of my basement in clogs.

And I'm like, wow, that's
commitment, you know? [laughs]

Rikki was a badass drummer.

I was like,
this guy's the [bleep].

This guy can play
the [bleep] drums.

Rikki:
We just set up and play

and Bret would start
singing along.

[light music]

Bret:
Rikki and I's chemistry,

the drums,
the guitar jamming,

we immediately start
talking about the dream.

I feel like when Bret
came into my life,

I feel like, um, now I
had a partner in crime.

Now I had somebody that
really was willing to do

whatever it took to get
where we needed to go.

Michele:
The two of them in cahoots
was a very powerful duo.

And then they found Bobby,
he played bass.

Bret:
We met Bobby Dall.

We sat down at
the Dairy Queen.

I'll never forget,
he grabs a sandwich,

he goes, "Yeah, do you two
wanna make it or not make it?"

I go, "Yeah, we
wanna make it."

And that was it,
and he could play.

[guitar music]

Bret:
We were looking for
guitar players, right,

so we went through some
people that let's just say,

had all the heart

but maybe not the chops.

And that's when we
found Matt Smith

and Matt Smith could play.

He was good.

[rock music]

Rikki:
We started with a
slew of cover songs.

Bret:
Zeppelin, Aerosmith, AC/DC.

I could do them all good

but I never could
get it quite right.

And what this
message was to me,

was go create
your own style.

We come up with
the name Paris.

Now we're all in
a small basement

in Mechanicsburg,
Pennsylvania,

but in our brain,
the name Paris

meant we had
travelled the world.

Rikki:
We started to write
our own stuff.

We wanted to get
a record deal.

I mean, we were crazy
enough to think

that we were gonna
get a record deal

at 17 years old,
you know.

[upbeat rock music]

Bret:
When we'd go
into those bars

and then throw one or
two original songs in.

[rock music]

We'd go play the "Paradise"
in Mechanicsburg,

literally had to pick
the pool table up

and move it a few feet

so people could
still play pool,

see the TV

and listen to our band play.

People think the Blues Brothers
and Spinal Tap are funny,

I lived that [bleep].

Rikki:
The more we honed it,
the better we got at it.

And we just started
to build our audience

and our ability to connect.

Michele:
But I mean,

that was as far as they were
gonna go in Pennsylvania.

You know, they all had
sort of that, you know,

I think you had to
go west, you know,

in order to make your
dreams come true.

Bret:
We knew we were going
with no plan B.

We're going to Los Angeles.

The very last show that
we did in Mechanicsburg,

we gave the fans everything.

We had kegs of beer, pyro,
and the place was a party.

I sold my motorcycle,
my mini bike, my skis,

whatever stuff all of us had,

we were putting the
money into the kitty.

And the very next day, we were
leaving to go to California.

There was no chance we were
gonna give up and go home.

[rock music]

[upbeat rock music]

Bret:
Los Angeles to me,

I thought there's a
big scene out there,

we would be brand
new on the market

and if we were starving
to death, it was warm.

We had played as
many different names

from Spectres to Paris,
which we loved.

And in the long trek
across the country,

I said I just want something
that's a household word

but yet badass sounding.

So then all of a sudden,

we come up with
the name Poison.

[rock music]

Bret:
My exact memory of
driving into Los Angeles,

we're coming up
Santa Monica

and I'm thinking, guys,

I don't think we're in
Mechanicsburg anymore.

Sunset Strip.

The Rainbow parking lot between
the Roxy and the Rainbow,

thousands of people
out on the streets.

Riki:
The scene was
absolutely incredible

because there was
so much talent.

So it would be like,

let's go to The Whisky
on Friday night,

let's go to
The Roxy on Saturday,

let's go to
The Cathouse on Tuesday.

People were going
out to see bands.

You had your Motley Crues,
you had your Ratts,

you had your Quiet Riots.

Hollywood was where all
the bands were going

to get record deals.

[rock music]

They're in a band,
wait, they're in band.

Those girls,
they're all in a band.

This is competition,

so it was time
to rock her up.

Our first gig was
the Troubadour

and this was like
a Wednesday night,

when the place is
probably half filled.

We were third on the bill.

You can either get
defeated by it

or you can come
out and kick ass.

[energetic rock music]

Bret:
But we went in
with the attitude

that we were playing
this like we were in

Madison Square Garden.

[energetic rock music]

Rikki:
First thing Bret
always liked to do

is buy like
twenty beers

and sit them
on the riser.

And then if people weren't
coming up front, he'd be like,

"You come up front,
you get a drink."

You make your move up here,
I'm gonna give you a beer

but you gotta stay.

I literally had these
conversations from the stage.

[rock music continues]

Rikki:
So people would come up
front to get the drink,

and once you're up
there, you're like,

you're not going back, right,

so you just stay up front.

Bret:
And then eventually you got
people going, this is great.

Now, whether it was
the drunkenness

or they actually
loved the songs,

I didn't care.

We had a great show
and it was happening.

Rikki:
So that's when we started
to promote our own shows.

You know, people would
go to The Rainbow

and go inside and hang
out and try to be cool.

We were out in the parking
lot passing out flyers.

Riki:
Everybody was
passing out flyers

and everybody was
out there hustling,

trying to get people to come
see their bands at the clubs.

And there was always
like a good rivalry.

Bret:
We had to count
about 62,000 flyers

of different bands
trying to make it.

Most of the flyers were white
paper or canary yellow, right?

We had no money.

Rikki:
And we're like, hey,

we can get this
really cheap.

What is it?

It's like neon green,
nobody wants it.

And I'm like, "We do!"

[Rikki laughs]

Rikki:
So, that's what we did and
that became our colour.

You know, we'd dress up,
you know,

try to look cool.

Go hand out flyers,

change into sweatpants
and grab our glue

and just go glueing our
flyers all over Hollywood.

Already like our minds
were going, like, okay,

they're putting their flyers
up at one in the morning,

that means we gotta do
ours at two in the morning.

People would go, "I'm
gonna cover yours up,"

to the point where we're like
at 4 o'clock in the morning,

we're flyering stuff and
people were just like,

I'm not doing that,
you know,

and we're like, we are.

Riki:
Poison, those guys
were hustlers

and they worked
their asses off.

They knew the formula
of getting people

to go to their shows.

The rock and roll
scene here is great.

I mean, like, like I was saying
is, is that there's-there's,

what makes it fun

is there's still that
friendly sense of competition

that makes you work hard
to become, you know,

if all of a sudden I
said, ah, nothing...

nothing matters like the light
burning out or anything.

[Bret laughs]

Bobby, Bret and myself
were really the core.

We were out all the
time promoting the band

and Matt, he wasn't
quite as involved.

It was hard to get
him to wanna engage.

Bret:
We're having a minimal
amount of success.

We're playing places,
but there's no money here.

There's no-there's
no paycheque yet,

this is just
pipe dreams, right?

I knew there was a
sadness in Matt.

I knew that there was something
really conflicting him

and he just wouldn't
talk about it.

His girlfriend was
pregnant, right,

and she was living
back in Pennsylvania.

And I think he really
had a tough time

because he wanted
so bad to make it.

Rikki:
We're living in a
warehouse in downtown LA,

cockroaches coming in

and people breaking our
windows to steal [bleep].

It was the first time I
had a knife pulled on me

it was right outside the
front door, you know.

Bret:
He looked around and he
knew there was no way

you were bringing a child
up where we lived, no way.

He played the Troubadour
with us, right,

we finished the show,
we couldn't find him.

And he literally
got in a cab

and drove to LAX
and flew home.

He left a letter.

He said, "Guys,
I'm so sorry.

"This was my dream."

But he was a good dad.

He went back and he
did the right thing.

For us, it's a
crossroad in your life

and you could give up
and pack up and go home.

There was no give
up in any of us.

[light music]

[light piano music]

Bret:
It was a really tough moment

and Matt knew that
he's not coming back.

