Bret Michaels biography

Michaels got into a few legal scrapes over a few brawls he was involved with. There was also turmoil within the group. In 1991, Michaels got into an altercation with DeVille backstage at the MTV Music Video Awards, and DeVille was later fired from the band.

As popular music tastes changed in the 1990s, Poison began to lose some of its audience. Their next recording, 1993's Native Tongue, did not fare as well as their earlier albums. With new member Richie Kotzen aboard,

the group wrote all of the songs for the album, but only one struck a cord with music fans, the up-tempo power ballad "Stand." Kotzen was later fired and replaced by Blues Saraceno.

Scandals and Setbacks

Michaels also suffered a personal setback around this time. In 1994, he was in a serious car accident, which left him with a broken nose, jaw, and several fingers as well as a few ribs. Michaels and the rest of the group went back into the recording studios for the next project. After completing work on their album, they were disappointed to learn that the record company did not want to release it. The company put out a greatest hits album instead. The new material was finally released in 2000 as Crack a Smile and More.

In 1998, Poison was dropped by their record label. With his band floundering, Michaels explored other projects. He formed a production company with actor Charlie Sheen, which led to his first lead film role in Letter from Death Row (1998). Michaels played a convicted killer facing the death penalty. In addition to acting, he also wrote the screenplay and the soundtrack for the film. Michaels also served as a co-director.

Michaels made headlines around this time for a very different type of performance. A sex tape involving him and former girlfriend Pamela Anderson ended up in the hands of the Internet Entertainment Group. To stop its release, Michaels sued the company. It was unclear how the company got possession of the tape. At the time, Michaels's lawyer, Edwin F. McPherson, told the Los Angeles Times that "Pam had a copy. Bret had a copy. Bret still has his copy. That's all I know."

After that scandal lost steam, Michaels went back on tour with Poison, with DeVille as a band member again. They had to cancel some dates in 2001 after Bobby Dall underwent emergency surgery on his spine. After he recovered, Dall rejoined the group and Poison pressed on. They released an album of new material, Hollyweird, in 2002. While it failed to make much of a splash on the charts, the group remained a popular live act. Michaels also did two solo albums, Songs of Life (2003) and Freedom of Sound (2005).

Not everyone was a fan, however. Michaels was struck by some broken glass after someone fired shots into his tour bus in Chicopee, Massachusetts, in 2005. Unshaken, he released a statement at the time, which read in part: "It's going to take more than a cowardice act like this to make me stop performing or stop my tour."

Reality TV Star

Taking his career in a new direction, Michaels shared his quest for love with television audiences in the reality show, Rock of Love, in 2007. A group of women vied for his affection while undertaking a number of different challenges.