Belly (band)
Belly were an alternative rock band formed in 1991 by former Throwing Muses members Tanya Donelly and Fred Abong. Donelly had also played in The Breeders. Hailing from Newport, Rhode Island, and based in Boston, Massachusetts, the band was comprised of Donelly on vocals, Abong on bass (replaced after their first album by Gail Greenwood), Tom Gorman on guitar, and his brother Chris Gorman on drums.
Signed to the British label 4AD, the band's debut EP, "Slow Dust" (recorded with Pixies producer Gil Norton) topped the British indie charts. Their crossover breakthrough came with their third single, "Feed the Tree," which made the Top 40 in the British charts. The album that followed, Star, was a hit in both the UK and the USA, where it went gold, receiving three Grammy award nominations.
In keeping with the name of the group ("It's both pretty and ugly," according to Donelly), Belly's sound matched enchanting pop melodies, Donelly's ethereal vocals, and Gorman's melodic guitar work to lyrics mixing fairy-tale innocence with dark images. The lyrics to "Full Moon, Empty Heart," for example, came from a story about a mother who threw herself and her child from a window after losing a custody battle. "Slow Dog" was inspired by a disturbing story about an "adulteress in ancient China, who, for penance, had to have a dead dog strapped to her back until it decomposed," according to Donelly in Billboard. The band's flanged guitar sound progressed in varying the pace and tempo of the songs to build tension, as heard in King. Despite good reviews, the album did not achieve the sales levels expected after Star, and the group disbanded in 1996, with Greenwood joining L7.
Tanya Donelly has since recorded several solo albums for 4AD.
Discography
Albums
- Star (4AD, 1993)
- Baby Silvertooth (Japanese import, 1993)
- King (4AD, 1995)
- Sweet Ride: the Best of Belly (Rhino, 2002)
Singles/EPs
- Gepetto (4AD/Warner Brothers, 1992)
- Slowdust (4AD, 1992)
- Feed the Tree (Warner Brothers, 1993)
- Are You Experienced (Warner Brothers, 1994)
- Moon (Reprise, 1994)
- Super-Connected (4AD, 1994)
- Now They'll Sleep (4AD, 1995)
- Seal My Fate (4AD, 1995)
- Sun (Sire/Reprise, 1995)
References
- Bardin, Brantley. 4AD band biography. Retrieved Dec. 11, 2004.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. All Music Group biography Retrieved Dec. 11, 2004.
- Koradi, Reto (February 27, 1995). "Review: Belly, King". Consumable. Retrieved Apr. 13, 2005.
- Obrecht, Jas (March 1995). "Belly Up! The Rise of Tanya Donelly & Tom Gorman". Guitar Player. Retrieved Apr. 13, 2005.
- White, Timothy (January 16, 1993). "Discovering Belly's Personal Politics". Billboard. Retrieved Apr. 17, 2005.