Rikki Rockett, bass player Bobby Dall and guitarist David Besselman. Shortly thereafter, Besselman left the band due to creative differences and in 1983 the band hired Matt Smith to form a new band named Paris in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. In early 1984 the band tired of playing the Pennsylvania bar circuit, changed their name to Poison and moved west to Los Angeles to seek fame on the Sunset Boulevard scene. That same year, Michaels met 16-year-old Tracy Lewis, who would become both his girlfriend and the muse for one of his most memorable songs. Eventually, Matt Smith tired of the band's struggle to find fame and returned home. He was replaced by C.C. DeVille, who would become both Michaels' friend and a source of conflict. 1980s–1990s Local publicity about the band eventually led to a record deal with Enigma Records, and their first album, Look What the Cat Dragged In. The album was not a great success until 1987, when Michaels convinced the band to film a video for their song, "Talk Dirty to Me". The album went platinum, and the band became famous. In March of that year, Poison headlined a show at Madison Square Garden. Michaels took his insulin injection before the show but was so nervous about performing that he neglected to eat. Several songs into Poison's set, Michaels went into insulin shock and collapsed onstage. When subsequent media reports alleged that Michaels collapsed due to a drug overdose, Michaels publicly announced that he was a diabetic. 1987 also saw the dissolution of his relationship with Lewis, who felt that fame had changed him. Though Michaels contends that Lewis was unfaithful to him, Lewis (now Lewis Crosby) insists that it was Michaels who was unfaithful. Michaels was inspired by the breakup to write "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", explaining that the rose represented his fame and success, whereas the loss of his relationship represented the thorn. The song was released as a power ballad single in December 1988, and is regarded as "the ultimate '80s anthem about heartbreak". Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Poison became one of the biggest glam metal bands in the world, recording their second album, the multi-platinum selling Open Up and Say... Ahh!, and their third album, the multi-platinum selling Flesh & Blood. However, their lives were characterized by the escalating tension between Michaels and DeVille that derived from their mutual drug use,