We started looking for
another guitar player

probably a couple
weeks later...

[rock music]

Rikki:
We had fifty-two
guitar players come in.

There was a guy that
played with Joe Perry

for a little bit

and Slash and C.C.

Bret:
I liked Slash.

I wanted Slash in the band.

Slash is just, he's got this
vibe and this low slung guitar

and this slinky, sleazy
awesome guitar playing.

He was Slash.

And then C.C. came in.

I'm here for the music,
ladies and gentlemen,

not for the money.

I'm here.
I'm a musical genius.

I'm very, ah, very
loyal to my music.

But if someone's
gonna make money,

might as well be me.

[C.C. laughs]

I love having a great time.

[rock music]

Rikki:
He was from
Brooklyn, New York

and I knew he was the
missing piece right away.

This guy came in loud,
crazy, mostly loud,

didn't learn a single
one of our songs.

Rikki:
This guy's got so
much character

that it's gonna
come through

and it's gonna
complete this circle.

Bret:
I think Slash is amazing,
but I never looked back.

Once I said yes to C.C.,

I was a thousand
percent devoted.

If you think of some of the
greatest rock and roll bands

in the world,

there's characters
in those bands

and each person
plays a character.

You've got Mick and Keith,

you've got Steven and Joe,

you've got Slash, Axl,

and Poison had a C.C.
and Bret up there.

C.C. worked in that band.

And then we decided
we need a look.

[upbeat music]

Bret:
We wanted something
that stuck out.

We had a lot of talks

about how we wanted
to be over the top.

We used to cut things
out of magazines

and like put them
in this scrapbook.

You know, I like that guy's
hair but I like this guitar,

and I like that makeup.

They were looking at what the
New York Dolls were doing,

maybe what Bowie was doing,

maybe what,
you know, T. Rex,

with the makeup and
with the-the glam thing,

which was really
cool in my opinion.

Bret:
We'd go to thrift stores and
find whatever we could afford.

This cool street gypsy glam
look you didn't forget.

Yeah, I'm like,
it looks badass.

Riki:
That was their
uniform to go onstage,

that was their battle gear.

They wore makeup and
they put on a show.

Everybody right now,
we're gonna do that shot.

So get your [bleep]
hands up, all right?

Rock and roll,
Los Angeles!

I saw Poison
in Los Angeles

before they
were signed

and what really set them
apart were the songs.

♪ I went to bed too late
and got up too soon

♪ My poor head's still
spinning from too much booze ♪

And I was just blown away
by Bret Michaels' energy.

And of course the
amount of girls screaming

and going nuts for him.

Bret:
We having a
good time tonight?

[cheering]

Women like men who
dress like women.

I don't know if it makes
them less threatening?

Man:
Thanks a lot, man.

Ooh, God.

It's rough life but
somebody's gotta lead it

and it might as well be me.

They were just a lot more
youthful, less decadent seeming

than some of the bands.

♪ Ain't seen home
in three days

♪ Oh my God, look what
the cat dragged in

♪ Living my life
sin after sin ♪

They were the best
at that upbeat,

hey, let's party atmosphere,

as opposed to, you know,

don't mess with Poison.
You know?

Nobody ever said that.

[rock music]

Bret:
The best thing we did after our
first shows at The Troubadour,

The Roxy, The Whisky,

we threw a big party,

stayed up the whole
night after the show.

♪ Living my life
sin after sin ♪

Rikki:
We'd say when we're
done with our set,

we're gonna get cleaned
up and go to this hotel.

Everybody would leave

and the headlining band would
be playing to like ten people.

We did that over and over again
until like the club's just like,

"No, no, no, you guys
should be headlining."

♪ In, out, in

♪ Look what the
cat dragged in ♪

Rikki:
And then people wanted us
to have a party every night,

so we did [laughs].

[energetic rock music]

Riki:
The first time I
ever saw them,

my roommate was like,

"Do you wanna go see Poison?"

And I go, I don't know.

He goes, "Dude, there's so
many girls at their show."

So we go see Poison.

[rock music continues]

Rikki:
We were doing really
well, actually,

I mean, in terms
of local success,

you know what I mean?

[rock music continues]

Bret:
Forty fans turned into eighty
fans, turns into, you know,

it just goes from there.

[fans chattering]
[rock music continues]

Rikki:
We still didn't
have a record deal.

We were having too
much fun to realize

that we were just like
at poverty level.

Bret:
I'm not gonna lie to you,

there was some
really bleak times.

Here I am a diabetic,

you hadn't eaten
in a day or two,

struggling to get insulin.

Sometimes you would
have to go in and prove

that you were a diabetic

at some Hollywood upstairs
medical and urgent care place.

They weren't gonna give
you a syringe, right,

and they would give
you just enough insulin

to get by that day.

Michele:
I remember my mom and dad
would send some money.

I would send him
what I could

just so he could
get insulin,

you know,

and food.

I mean, you know,

you can't be
diabetic and not eat.

Rikki:
Girls we'd befriend
we'd say, look, you know,

if you don't hook up tonight,
stay at our place,

just bring some groceries.

And they'd bring groceries.

A lot of guys in those
early glam bands

did live off of women.

I love Poison,
they're my cyanide trip.

Katherine:
Sometimes they were
just ordinary women

who were legal secretaries,
had regular jobs

and fed the guys,
others were, you know,

mud wrestling was a
thing at the time in LA,

maybe they were
mud wrestlers,

maybe they were dancers at,
you know, the Body Shop.

Female Fan:
They're good. I think
they're great, yeah.

Sexy guys and good music.

Rikki:
They kind of saved us,
you know what I mean,

back then.

But we were dead serious
about what we were doing.

Bret:
Emotionally and mentally,
I just said,

I'm gonna stay here

and find a way to survive
if I wanna continue to try,

try to live this dream.

Poison! Whoo!

Bret:
Listen, everybody!

This [bleep] place

is the biggest turnout
they've ever had

in the Los Angeles
street scene!

[upbeat rock music]

Bret:
So here we are, Poison,
as an independent band

and we're out
there kicking ass,

we're selling out all
these venues, right.

Not one single record
label wanted to sign us.

Wesley:
At that point,

they were almost
certainly, um,

the biggest unsigned
band in Los Angeles.

Poison, yeah!

They're the greatest!

[cheering]

Rikki:
We had grown enough

that we could play,
um, The Country Club,

which was a big venue.

Poison are number one!

[cheering]

Poison!

Bruce:
It was the place where all
us Valley kids got to go

to see great rock bands.

You just felt like there
was a buzz around the band.

If you were
in the club,

you were onboard
to this journey.

[upbeat rock music]

Wesley:
Everywhere I looked I
started to see Poison

on telephone poles,

but even more
important than that,

our staff would come and say,
you know,

"I saw this band last night.

"They're called Poison.
You should go see them.

"You should go see them."

♪ Oh my God, look what
the cat dragged in

♪ Living my life
sin after sin ♪

Bruce:
It was just like,

we're never gonna see this band
in this small place again.

You could just tell the
rocket ship was lit.

♪ Look what the
cat dragged in ♪

Wesley:
They worked the room,

they had the control
of the audience

and I think there were probably
lots of girls went home saying,

"Bret was looking at me."

Interviewer:
What do you like
most about Bret?

He's sexy. He's everything.

He's really hot, especially
when he takes down his pants.

Wesley:
He has a talent for converting
concert goers into fans

and fans into superfans.

♪ Oh my God, look what
the cat dragged in

♪ Living my life

Bret:
I give full credit
to Enigma Records

for seeing the light in
us at The Country Club.

They were like,
"I've never seen it,

"this is three nights sold
out at The Country Club?

"National acts
aren't doing this."

["Look What The Cat Dragged In"
by Poison]

I think Poison are
[bleep] great!

Wesley:
What they wanted to
be is they wanted

to be on a major label.

We were an
independent label,

so we were not gonna
be their first choice.

