White Animals

White Animals were an American band formed in Nashville in 1980 by Dr. Kevin Gray.

The band were a support act for Duran Duran in 1984.

Background information
Dr. Kevin Gray formed the band, a resident at Nashville's Vanderbilt Hospital. Originally an acoustic duo with Gray and his guitar teacher, the project took on a life of its own with the addition of guitarist Rich Parks, bassist Steve Boyd, and drummer Ray Crabtree. The quartet formed their own Dread Beat label to release the Nashville Babylon EP in 1981. Produced by Tim Coats, the disc's mix of pop covers, paisley punk, and dub beats received heavy airplay on several college radio stations.

Coats was asked to join the band full-time, leading to the 1982 release of Lost Weekend, which yielded college-radio hits in Lee "Scratch" Perry-inspired covers of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and "Secret Agent Man".

With principal songwriters Gray and Boyd gaining confidence and valuable experience on the road, the White Animals released their biggest album, Ecstasy, in 1984. Videos for the songs "Don't Care" and "This Girl of Mine" were put into regular rotation on MTV while the band's extended version of the rock chestnut "Gloria" became a fixture of their live show.

Released in 1985, the White Animals' self-titled third album was recorded in Memphis with superstar bass player Busta Cherry Jones producing. Live!, a collection of covers and crowd favorites culled from several Southeast performances, was released in 1986. The band released their swan song, "In the Last Days", in 1987, breaking up shortly thereafter.

Unlike a lot of bands at the time, the White Animals never took themselves too seriously. They had a good seven-year run, opening for bands like The Kinks, The Ramones, and Talking Heads. They mixed '60s British Invasion influences with a '70s punk aesthetic, a dash of psychedelic flavor, and dub rhythms.