Babes in Toyland was an American punk rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native Kat Bjelland (lead vocals and guitar), with Lori Barbero (drums) and Michelle Leon (bass), who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992. Courtney Love had a brief stint in the band in 1987 as a bass player before being kicked out and forming Hole in 1989.[1]
Between 1989 and 1995, Babes in Toyland released three studio albums: Spanking Machine (1990), the commercially successful Fontanelle (1992), and Nemesisters (1995), before becoming inactive in 1997 and eventually disbanding in 2001. While the band was inspirational to some performers in the riot grrrl movement in the Pacific Northwest, Babes in Toyland never associated themselves with the movement.
| Year
|
Title
|
Album
|
Label
|
| 1989
|
"Watching Girl"
|
Every Band Has a Shonen Knife Who Loves Them
|
Giant Records
|
| 1991
|
"Handsome & Gretel"
|
Indie Top 20 Volume 13
|
Beechwood Music
|
| "Ripe"
|
New Season – The Peel Sessions
|
Strange Fruit
|
| "Flesh Crawl"
|
Teriyaki Asthma Vols. I-V
|
C/Z Records
|
| House
|
The Grunge Years
|
Sub Pop Records
|
| 1992
|
Handsome & Gretel
|
Best of Independent
|
Beechwood Music
|
| Sometimes
|
Volume 4
|
Volmume
|
| 1993
|
Dirty
|
Milk for Pussy
|
Mad Queen Records
|
| Dust Cake Boy
|
Sonic Youth in 1991: The Year Punk Broke (VHS)
|
Geffen Home Video
|
| 1994
|
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
|
If I Were a Carpenter
|
A&M Records
|
| Say What You Want
|
S.F.W.
|
| 1995
|
Sweet '69
|
Alternative Final Mix 11
|
Warner Music
|
| More, More, More
|
Spirit Of '73: Rock For Choice
|
550 Music
|
| Sweet '69
|
Triple J: This Is Twelve – Too Louder Compilation
|
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
|
| 1996
|
Handsome & Gretel (Live)
|
Volume Fourteen – Reading '95 Special
|
Volume
|
| 1998
|
Overtura: Astroantiquity
|
Songs of the Witchblade
|
DreamWorks
|
The best places to catch a Babes in Toyland video in the US were through various MTV outlets. The music videos for "Bruise Violet" and "Sweet '69" were Buzzworthy Clip Features, and "Sweet '69" was the cheapest video ever made to be played on the network at the time. The "Sweet '69" music video was made on a $5,000 budget. Beavis and Butthead episodes were another notable place to catch clips for "Ripe" and "Bruise Violet''. 120 minutes also played music videos by the band. They also guest-hosted the show on July 9, 1995.
| Year
|
Title
|
| 1990
|
He's My Thing (from Spanking Machine)
|
| 1991
|
Ripe (from To Mother)
|
| 1992
|
Bruise Violet (from Fontanelle)
|
| 1992
|
Won't Tell (from Fontanelle)
|
| 1993
|
Istigkeit (from Painkillers)
|
| 1995
|
Sweet '69 (from Nemesisters)
|
| 1995
|
We Are Family (from Nemesisters)
|
| Year
|
Title
|
| 1990
|
The Making of Spanking Machine
|
| 1991
|
"Dust Cake Boy" from 1991: The Year Punk Broke
|
| 1993
|
MTV's Beavis and Butthead "Ripe"
|
| 1993
|
MTV's Beavis and Butthead "Bruise Violet"
|
| 1993
|
The Making of Painkillers
|
| 1995
|
The Making of Nemesisters
|
| 1995
|
Babes in Toyland "Nemesisters" EPK
|
| 1995
|
Babes in Toyland host MTV's 120 Minutes
|
| 1995
|
Performance of "Sweet '69" on MTV's 120 Minutes
|
| 1995
|
Performance of "Memory" on MTV's 120 Minutes
|