We would have loved to have
signed a big record deal.

It just wasn't in the cards,

so we didn't give up.

It was probably
almost a year

between when we
first met them

and when we ended up
signing the contract.

I think the advance was
somewhere around 30 or $40,000,

and about $25,000 had been
earmarked for the album.

It was a lot of money for
us and not a lot of money

for, ah, probably what the
producers were looking for.

I think it was only a couple
of weeks of recording.

Bret:
I was so excited to be in
that studio that I slept there

for probably the first,

probably the first
four or five nights.

Like I didn't wanna go home.

I'm like, I'm just gonna
stay here and they let us.

Get Poison's album.
May 16th!

This is it.

Poison is the next
major band out of LA.

Bret:
There was no big
release party.

We were sitting in El Segundo,
California in a warehouse

on the floor
boxing our albums.

And I believe there was
a few bologna sandwiches,

if I'm not mistaken,

you know, 'cause we were
living high on the hog.

We're on the scene
at The Country Club-

Heavy metal 1986!

And just your average girl
on the street loves Poison,

so will you!

Go out and buy it now!

Hell yeah!

We loaded that stuff up

and the first place
we drove to was KNAC.

["Cry Tough" by Poison]

Lyndsey:
The very first song,

"Cry Tough",

is all about making
your dreams come true.

["Cry Tough" continues]

Lyndsey:
Poison really did
believe in themselves.

They really did cry tough.

They really believed
that it was going to work.

♪ Remember the
nights we sat

♪ And talked about
all our dreams ♪

So KNAC's the first
one to play "Cry Tough".

And we were listening
on the Chevette.

That was the world to me.

I was like,

if it ends right now,
which I hope it didn't,

but if it ends right now,

I just got to
hear "Cry Tough"

on real radio airwaves.

Can we see this cover here?

Can we get a
close up of ah...

the first thing
that people ask,

you know, when they
see you guys because-

Are they girls?
-Yeah, that's right.

Are they girls on that cover?

Riki:
When I first saw the "Look
What the Cat Dragged In"

album cover, I was like,
wow, who are these girls?

We were trying to decide

which one we thought
was the prettiest.

Um, Bret was
the prettiest.

Rikki:
We wore makeup,

but not to that degree
that you see on that cover.

C.C. had this massive
breakout that day.

They put this really
heavy stuff on C.C.

to try to cover up he had
this massive outbreak, right.

We're like, oh, it'll be fine,
you'll cover it up.

Well, when we got
the pictures back,

it was like, ah, that
didn't work too well.

I think that record
may have set, ah,

broken a record,
at least at Enigma,

for airbrushing.

So they airbrush one guy,

they gotta airbrush everybody
or it doesn't match, right.

So before you know it,

it's like this perfect
looking Maybelline ad almost.

Wesley:
The number one thing
is to be noticed

and that album
cover was noticed,

it was talked about.

It's never been changed.

I want everybody to
go out and buy it

because I wanna be responsible
for making Poison number one

in the United States.

I want, I want people to say

that we did it here on
the Lloyd Thaxton Show.

And thank you, Poison!

[upbeat rock music]

Wesley:
"Cry Tough" did okay.

It was definitely not
meeting their expectations,

wasn't meeting
our expectations.

Bret:
It only moved so far.

I'm not gonna lie to you,
it was a bittersweet moment.

Wesley:
We really thought we had
given it our best shot

with "Cry Tough"

and so then the question
was what do we do?

Bret:
We never knew anything
was a sure hit.

We didn't have
that capability

because we're an
independent label.

You know, you didn't have
a bunch of people saying

this is the right song,
not this.

From what I heard
from people,

"Talk Dirty to Me" got played
on KROC and all of a sudden,

KROC got great reaction
to "Talk Dirty to Me".

["Talk Dirty to Me"
by Poison]

♪ You know I never

♪ I've never seen
you look so good ♪

And that was the absolute
best second single to me.

So I go, okay, let's
scrape together some money.

What do we do to make this
video look like the party

that we are?

We thought it was a gamble.

I think the budget was thirty
or forty thousand dollars.

Not a lot for videos
for a lot of people,

a ton for us.

We said if we could just
get people to see this band,

they would get it.

Video Vixen:
Oh, Bret, I just can't wait
to get my hands all over you.

Hit it, C.C.

["Talk Dirty to Me"
by Poison]

Bret:
For Poison,
without a doubt,

"Talk Dirty to Me" is a
defining moment in our life.

"Talk Dirty to Me" captured
the insane wildness

of what Poison was.

♪ You know I never

♪ I've never seen
you look so good ♪

Rikki:
We didn't have
much of a budget,

so we're like let's throw
continuity out the window.

Like, let the camera guys in,
let's make it one big party.

♪ And I know you
like it too ♪

Bret:
Couple bottles of Jack,

ah, a lot of beer,

cheap warm beer

and a party of
biblical proportions.

♪ I never, I never
ever stay out late ♪

Everything, over the top,
over the top.

♪ Just to see you

Bret:
Rikki at one point
was hammered,

falls off the back of
his drum riser for real.

And I try to hold on.

And I remember all
the camera guy,

every director,

everybody came running up
and goes, "Are you okay?

"Can we use that?"

And I said, "You better
[bleep] use that!"

♪ Lock the cellar door

♪ And baby, talk
dirty to me ♪

By some video standards,
it was simple.

You know, there
was no narrative.

There was no acting.
There was no storyline.

They were showcasing
what they do best,

which is playing live.

♪ And whisper so softly

No other band
had a song

that sounded like
"Talk Dirty to Me"

in any way,
shape or form.

It was the song
of the summer.

♪ At the drive-in

♪ In the old man's Ford

Bret:
All of a sudden, this song
is breaking into the Top 20,

then Top 10,

Number One at MTV.

Host:
We're talking with Poison
obviously getting quite a bit

of press most recently

through, ah, music video
stations as ourselves.

"Talk Dirty to Me".

Here's Poison on Much Music.

"Talk Dirty to Me"
on Power Hour.

And we shall leave with...

[in unison]
"Talk Dirty to Me".

[Poison laughs]

["Talk Dirty to Me" continues]

We were in Texas doing
a record signing.

All of a sudden there
was 2,000 people in line

and I was like,
what's happening?

♪ Behind the bushes

"Cat Dragged In Tour"

they were, ah, the
opening act for Ratt.

Rikki:
When we first
started that tour,

there'd be like 1,000
people in there.

And then as that
song got bigger

and people knew we
were on the bill,

now there was 5,000,
6,000 in the seats.

♪ At the drive-in

♪ In the old man's Ford

And people were
singing to these songs

and "Talk Dirty To Me"
and wearing stuff

that we wore in the videos,

and that's how we were
gauging our success.

And then of course the record
sales were going up as well.

♪ Talk dirty to me

Los Angeles and
their debut album,

"Look What the
Cat Dragged In",

has just racked up its
first million sales.

Yes.

[Poison laughs]

["Talk Dirty to Me" continues]

♪ And baby,
talk dirty to me ♪

Bret:
It is the absolute collision
of your dreams coming true.

It's an incredible,
unbelievable, surreal feeling.

♪ That's the way
I like it, baby ♪

The happy excitement of any
brand new rock and roll band

as they're just
beginning to make it,

it really is contagious,
to me anyway.

The sudden success of
Poison, for example.

Twenty-year-old kids with a
kind of a rebellious streak,

bored with small
town life back east,

but believing their
music would impress

the record company big
shots in Hollywood.

And you know what?

It actually happened.

Bret:
At this point now we're working
with Capitol Records, right?

Independent band, but still,
now we're working with Capitol.

I think walking
into Capitol Records

when you knew The Beatles
were on Capitol,

you know, all that
kind of stuff.

I brought my record
home and I took it out

and it didn't say
The Beatles on it,

it said Poison on it.

I think it's a philosophy.
It's sorta,

our philosophy is if you can't
do it right, do it anyway,

you know what I mean? So...

