Guitarist Dave Carruth first played with Dana Strum (Slaughter, Vince Neil, Vinnie Vincent Invasion) in Bad Axe in the 1970s before forming Bitch in 1980 with drummer Randy Stilles. Singer Betsy "Bitch" Weiss, who had just left new wave/ska band The Boxboys, and bassist Kevyn Redwine completed the band's lineup. With Betsy's on-stage S&M antics they soon earned a name for themselves, for better or worse, on the L.A. club scene and were the first band to be signed to Metal Blade Records. Musically, they were heavily influenced by the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. In 1988, the band toned down their image, even changing their name to Betsy. They released a self-titled album under that name which had a more commercial hard rock sound. Despite gaining some airplay on MTV, this move was largely unsuccessful and the band changed their name back to Bitch for one last EP: A Rose By Another Name, released in 1989. Betsy now sings for Witch, another forgotten band from the 80s L.A. scene.
- Keir