Britny Fox started out as a standard-issue glam-rock outfit gigging the bars around Philadelphia. During 1985 the group crossed paths with guitarist Michael Kelly Smith of the rising act Cinderella, and he soon abandoned that outfit to throw in with the Philly musicians. Taking their name from one of vocalist Dizzy Dean Davison’s Welsh forebears, the band adopted Cinderella’s flamboyant stage presentation and cut an early demo called In America that featured Billy Childs on bass and Johnny Dee behind the kit. Cinderella repaid the stylistic borrowing by steering the newcomers toward a deal with Columbia, whose release of the self-titled debut album brought widespread praise and sales that nearly reached platinum. The lead track “Long Way to Love” enjoyed heavy MTV exposure, yet the equally energetic follow-up “Girlschool” made little impact even within the channel’s Headbanger’s Ball slot. Still, the group captured Metal Edge magazine’s Best New Band honor for 1988.
On the next album the musicians sought a more organic feel, recruiting producer Neil Kernon in hopes of developing a broader identity that might lift them from beneath Cinderella’s considerable influence. The strategy attracted few additional listeners, sales remained soft, and Dizzy Dean eventually exited in search of fresh opportunities. Just as the group’s brief moment appeared spent, Britny Fox resurfaced with Tommy Paris, a singer whose voice closely recalled Dizzy Dean’s. The material itself, however, showed no advancement, and the fading appetite for Hollywood-style glam led the band to dissolve before its latest album could reach the remainder bins.