[upbeat music]

Rikki:
We were definitely living
the rock and roll lifestyle

without a doubt.

We were definitely
rock and roll pigs

at that point.

We're Poison and we're just
four rock and roll dudes

in a loose partying mood.

Awoooo!

We had this director,
you know,

that would direct the
after-show affairs.

We always wanted it
not to be sleazy

but more of a fun atmosphere.

We carried pools with us,

like literally like
little kid pools

and fill them up and stuff.

And girls would strip down and
start jumping in the water.

I mean, literally
we had committed

to the rock and
roll lifestyle.

Bret:
The girls,

the crazy moments,

everything,

it just took it to a
whole other level.

What a rollercoaster ride.

Rikki:
Bret wanted to party
like everybody else,

but, you know, he can't.

I mean, it's just
it's not okay.

He passed out having sex
with a girl one night

in the bedroom,

so I had to like
pop him off of her.

Yeah, he passed out and I had
to check his blood sugar.

Bret:
I never wanted to feel
ever held back by anything.

The diabetes, as much
as it is a burden,

I dive in,

I live life and then
you hit that wall.

[cars honking]
[sirens blaring]

Bret:
When you grow up
on the East coast,

when you get to
Madison Square Garden,

you have succeeded.

Even if it's for a night,

you go this is an
incredible place to be.

[light music]

Bret:
My family was there,

everybody, you name it,
was there to see the show.

Adam:
This is huge,

this is that
Madison Square Garden story

about being a kid

and playing in
our basement

and then on
Madison Square.

So, it was such a
big day for him.

Just talking to him on the
phone it was [talks rapidly].

You know, going and going
and going and then I said, um,

all right, so we'll
catch you after show

and that never happened.

And he end up in
the hospital again.

New York City!

[crowd cheering]

Bret:
I'll never forget
walking out on that stage

and I already knew I
didn't feel great

but I was giving a
thousand percent.

Woo! New York City!

Everything was great,
we're all on cloud nine.

And we got to about maybe the
fourth song, the fifth song,

everything went blank.

[soft music]

Rikki:
I could see in his face,

he kept turning around
like looking at me weird.

And I'm like,

am I going too fast?
Like what-what's up?

You know, what are
you-what are you...

What's going on?

Bret:
My mouth went numb.

I didn't know
where I was at.

Everything's
spinning for real.

He's just trying
to tell everybody

and like and he didn't
know like he was starting to

like not hallucinate
exactly I guess, but, um,

starting to just not
make sense in his head.

Michele:
I could tell by the way
he was acting on stage

there was something wrong.

And of course I
knew what it was.

Um, so I
got backstage

as quickly
as I could

and when he
came in to
change clothes,

he was barely able to
communicate, like I-I...

he was forgetting words
and kinda stumbling.

And then he-he goes running
out to grab the mic

and he just straight down.

And then I collapsed
on the stage

and woke up in the
emergency room.

That's all I remember.

Adam:
It's the scariest [bleep]
thing I've ever seen

'cause you can't get there.

You know, it's
one thing to see,

be right next to somebody that's
falling and you can say, hey,

you all right,
what's up, what's up?

But in this case,
you couldn't get to him.

A million people were on him,
you know,

the lights went
up for a second,

then they went down.

I mean, it was just it
was a crazy moment.

Adam:
So we didn't know
if he was okay,

nobody was telling
anybody anything.

His blood sugar was like 36,
which should've killed him.

Probably a week later when
everything started coming out,

they went into
the heavy duty,

was Bret Michaels
a heroin addict?

Is, how much drugs
are involved?

Is this where his
life's going?

[light music]

Nicole:
I remember a lot of
negative press around it

and oh, wait, he was drunk or
he was having a drug overdose

and just how angry
I was about that

because I knew the truth.

They found syringes a couple
times in his trash cans

and they would report
him to the police.

Bret:
Here he is at a pivotal
moment in his career

and he collapses on
the stage from drugs

and that's when I came
forth and told everyone,

look, I'm a Type 1 diabetic,

this is what happened to me.

I just never thought
of addressing it

because I didn't want to make
that the focal point of Poison.

Rikki:
But at one point I'm like,

look, man, you know, we'll just
be supportive of whatever,

whatever you wanna do.

I don't think it's anything
to be embarrassed about,

maybe you can
make a difference.

[light music]

Bret:
The blessing that
comes out of this

at Madison Square Garden is,

you end up owning it

and it forced my
hand to own it

and that's what made me even
more connected to the fans.

Now I'm massively
connected to people

that go through adversity,

and not just diabetes,

any adversity in your life.

Since I was a kid
to right now today,

the advances they have made
in the field of medicine

with being diabetic
are incredible.

I'm gonna check my
sugar as we speak.

I'm driving and checking.

Look at that,

you brought me good luck.

A 112.

That's good sugar
right there.

The truth of the matter
is it's a tough disease

with no cure yet,
but it's manageable.

What I'm fighting for now is
the Affordable Insulin Act.

Everybody should be
able to afford insulin.

It's going through the House,

the Senate, Congress.

It's quite a battle,

but all the
diabetics I talk to,

it's about they need
a chance to live.

You're never out
of the fight.

You just gotta keep going.

That's the constant
in my life.

[audience cheering]
[light dramatic music]

Bret:
My life is a series
of roses and thorns,

a series of great moments

and humbling
experiences all collide.

I'm living out my dream.

I'm on the road,

I'm getting to play music.

We ended up in Dallas,

so we played our set

and I went back and called
my then girlfriend Tracy

and I hear another
voice in the background

and it's not another girl,
it's a guy, right.

And I'm asking who it is,
they're not saying anything.

[acoustic guitar music]

["Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
by Poison]

Rikki:
I think that was
the first person

that Bret really
felt, like, love for,

so it's a harder
pill to swallow,

I feel like.

Really cuts.

Bret:
So that moment of knowing my
first big Los Angeles love

at this point
obviously is broken.

So I write this song,
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn".

♪ We both lie silently still
in the dead of the night

♪ Although we both
lie close together

♪ We feel miles apart inside

Pete:
It was written in real time.

He hangs up the phone

and he writes the
song that minute,

so it's very, very real.

♪ Though I tried not
to hurt you, girl

♪ Though I tried

♪ I guess that's
why they cry ♪

Pyro right there. Pyro.

[crowd cheering]

♪ I guess every
rose has its thorn

♪ Just like every night

It was this perfectly
written pop rock ballad.

♪ Just like every cowboy

It has this country crossover,
starts with an acoustic,

that wasn't going on then.

♪ Every rose has its thorn

♪ Yeah, it does

Rikki:
And the record
company was like,

man, this is too
in the saddle,

like this isn't you,
this isn't Poison.

They're like,
this is gonna be

definitely not
your first single.

This'll be your, you know,

maybe third or fourth
throwaway single, right.

So we went in,
I convinced them,

I think this song
is gonna be a hit.

Finally, after pushing
and pulling, you know,

they released
it as a single.

And all of a sudden this song,
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn",

did exactly what you pray.

People related to it.

♪ Let me hear you
ride out this ♪

♪ Just like

[guitar music]
[audience singing]

Pete:
Within days of that
song coming out,

every band from
every genre in the world

had to have a song

that started with an
acoustic guitar in G.

Every band had it.

♪ Every rose has its thorn

Bret:
Number one pop song,

number one rock song.

It really took the-the
band to another level.

["Nothin' But a Good Time"
by Poison]

♪ Wooo!

♪ Mmm, yeah

Things went
wonderful for you.

The first album did so well

and you must've had
a lot of heat on you

with the second album.

And it's done really
well for you,

like 5 million,
6 million copies.

You put out your singles

and hope that people
hear them on radio

or see them on the
video program, you know.

When you have a song
like "Every Rose"

that did as well as it did,

they come out and see

and that's when you
get to prove yourself.

