A really terrific 1993 album by former Throwing Muses guitarist - vocalist and queen of feedback (the guitar kind) Tanya Donelly, who with her band performs danceable pop tunes as well as some darker, more psychedelic numbers. Fans of Throwing Muses are sure to enjoy this venture from Tanya who added a woman to her touring band because she wanted gender equity in their stage presence. Belly has been reviewed everywhere in the mainstream press -- this is non-mainstream music for a wide audience. Put it on and sing, dance, and play your air guitar around the house; highly recommended for those who expect more from their pop bands.
Star is the debut album by the American band Belly. It was released in 1993 and was an unexpected success, going gold in the USA. The single "Feed the Tree" became a #1 Modern Rock hit, and the album was nominated for two Grammy Awards. "Slow Dog" peaked at #17 on the Modern Rock chart at in the summer of 1993 while "Gepetto" peaked at #8 in the late fall/winter of 1993.
The album and group received two 1994 Grammy Nomination's for Best Alternative Album and Best New Artist. The music video for "Feed The Tree" was a smash buzz bin MTV hit, and was nominated for Best Alternative Video VMA and Best New Artist VMA in 1993. Follow up videos for "Slow Dog" and "Gepetto" didn't have the same cross-over success, but were popular on Alternative and Rock segments and outlets of MTV and VH1.
"Feed the Tree" also became a surprise pop hit peaking at #95 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the late spring of 1993. Before breaking into the Hot 100 it was a chart topper on the Billboard Bubbling Under The Hot 100 singles for 6 weeks. While "Gepetto" did not match the success of "Feed The Tree" it charted on the Billboard Bubbling Under The Hot 100 Singles for 5 weeks in the late fall/winter of 1993 becoming a modest Pop hit and a signature song.
U.S sales of "Star" slightly exceeded 800,000 copies, though never being certified Platinum by the RIAA.
In the UK "Star" peaked at #2 on the Top UK Album chart. "Feed The Tree" was a breakthrough hit peaking at #40 on the Top UK Singles chart. "Star" was certified Gold in the UK.
The "Slow Dust" EP peaked at #1 on the Top UK Indie Singles chart in 1992. The EP featured the popular "Gepetto" and several B-sides.
This text has been derived from Star (album) on Wikipedia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0Artist/Band Information
Belly was a rock band formed in 1991 by former Throwing Muses members Tanya Donelly (who was also in The Breeders) and Fred Abong. The band was based in Boston, Massachusetts, though all of the original members grew up in Newport, Rhode Island. The band consisted of Donelly on lead vocals and guitar, Abong on bass, Tom Gorman on guitar, and Chris Gorman on drums. Tom and Chris, who were brothers, were childhood friends of Donelly's; they had previously played in the hardcore punk band Verbal Assault.
Star
Donelly named the band "Belly" because she thought the word was "both pretty and ugly." Their EP, Slow Dust (1992), made it to number one on the UK indie chart. Soon after, their single "Feed the Tree" made the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart and their first album, Star (1993), hit number two on the UK Albums Chart.
In the United States, the album was RIAA certified gold, largely based on the success of "Feed the Tree" on Modern Rock radio stations and MTV, where the video was featured as part of MTV's Buzz Bin videos and Alternative Nation video show for much of 1993. Two follow-up singles were released, "Gepetto" and "Slow Dog," but neither matched the initial success of "Feed the Tree." Star was consequently nominated for two Grammys.
The album went on to sell over 800,000 copies in the U.S alone and 2 million worldwide.
In the spring of 1993, they embarked on a US tour supported by Radiohead.
King
Just after the release of Star, bassist Fred Abong left and was replaced by Gail Greenwood. Greenwood was originally a guitar player in a Boston-area metal band before being recruited to play bass in Belly. The live sound of the band evolved to accommodate her style, with its shows featuring more electric guitar than before and less of the dreamy quality of its first album.
As a result, the group's next album, King (1995), was more rock and roll-oriented. The album was not a popular success and the band was stuck between mainstream and underground acceptance. King saw its numerous singles fail to sustain any significant airplay on Modern Rock radio. The videos for "Now They'll Sleep" and "Super Connected" received little airplay on MTV US outside of limited airings on 120 Minutes, although they were well received on MTV Europe. Belly appeared on the April 20, 1995 cover of Rolling Stone magazine. The band also performed "Super Connected" on the Tonight Show with David Letterman in June that year. It was one of the band's last major U.S television appearances.
In 1995, Belly was one of the support bands for R.E.M. on their world tour.
Aside from touring with R.E.M, the band extensively toured in the US with UK Shoegazing band, Catherine Wheel and US Alternative Singer/Songwriter Jewel as supporting acts. Both acts were emerging into the American mainstream at the time, and Belly helped them with exposure. Catherine Wheel's 1995 release "Happy Days" was the bands first of two albums to break into the Billboard 200, the LPs second single "Judy Staring At The Sun" become a popular Modern Rock hit in the U.S peaking at #22, the single heavily featured Tanya's vocals. Tanya was also heavily featured in the music video for the song and it became popular on MTV's 120 Minutes.
"King" eventually went on to sell over 350,000 copies in the US.
In 1996, Donelly broke up the band; she has since released several solo albums. Greenwood went on to stints in L7 and Benny Sizzler, and the Gorman brothers began careers as commercial photographers based in New York City.
Discography
Albums
*Star (1993)
*King (1995)
*Sweet Ride: The Best of Belly (2002)
EPs
*Slow Dust (1992)
Singles
*"Gepetto" (1992)
*"Feed the Tree" (1993)
*"Moon" (1993)
*"Slow Dog" (1993)
*"Super Connected" (1995)
*"Now They'll Sleep" (1995)
*"Red" (1995)
*"Seal My Fate" (1995)
*"Sun" (1995)
*"Are You Experienced" (1994)
Compilation albums
*Generation X
*Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix (1993)
*Just Say Roe (Just Say Yes Vol. 7) (1994)
*With Honors (1994)
*UMPF (1995)
*Mallrats (1995)
*Sharks Patrol These Waters (1995)
*This Is Fort Apache (1995)
*Tank Girl (1995)
*Safe and Sound (1996)
*A Bunch O' Hits: The Best Rock...Volume 1 (1996)
*In Defense of Animals, Volume 2 (1996)
*Twister (1996)
*The Rolling Stone Women in Rock Collection (1998)
*Lifetime Intimate Portrait: Women in Rock (1999)
*Out of Bounds: A Journey Through Modern Rock (1999)
*Double Shot: Pop Alternative (2000)
References
Category:American alternative rock groups
Category:1990s music groups
Category:Sire Records artists
Category:Musical groups from Boston, Massachusetts
Category:Musical groups established in 1991
Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1996
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This text has been derived from Belly (band) on Wikipedia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0
