|
|
Babes In Toyland formed in 1988 in Minneapolis. The original lineup consisted of Kat Bjelland, Courtney Love and Jennifer Finch, and they went under the name of Sugar Baby Doll. Speculation says that Kat Bjelland kicked Courtney Lve out of the band for being "talentless". Jennifer Finch also left to pursue a project with L7. The replacements came in the form of old friend Lori Barbero and Michelle Leon. Their first recording came in the "House/Arriba" vinyl from legendary record label SubPop. They followed this up with the debut album "Spanking Machine" in 1989. Meanwhile, Courtney Love was putting together her own band Hole and Jennifer Finch had joined L7. They toured clubs tirelessly to promote the album. In 1991 they released the EP "To Mother" and the same year they were invited to record a Peel Sessions with John Peel at the BBC. This album, "The Peel Sessions" showed the Babes with the raw live edge they were noted for. Their first big break came in 1992 when they signed to Reprise Records and released the harrowing "Fontanelle". This album was a surprise on release and showed the dark personal side to their songwriting. Hole had released "Pretty On The Inside" and L7 had released "L7" and "Bricks Are Heavy" and "Smell The Magic" (phew!). In 1993, Sonic Youth invited them to tour on the Lollapalooza tour and they reached a much wider audience. Although they were now well known, they waited three years until they released their final album to date called "Nemesisters" in 1995. This was supported by the singles "Sweet 69" and "We Are Family", a cover of the old Sister Sledge tune. The Babes split up in 1996 with Kat drifting into Katastrophy's Wife with husband Glen Mattson. Lori Barbero formed a band called Eggtwist, who are now defunct. The couple have had a baby called Henry Paul Mattson. Nowadays, the Babes have two new albums due for release in 2000, one called "Lived", an album of live tracks from the Lollapalooza tour, and one other called "Devil", a compilation of their best live tracks. Katastrophy Wife are also set to release a debut album in January, with a follow up in August 2001. Babes In Toyland are also reuniting for a short European tour as a thank you to their fans, who were once described as "fiercely devoted".
Babes In Toyland recently reformed for a host of shows in America and across the pond in Britain and Europe. Playing to largely sold out venues, the tour was a success, spurring the band to re-enter the studio for a brand new studio album. Recruited on the first tour for bass was Jesse Farmer who Kat first met when she was 14 and they met in a coffee house. After "Lived" was released, bizarrely, a whole crop emerged. First came the Almafame follow up to live, "Devil", then "Natural Babe Killers", which was comprised mainly of the same tracks. Then came the bookend to the Almafame series, "Viled". Also available are "Further Adventures...." which looks to be the best stuff of the Almafame Three. The BBC is releasing a collection of their studio sessions with John Peel called the "BBC Sessions". Babes are currently preparing for another reunion tour, and are rumoured to have persuaded either Maureen or Michelle back to the fold. Since the last writing here, the aforementioned reunion tour went ahead, however with only Kat from the original lineup involved. Unfortunately, Lori, nor Michelle or Maureen appeared. This prompted Lori to ask on her website for anyone who attended these shows to send her tickets to prove that Kat had used the name without her approval or involvement. Since then, Warner Bros has released a double cd album entitled "The Best Of Babes In Toyland and Kat Bjelland" which contains 26 tracks of Babes In Toyland and Katastrophy Wife. Unsurprisingly, and unfortunately, none of Lori's songs make an appearance. Cd 2 contains unseen video footage of the band, their hard-to-find music videos and a photo gallery much like the one on "Devil." What happens now is anyones guess, Kat having seemingly gone full time with Katastrophy Wife, and after the phenomenal second album "All Kneel" earning rave reviews, the best of luck to her... |
|