♪ Locked out,
I cannot pay my rent

♪ I can barely make
it through the week ♪

There's no-there's no press,

there's no hype.

It's either people see it
and they say that was great

or they say that
was horrible

and they never come
back and see ya,

so that's why
it's so important

to be a great live
rock and roll band.

♪ Don't need nothin'
but a good time

♪ How can I resist

Bret:
We've got the songs,

we've got the things
that we wanna do

and that's a great feeling.

♪ And it don't get
better than this ♪

Commercial VO:
Get yourself a dose

of the best good time
rock and roll around.

Poison.
Open Up and Say... Ahh!

Rikki:
By now, we're like
in our mid-20s

watching this success
sort of happen.

Our developmental years
had been in Poison,

in this cocoon.

I feel like some of our
maturity was arrested.

[light music]

Bret:
When you're starting
to try to succeed,

you've got common foes,
so your band's tight together.

As you start to succeed,

your common foes
starts to go away

and then you start to
take it out on each other.

Rikki:
Yeah, I mean, I think we
all got better at our craft,

you know, but we also were
starting to grow apart

a little bit.

Then you start to get in,
let's just say,

alcohol and heavy duty
substance, right?

And you mix that in,
it's a lethal dose.

You got one guy that
likes to smoke up a little,

you got one guy
that's doing blow,

you got someone
drinking too much.

Even me and Bobby,

we were arguing over what
songs to go in a set.

We got in a
knock down drag-

he threw his bass,

the sharpest bass ever made,
the Warlock,

at my skull in Atlanta.

Luckily, it only hit my knee
and I got a few stitches.

And then I took my microphone
in full baseball fashion

and whipped it past
his head pretty close

and then we fought
and they separated us,

in front of the audience.

This [bleep] was real.

We're headstrong and
when it goes bad with us,

it goes really bad.

In hindsight, I understand
the always tension

between C.C. and I.

[guitar music]

Bret:
You gotta remember,

Poison started out
with me wanting Slash

and Rikki and
Bobby wanting C.C.

We're not a gee willikers,

let's just discuss
this around the table.

It's a, "What'd you
just say to me?"

It's a chest butt,
then a thing,

then a throwdown.

[gentle guitar music]

Lyndsey:
It's kind of the tail end
of the hair metal era

that Poison were at
the forefront of.

But MTV wanted
them to play

on their biggest
event of the year,

The VMAs.

But it was an opportunity that,
like, didn't quite work out.

Bret:
We get to the MTV Awards,

we'd been on the
road way too long.

You know, and C.C. and me,
there's tension there.

C.C. was wasted, for sure.

Now, listen, this is
your last chance.

What time is it?

I'm listening!

The last chance for the
Viewers Choice Awards.

So if you haven't voted,

you better get to it
now or else that's it!

You don't get to vote!

That's it, the number.

Yeah, that's it!

Um, but it wouldn't have
been the first time

he performed wasted.

For some reason,

something was a little
different that night.

["Talk Dirty to Me"
by Poison]

Bret:
We're excited,

fans are hyped up.

In his, in our,
let's say substance

or whatever else
was going on,

the guitar came,
chord comes out.

♪ 'Cause, baby, we'll be
at the drive-in ♪

I'm like, "Your [bleep]
cable's not plugged in!"

Rikki:
C.C. wasn't paying attention

as things were
happening technically.

My gut in a knot,
trying to sing,

keeping the audience engaged

and get him to
plug his cable in.

So he grabs it,
truly trying,

he's like down on one knee
trying to plug his guitar in

and keep playing.

And I'm thinking this is MTV,
this is the world.

♪ At the drive-in

♪ In the old man's Ford

Come on!

We weren't connecting
the way we needed to.

You know, we finished
the song and then,

then we got to the
side of the stage.

I said, "C.C.,
your [bleep] cable."

He was sure I'd said
other additional words.

And, um, and then
we threw down.

I was literally punching

and like looking up
at Cindy Crawford.

I think it was Arsenio,
he's stepping to the side.

He's like what the
hell's going...

We're boom, boom,

Sorry about that,
I knocked his tooth out.

Sorry to get blood on ya.

And boom boom and
we went back to it.

And then we separated
and that was that.

It was a heartbreaking moment.

Riki:
I think the Poison

MTV Video
Music Awards

might go down
on record

as one of the
worst ones ever.

It was a full
blown trainwreck.

Rikki:
At that time, I think people
really wanted to judge us

on that one night.

Like, see?

They really can't
play worth a [bleep].

C.C. wasn't taking
it seriously

that there was those issues,
I think, that night.

I think Bret had just
hit the wall with it.

Bret:
So we tried to
talk with C.C.

Ah, needless to say,

that wasn't gonna
work at that moment.

Rikki:
The next day
Bret was like,

"I don't want
him in the band."

"I'm not gonna continue.

"I can't do this.
I can't do it."

I said, "I don't know if that's
the right thing to do, um,

"but we gotta keep
this band together."

And so we started looking
for somebody else.

Bret:
So we went on,

found a kid
from Pennsylvania,

great guitar player
named Richie Kotzen.

Went in to do
"Native Tongue".

[light music]

Bret:
I think that in order
for this band to work

and to work great,

is that Richie and Bobby
and Rikki and myself

have to, you know, you
have to be there mentally

and-and with your heart,
you know,

and-and C.C. kind of
lost some of that

and, ah, you know,

that's the reason
for the departure

and the reason
Richie's here now.

It's fate, you
know what I mean?

Rikki:
The first year was great.

He's an excellent player, um,
and he's a good songwriter.

I think we made a
really great record.

But it wasn't
the ten million,

15 million, you know, one
that the "Cat Dragged In"

and stuff was, you know?

Bret:
We're in the early
part of the 90s,

music is changing.

The world wants to separate
us and make this big fight.

They're selling a new genre.

In order to sell a new genre,

you gotta get rid
of an old genre.

Rikki:
I think Bret was feeling
a little bit lost

for a minute there.

And he was partying more
and he shouldn't have been,

you know, because
of the diabetes.

Bret:
I was out partying
with everybody.

I had just opened up a
restaurant in Beverly Hills

called Sanctuary.

We went from there up to
the Rainbow Bar & Grill.

Lo and behold,
there was an afterparty.

And in all defence of
everyone up there,

they were like,
"You know what?

"You've been having
a great time,

"you don't need
to be driving."

But I just kinda took my
keys out of the box thing

and I got in my car

and luckily everyone was smart
enough not to drive with me.

I'm taking full
responsibility for this.

Rikki:
Once your blood
sugar goes wacky,

your judgement does too.

He shouldn't have
been driving a Ferrari

at a high rate of speed,
you know, drunk,

but he didn't care.

Bret:
I remember
getting in the car

and I'm following
a bunch of people

and then it was just a
matter of going way too fast

in way too tight
of a corner...

and then all of
a sudden, boom.

[car crashing]

I hit a telephone pole.

[car crashing]

Bret:
Head through the windshield,

now I've broken my thumb,

my ribs, head's
split wide open,

nose is over here,

no teeth,
not a pretty sight.

Michele:
The car was totalled,
I don't know how he survived.

The insurance agent
that did it said,

"When's the funeral?"

Bret:
Grace of God,

I didn't hurt
anyone but myself.

I do think it was a
wake up call for him.

I think he did take
it seriously, too.

Next thing I know,

I gotta go out to his
house and look at him with,

you know, you know,
missing teeth, you know?

I'm like, wow, you're a
hockey player now, you know?

[Rikki laughs]

Rikki:
I think he was
happy to be alive,

you know what I mean?

So he was like,

"Wow, I got
through that one."

Bret:
I've looked death in
the face a lot of times.

Sometimes you have
to go to the edge

and there you stand
and look down

and you go,
you know what?

I need to,

I need to step back
from that edge.

And then you say those words,
I'm just gonna cut it off.

Rikki:
But he wasn't
ready for a while.

