Britny Fox is an American glam metal band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in 1985 out of the same fertile scene that produced Cinderella — a band they share direct DNA with. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist "Dizzy" Dean Davidson founded the group alongside guitarist Michael Kelly Smith and drummer Tony Destra, both of whom had previously played in the early Cinderella lineup before departing to form this new outfit. Bassist Billy Childs rounded out the original four-piece. Davidson named the band in honor of a Welsh ancestor, and the group quickly developed a reputation for high-energy live shows and a raw, gritty brand of glam metal that earned them the memorable description "trashy Victorian glam." Their connections to Cinderella helped open doors at the major label level, and they signed with Columbia Records before releasing anything widely.
Their self-titled debut album, released in 1988, was one of the breakout rock records of its season — selling over one million copies and driving a relentless tour that brought more than 625,000 fans to over 130 shows as openers for Poison and Warrant. The album produced the MTV-friendly video for "Girlschool" and the minor hit "Long Way to Love," which charted at number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100. Metal Edge Magazine recognized the band's momentum by naming them Best New Band in their 1988 Reader's Choice Awards. By any measure it was a strong debut, and the Philadelphia scene had a genuine contender on its hands. Drummer Johnny Dee had come aboard by this point, replacing Destra and solidifying the lineup that would become the band's most recognized.
The follow-up, Boys in Heat (1989), kept the band in the conversation but marked the end of Davidson's tenure. He departed after the album's release to form Blackeyed Susan, leaving a significant hole at the center of the group. After an audition process, he was replaced by Tommy Paris, a Las Vegas native who brought a different energy and vocal approach to the band. The reconstituted lineup — Paris, Smith, Childs, and Dee — recorded Bite Down Hard (1991), widely considered the band's most musically accomplished album. Zakk Wylde of Ozzy Osbourne fame and Rikki Rockett of Poison both contributed guest appearances on the record. However, grunge's stranglehold on rock radio by 1991 had effectively shut the door on glam metal, and despite the quality of the album it failed to connect commercially. Britny Fox disbanded in 1992.
The band has reformed multiple times in the decades since. A full reunion in 2000 with the Boys in Heat-era lineup led to a fourth studio album, Springhead Motorshark (2003), before the band dissolved again. Billy Childs — the only member to appear in every lineup throughout the band's history — rebuilt the group again in 2006 and toured through 2007 and 2008. Another reformation in late 2014 brought together Childs, Paris, and original drummer Johnny Dee for the Bite Down Hard anniversary lineup, with Michael Kelly Smith also returning. Throughout all of it, Billy Childs has been the thread that connects every chapter of the band's story.
Wayne Dennon photographed Britny Fox as part of an archive that spans the full breadth of hard rock history — from the bands that defined the genre to the ones who lived it without compromise. Britny Fox were Philadelphia originals who helped put the city on the glam metal map, and their run at the top of the genre, however brief, was the real thing.