But at that point in time
we weren't really doing much.

[guitar music]

The band continued on,
ah, with Richie Kotzen

and then
Blues Saraceno.

♪ We all carry the cross

♪ And speak what
we're taught

♪ Lies and money become
the white man's god ♪

Lyndsey:
I was like,
"This isn't Poison."

They became more pedestrian,
I guess.

They became a little
less colourful?

♪ You know you got
to stand, stand

♪ A stand for what
you believe ♪

Bret:
You're supposed to have highs
and lows in your career.

[stammers] No career goes
like this and straight up.

♪ Stand for what
you believe ♪

[soft guitar music]

Bret:
We're doing an album
called "Crack A Smile".

Halfway through
recording it,

a gentleman
named Gary Gersh

takes over at Capitol.

Rikki:
It's a whole new regime,

different president,

and I don't think he was a
huge fan of us to begin with.

[light music]

Bret:
And we go in to play the
record for him, he's like,

"It's good songs,
great music."

Didn't know if there
was an outlet for it.

Rikki:
They were just shelving us.

We're not putting no money
into the future of this

because we don't see it.

Bret:
The chemistry,

something in the chemistry

was just slightly off.

It taught me C.C. makes
up what is Bobby and Rikki

and myself,
that is Poison.

You know, that is
the original Poison

and is the way it should be.

Rikki:
And it just put us in a
predicament that it was like,

you know, what
are we gonna do?

We had had too much success
to just throw it away.

Riki:
And I knew C.C. had
a bad reputation.

C.C. was wasted on drugs.

Rikki:
I think we were all
waiting for the call

that C.C. was found dead.

From what I heard
from people,

he was up at his house

right above Sunset Strip
and he needed a friend.

I knew he was going through
a tough moment in his life

and I wanted to make sure
that he was safe and okay.

And we busted that
front door down

and it was, ah,
it was quite a,

quite a scene in there.

Everything was busted,
glasses.

I'm like, the pool table,
this, this was flipped over

and it's this
beautiful house.

We finally went to the,
where the bedroom was

and he was just
passed out in there.

And we had a
great conversation

and when it was done,

it sparked finding
that rebirth

of getting back together,
not just as friends,

but putting the
band back together.

We just got him help and that
brought us all back together.

[light music]

Eric:
I've heard you guys are
getting the band back together

and are you gonna
do an album?

I don't know
about an album,

but I think a
Memorial Day tour.

We wanna just tour big.

[dramatic music]

Bret:
So we're doing this reunion,

we're kicking
off in Detroit,

which I love,

and we're going to
Pittsburgh and Cleveland

and all places I love.

They put tickets on sale

for the first Poison
comeback show, right.

Bret and I,

we're on the phone for a couple
hours the night before, going,

"Do you realize that
tomorrow at this time,

"we're gonna know if we
have any value at all."

And it was really scary.

And the next day
at that time,

we had sold out our
first show and it's like,

people really do want
us back as a band,

they really do.

[upbeat rock music]
[crowd cheering]

It was completely sold
out and it was insane.

♪ Don't need nothin'
but a good time

♪ How can I resist

Bret:
We got back on that stage
and nothing stopped us.

It felt like we had
never missed a beat.

C.C. was extremely excited
to be back on that stage

and he played
un-[bleep]-believably great.

[guitar music]

Bret:
He was on fire.

From that almost tragedy,

something truly
great came from it.

♪ And it don't get
better than this ♪

Bret:
When you're within the band,
you just keep on going.

There's never a moment
of losing the fight.

We'll see you soon!

Get it up! Get it up!

[audience cheering]

Excuse me.

I'm not a groupie
or anything,

and I've never asked
for this before

[whispers] but I'll do
anything for a backstage pass.

So what do you want?

Ooh, let me tell
you what I want.

[light rock music]

Lyndsey:
In the 90s,

Bret Michaels
is a hot property,

an eligible bachelor.

Good looking,
charismatic, nice guy.

There were so many women

that really wanted to
date this golden god.

Look who we have this week,
Bret Michaels, you know,

super sexy guy.

So, now why haven't you
ever gotten married?

Um, I've been engaged
several times

and I just, I don't
know what it is.

I got cold feet at the end.

Doesn't mean I can't
be a good commitment,

it just means I get-

yeah, I get a little,

I get a little paranoid
right at the very end.

[light music]

Bret:
I'm in a nightclub in downtown
Los Angeles in Hollywood, right?

Just off the Sunset Strip.

Great night.

Everyone's out partying,
having fun.

So I'm looking across the room
and she was standing there

and she had her
back to me at first.

And then she turned around

and it was like one of those
crazy movie moments, right?

Where I just went,
wow, she is beautiful.

I went up and said, "Hey, you
wanna come over for a drink?"

Came over,
started drinking.

We hit it off

and then eventually
it ends up being

a unbelievable relationship.

And then we had Raine
and that was incredible.

Then we had Jorja,
that was incredible.

Kristi is an incredible,
incredible woman,

incredible human being,
incredible mom.

This is one of my favourite
roads to drive on.

And my daughters,

they got their driver's
licence on the first try.

This is where I'd bring them
on these curvy, twisty roads.

I try to tell them
over and over,

"Look, life is gonna come at you
both great and not so great,

"but enjoy the journey. And-

[phone rings]

Hold on.
Let me do this.

Give me one minute.
- Yeah.

Raine, how are you doing, kid?

We are driving
along and filming.

Raine [on phone]:
Okay, um-

Don't say anything
[bleep] about anybody,

they're all in the car.

Raine [on phone]:
Okay, well, in that case...

Okay. [laughs]

When I had my daughters
I knew one thing,

I wanted to be a great dad.

Being able to take
them on adventures

and bond on every level.

I took them on the road.
They sang on stage with me.

Jorja:
I remember when
I was little

I'd wear headphones

because the music
was so loud

and they were,
like, way bigger

than my head.

But I remember going
out and singing

"Nothin' But a Good Time"
with him.

I think the first time I
went out on stage with him,

I, like, loved it.

And then as I've
gotten older,

it's like, wow, there's, like-

Too many people!
-A lot of people out there.

Yeah.

I would never be able
to just go out there

and sing or talk in front
of this many people.

Bret:
Those moments you can't,

you-you can't replace those.

They're incredible.

[light music]

C.C. and Rikki,
Bobby and myself,

all of us have kids.

All of us are going in
different directions sometimes.

My creativity doesn't stop.

You just go out there and start
working in different areas

and apply that creativity into
everything that you wanna do.

[light music]

Bret:
So where we're
driving now out here,

I have a ranch in Malibu.

So Charlie Sheen and I,

we both live
near each other.

And Charlie was using the
song "Something to Believe In"

in a feature he was doing.

And we went up to the house,

we met, we hung out.

And you know in life you have
people that you just click with,

you click right off the bat
and Charlie and I just clicked.

[light music]

Bret:
Both of us are
sports fanatics.

So we flew down to
the Super Bowl,

we did a bunch of stuff,

go see concerts, hang out.

And he was talking
about doing a film

and we formed a
company together

ah, just simply called
Sheen Michaels Entertainment.

And I went down to
Tennessee to film

"A Letter From Death Row".

My name is Michael Raine.

I'm a struggling songwriter
from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I thought moving to Nashville
would give me a chance

to start over.

I was wrong.

I said, look, I've directed
a lot of our videos,

but when you jump
to the world

of actually trying
to make a film

that's gonna be an hour and
a half or two hours long,

it needs to connect,

it needs to relate to people.

It was a darker movie.

It went in the vein of those
movies like "Usual Suspects",

"Dead Man Walking".

He's gone!

This state's gonna
get an execution

if I gotta fry you myself!

You hear me?
You hear me?

Bret:
If anyone thinks making
a film was easy,

they're crazy.

Charlie was great,
he did a cameo.

Martin Sheen did a cameo.

And some loved the movie
and some were like,

I don't get it.

But it ended up being a
successful first film.

And in doing that, I wrote
a soundtrack to go around it,

so the music could be
part of the movie.

It was a good time in my life

to really go out
there creatively

and just start to write
music and go play

and take all the great
stuff I've done with Poison

and just take it
into my own level.

[rock music]

♪ When I hold you in my arms

♪ I can feel you breathe

Bret:
I live to be in the studio.

I love to be creative.

I love to write stuff.

If you're a songwriter

and you go in there and
you're producing yourself,

you just get to add and
try a few more things.

I wanna try this piano.

I wanna put a
Hammond B3 on there,

which if we were in Poison,

we wouldn't be using it.

And rightfully so.

♪ Give me strength

♪ Get you through
your darkest days ♪

As a solo artist, the
last decision is yours.

But as much as you can have
success in a band like Poison,

there wasn't one part of me

that knew I wasn't
starting over.

I was going back into clubs,

back into small theatres,

back into small venues.

I had to go back out
there and prove myself.

Prior to playing
with Bret,

I'd been the
lead singer

and frontman
of my own band

for many years,

and I thought I
was a powerhouse.

I thought I was a machine.

And then the first night I
ever stepped onstage with Bret,

we had a shorter set,
a 50-minute set,

and I walked off of
that stage exhausted

just from his energy alone.

Bret:
Now getting to play
amphitheatres, arena,

the Stagecoach in front
of 80,000 people,

huge festival,

and I'm headlining
that as Bret Michaels.

But I get to walk on that
stage and am grateful

that I can go out there and
have the time of my life,

whether solo with
The Bret Michaels Band

or Poison,

I give a thousand percent.

♪ I'll be your sun
you be my Raine ♪

["Raine" by Bret Michaels]

[upbeat rock music]

Riki:
Bret Michaels,

he's a brand and he's
always that brand.

He's like apple
pie raunch.

You know,
it's like,

it's accessible decadence.

But Bret Michaels
became a household name

and a major celebrity
because of "Rock of Love".

♪ Please, let me be
your flesh and blood

♪ Your dirty little secret

♪ Your rock of love

["Rock of Love" plays]

[upbeat rock music]

Bret:
"Rock of Love" was meant
to be a fun, awesome,

crazy dating show and
that's what it was.

Lyndsey:
The kind of elevator
pitch for it

was it was the rock
and roll bachelor

with groupies
or fans,

whatever you
wanna call them,

as the bachelorettes.

I do believe the woman who is
the mother of his two children,

his daughters,

was in his life
at that time.

Bret:
Kristi understands
my free spirit,

but never broke our bond and
especially our bond as parents.

I know, shocker,
reality TV isn't real,

but let's suspend our
disbelief for a minute.

Let's ride.

[engines revving]
[upbeat rock music]

Bret VO:
I'm gonna give these
girls challenges

to see which one fits
my lifestyle the best.

I wanna [bleep] on you!

It was the best
hot mess ever.

Absolutely love motocross.

Go! Come on!

The girls were the true
rock stars of that show.

The craziness, the insanity.

I didn't wanna
like "Rock of Love"

when it came
out but my God,

it was a great trainwreck!

Lyndsey:
You had lots of
interesting girls

who were very willing
to really go there.

Contestant:
I want to [bleep] Bret Michaels
and I'm not afraid of it.

I'm gonna get me
some rocker ass.

Riki:
Bret was just Bret,

like he just sits there
and lets it all happen

and let them take care
of the fireworks.

[upbeat rock music]

Lyndsey:
It was believable that they
would do that for this guy

who not only was a rock star
with all of the boxes checked

for what a rock star is,

handsome, rich, successful,

but actually seemed like a
nice, fun, personable guy.

He's kind of America's
sweetheart in that way.

I'm a pretty lucky guy and
I know most guys would kill

to be here right now.

And I said please don't
set me by a jacuzzi

and make me have
fake arguments.

I said, just let me be me.

["Rock of Love" music plays]

Even though he's making
out with all of them,

he didn't necessarily
come off as a scumbag.

There's something about Bret

that despite all of his
rock and roll antics,

unlike someone
like a Tommy Lee

or a Nikki Sixx
or Axl Rose,

has kind of a
softness to him.

There's a lot of people that
have nostalgia for this era,

this Sunset Strip era

that seems more carefree,

more un-PC.

When "Rock of Love"
came on,

you stopped what
you're doing,

you got the popcorn out

and you went to look at
what the cat dragged in

on "Rock of Love".

♪ Please let me be
your rock of love ♪

Riki:
And that show made
Bret Michaels

way bigger than Poison even.

[upbeat music]

Bret:
So, you've established
yourself in the music world

and then all of a sudden,

you establish yourself
in a reality TV world,

which opens up a whole
other bunch of doors.

So while I'm doing
"Rock of Love",

I asked to go on
"Celebrity Apprentice".

And everyone's like,
"Why would you do that?

"You're the
number one show.

"Why do you wanna
go on a show

"that may cut your throat the
first day you're on the show?"

And I said, "Because that's
what I love, the challenge."

When I went in to-to
do "Rock of Love",

I had no clue
what I was doing

and, ah, I just had fun
doing it and was myself.

This is gonna be a
real challenge for me,

and I'm with some
real competitors,

so this will be a lot of
fun to show another side.

Lyndsey:
He did it in a way that
never seemed like pathetic,

like, oh, poor Bret,

like having to
resort to reality TV

to zoom or reboot or
maintain his career.

He was everywhere.

He became this
icon in a way

that a lot of his
peers did not.

[light music]

I've had so many different
crossroads in my life

and how you handle them

has helped to develop
what I've done in my life.

Here we are coming
off "Apprentice".

It's airing.

As it's happening, I then
have emergency appendectomy

and then I flew back home.

I'll never forget that
night sitting in my house,

the couch,

and I'm watching TV.

My kids were asleep.

And I'll never
forget that sound.

It was a...

[loud clap]

Bret:
It was technically
called a thunderclap.

It sounded like my
brain exploded.

The pain is undescribable.

I mean, I thought someone
had broke into my house

and had shot me in
the back of the head.

The pain felt like an
elephant standing on my head.

My mouth was drooping.

I thought about my kids,
my wife, my family.

I'm like, I need to live.

This is the first
thing I thought.

And then the pain became
so insanely overwhelming.

I knew that I
was in trouble,

like really in trouble.

Raine:
When it happened, my mom
came in the bedroom and said,

"Your dad has
a headache.

"We're going to
the hospital."

And I was like,
that's so weird.

I think I was nine at the
time so like I understood,

but not like the
severity of it.

Bret:
Kristi immediately took me
down to the medical staff.

So I'm begging them.

I was like,
give me anything.

Give me anything
for the pain.

I don't care what you
shoot me up with,

you've gotta do something.

[siren wails]

Bret:
And then they took me
in for a CAT scan.

When you look up at
everyone's faces

and you see how
serious they are,

you know you're in trouble.

The doctor looked
at me and said,

"You have a serious
brain bleed."

And he said,

"Do you have children?"
to Kristi and I

and we're like, yes.

He goes, "I would bring
them down right now."

And that,

that moment was a,

that was a freaky moment.

[dramatic music]

Lyndsey:
I remember when I heard
about the brain hemorrhage.

I worked for Yahoo.

I remember the meeting
where it was like,

we should probably
write an obituary

and have it ready
for Bret Michaels

'cause it's like not
looking very good.

He's like, you know, basically
in a coma at the moment.

That's some heavy stuff.

Raine:
We went and saw him and he
was hooked up to everything.

It was like, it was scary.

I look back and
I'm like, oh God.

Yeah, very scary.

[dramatic music]

Bret:
I don't remember anything
for about three days.

And then about the
third day I came to.

I, honest to God,
I thought...

I asked, I said, "Am I dead?

"Is this heaven?
Is this hell?

"Doesn't seem like hell,
it seems like heaven."

[stirring music]

Bret:
Seeing my kids and Kristi
and all my friends,

my drummer Rikki Rockett
from Poison was there.

He was the first
one down there.

Rikki:
That's a tough one, man.

When somebody's going
through that, it's like,

some people know how to help
you and some people don't.

And then me getting
kicked out of the hospital

because I brought
him a pizza.

[Rikki laughs]

That's a true story.

Bret:
I've been through this
trail a thousand times.

This is where I found myself
going through all this stuff,

the brain hemorrhage,

makes this incredibly
special for me.

Throughout my life
it's what I love to do.

You just stepped
in horse[bleep].

That's the best day ever.

[Bret laughs] That was,
I don't...

I want to save ya.

I go,
"That's my horse's [bleep]."

[light music]

Bret:
When I woke up

out of sort of this
semi-coma I was in, right?

In between MRIs
and CAT scans,

I was walking along the
hall learning to walk again.

And because of the
TIA and the stroke,

obviously the mouth,
everything,

I was learning
to talk again.

You know,
retraining your brain.

I was walking along the hallway,
pulling along the IV bags

and even if it was
a step at a time,

I gave a thousand percent.

The thought of staying there
in that bed and not moving,

it was driving me crazy.

But then, I don't even know
how many weeks later it was,

when he was on
"Celebrity Apprentice".

The finale that he had
made it to was live

and he showed up for it.

Bret:
After three weeks in ICU,

I do exactly what I'm
not supposed to do,

which is have
physical activity.

The doctor said, "I'm
gonna have to go with you

"because going on your
plane and flying back there

"in that altitude could
cause another bleed,

"a stroke of some kind."

The discussions with my family
were the same as always.

They-they asked
me not to do it.

They didn't think it
was a great idea.

I didn't understand the
severity of it then.

But now looking
back I'm like,

he probably should've taken like
at least a year or two off.

And he was like,
"Nope, can't."

Bret:
And I didn't feel great.

I felt awful.

You know, my head
was throbbing.

It was horrific.

It's been a little bit
of a rough last month

and a half for me.

Even though I know I'm
a little beat up inside,

I was gonna do anything
I could to get here.

He was still limping because
of the brain injury he had,

he had not fully
recovered from it.

That's the thing,
he keeps showing up.

And he won.

[light music]

Bret:
You can see in my face
when I got called out,

I was like, yes!

It was just a great
feeling showing people

that I didn't get
here by being lucky.

Holly Robinson-Peete:
You can't compete with that.

This is a man who was on
the brink and came back.

Even my son got
up this morning,

put on a bandana and said,

"I love you but I'm feeling
Bret to win tonight."

Fan:
Bret! Bret! Bret!
Come here!

Can you sign?

I'm slowly making
my way over there.

Raine:
He definitely has a
lot of health scares

but he bounces back
from them pretty fast.

We call him a cat 'cause
he has, like, nine lives

and he's only used,
what, like five or so?

So he's got a few more left.

Let me get this 'cause I
gotta go take some pain meds

'cause I'm hurt.

Fan:
Yeah, for sure.

Bret:
I've probably spent a
ridiculous amount of time

really soul searching how
incredibly grateful I was

to be alive.

And music helped to
address what was happening

when I couldn't address it
or talk to someone about it.

[light music]

Bret:
One of the most
special moments in my life

was writing "Unbroken"
with my youngest daughter,

Jorja Bleu.

She was going through a
really tough time in her life.

Social media and the brutality
that happens is crazy.

Any parent out there knows
when you watch your children

go through pain of any kind,

that's tough.

I would tell him when I
was feeling sad or like,

certain things
and he'd be like,

"Well, let's write
a song, kid."

I was like, okay.

["Unbroken" by
Bret Michaels]

Bret:
So, we sit down,

and music again was so
therapeutic and bonded us.

Unbroken's a really,
really special song.

♪ Broken, sometimes I feel
like I'm fallin' apart ♪

Pete:
Bret has let me

engineer and produce all
the solo recordings,

so I'm there for this stuff

and I get to see it
with my own eyes,

him and Jorja sitting on the
floor writing these lyrics out.

Bret:
It brought us
together as a father,

as a daughter,

both of us letting all
that out in the music.

♪ And from these ashes

♪ I shall rise

♪ Unbroken

Instead of a song about
how everything sucks,

it became a song about
how to beat what sucks

and triumphing.

Bret:
We all face adversity,
but what do we do now?

We know the problem,

find a solution
as best you can.

Pete:
That song is the definition
of what he stands for,

don't let anything
get in your way.

♪ Like a moth
drawn to the flame

♪ I shall remain

♪ Unbroken

Jorja:
People who are going
through struggles

and feel like there's no
light at the end of the tunnel

and it's just like a
song of reassurance

to let them know
that there is.

I see people commenting that
this song has helped me so much

or seeing how much
it's influenced them

and it just makes
me really happy

to know that, like,
I helped someone.

♪ This is not my last song

♪ I will stand and carry on

It's about going
through a difficult time

and trying to find a positive
light at the end of it.

♪ I shall remain

♪ Unbroken

[audience cheering]

Bret:
This is the one
you helped us hit.

Let's go crazy and
sing this one,

this is your party.

Hit it C.C.!

[guitar music]
[audience cheering]

["Talk Dirty To Me" plays]

Are we ready?

Raise them up, let's go!

[audience cheering]

Come on!

Doing both Poison and solo both
complement each other, right?

But for me,

I live to get
back with Poison

and go out and do some
great summer shows.

[audience cheering]
[upbeat rock music]

The stadium tour was a
four-artist package tour,

all artists that are headline
worthy in my opinion.

Motley Crue, Def Leppard,
Poison and Joan Jett.

It was nothing but hits,

it was nothing
but a good time.

♪ You know I never

♪ Never seen you
look so good ♪

Lyndsey:
There's still a huge audience
for this type of music.

Like in LA it was
SoFi Stadium

where, like, literally the
Super Bowl took place.

♪ I know you like it too

Come on!

♪ The way that I want you

We hit that stage no
different at the Stadium Tour

than we did when we did
"The Cat Dragged In" record.

And you're looking on
a stadium of three,

maybe even four
generations of fans.

♪ Just to see you

Riki:
People will talk about
certain bands of that era

and how the singers
look like crap

and how they can barely sing.

But you don't hear people
saying that about Poison.

[rock music]

Lyndsey:
They were so stoked to be
there and that was infectious.

It was contagious.

And I think they
stole the show.

♪ In the old man's Ford

Jorja:
It's cool when he
sings and stops singing

and has the crowd sing
and you hear everyone there.

Yeah, the crowd singing
back is really cool.

You're like, that's
a lot of people

that know my dad's music.

Raine:
That's insane.

Yeah.

♪ Lock the cellar door

Bret:
Scream it to me!

♪ Talk dirty to me

His critics are the
people that are paying $42

to sit in the seat.

That's-that's who
he cares about.

His critics are did
everybody walk home happy?

Bret:
Being out there
with C.C. and Bobby

and Rikki was the most
incredible feeling.

No matter how many highs
and lows we've had,

that is a bond of love
that you can't break.

Scream it to me!

♪ Talk dirty to me

[audience cheering]

Bret:
I'd like to say I've slowed
down and have gotten smarter

and taken less risk,
but I'd be lying.

I love to fly by the seat of
my pants and have a great time.

And I'm talking about
from being out on the road

to taking that dirt bike
out and going from a double

to a triple jump,

none of which I
should be doing,

but I love it.

I love those challenges
and I think with it

there are some highs and
there's been some mega crashes

in my life.

When people see me out
there being a diabetic,

being through the
brain hemorrhage,

the car crashes,

the craziness,

yet you're out there still
doing this and living it,

they always are asking,

"Do you have some
kind of death wish?"

And the answer to that is no,

I have a life wish.

It's really simple.

I just wanna fill up that
moments that I'm given

and enjoy every
single minute of it.