Belly is an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band formed in Rhode Island in 1991 by former

Throwing Muses Throwing Muses are an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originall ...

and

Breeders A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist, ...

member

Tanya Donelly Tanya Donelly (born July 14, 1966) is an American Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her step-sister Kristin Hersh. Donelly went on to co-form the alternative rock band ...

. The original lineup consisted of Donelly on vocals and guitar, Fred Abong on bass, and brothers Tom and Chris Gorman on guitar and drums respectively. The band released two albums during the early 1990s

boom before breaking up in 1995. They reunited in 2016 and mounted limited tours in the United States and United Kingdom that year. All four original members knew each other from high school on

Aquidneck Island Aquidneck Island, also known as Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island. The total land area is , which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as 60,109. T ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

– the Gormans and Abong coming out of the Newport hardcore scene (the Gormans having played in Verbal Assault, Abong in Vicious Circle). Donelly had previously co-founded two Boston-based

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

bands,

and

The Breeders The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson ...

, the former with her step-sister

Kristin Hersh Kristin may refer to: * Kristin (name), a Scandinavian form of Christine * ''Kristin'' (TV series), a 2001 American sitcom * Kristin Peak, Antarctica * Kristin School, a school in New Zealand See also * Kristen (disambiguation) Kristen may re ...

and the latter with

Kim Deal Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was the bassist and the co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989. Deal joined Pixies in January ...

of the

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

. In 1993, their debut album ''

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

'' was released, and its lead single "

Feed the Tree "Feed the Tree" is a song by American alternative rock band Belly, released as the band's first single from their debut album, '' Star'', in 1993. It is the band's biggest hit, reaching number one on the US '' Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks c ...

" would be Belly's biggest hit song, peaking at number one on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

's''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart and number 95 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. Several additional singles from the album also appeared on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Shortly after the release of ''Star'', Abong left the group and was replaced by

Gail Greenwood Gail Greenwood (born March 10, 1960) is an American musician and illustrator most notable for performing bass guitar and guitar with the bands Belly and L7. Career Greenwood grew up in Rhode Island. She became a vegetarian at age fourteen and h ...

. The band released their second album, ''

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

'', in early 1995 and broke up at the end of that year, and Donelly embarked on a long solo career. She reformed Belly in 2016 with the same lineup that had recorded ''King'', and their third album, ''

Dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

'', was released in 2018.

History

1992–93: Formation and ''Star''

Donelly named the band "Belly" because she thought the word was "both pretty and ugly." The band played their first concert on March 14, 1992 at the 3's bar in their hometown of

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. The band's debut EP, ''Slow Dust'' (1992), made it to number one on the United Kingdom indie chart. Soon after, their single "

" made the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and their first album, ''

'' (1993), hit number two on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. In the United States, the album was

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

, largely based on the success of "Feed the Tree" on Modern Rock radio stations and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, where the video was featured as part of MTV's

Buzz Bin MTV's Buzz Bin was a select group of music videos by up and coming artists and bands that the network deemed "buzz worthy", " cutting edge", or "the next big thing". As such, the selected videos received heavy rotation on the channel, and were al ...

videos and

Alternative Nation ''Alternative Nation'' was a television show in the U.S. dedicated to alternative music. It aired on MTV from 1992 to 1997, mostly on weeknights. It was hosted by Kennedy. History ''Alternative Nation'' began airing in 1992. It was a somewha ...

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." Belly was nominated for two

Grammys The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

and

Best Alternative Music Performance The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...

for ''Star''. The album went on to sell over 800,000 copies in the US alone. On several early '93 tour dates in the US and the UK, former

member Leslie Langston lent a hand on bass. In early 1993, they embarked on a 'joint headliner' tour with

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

. Following a short warm up tour of smaller venues in the UK also in early 1993, they embarked upon a larger tour where they were supported by

the Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...

1994–96: ''King'' and break-up

Just after the release of ''Star'', bassist Fred Abong left and was replaced by

. 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 An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

than before and less of the dreamy quality of its first album. As a result, the group's next album, ''

'' (1995), was more

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

oriented. The album's sales did not meet label expectations, and its numerous singles fail to sustain any significant airplay on Modern Rock radio. Belly appeared on the April 20, 1995 cover of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine. The band also performed "Superconnected" on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'' in June that year. It was one of the band's last major U.S television appearances. In the summer of 1995, Belly was one of the support bands in Europe for

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

on their world tour, then finished out the year extensively touring the US with

Catherine Wheel Catherine wheel may refer to: * wheel or breaking wheel, an instrument of torturous execution originally associated with Saint Catherine of Alexandria * Catherine wheel (firework), a firework that rotates when lit Arts and entertainment * Cather ...

and Jewel as support acts. In 1996, Donelly broke up the band. Speaking to '' Q'', she explained the reasons behind her decision: "The first couple of years of Belly were a blast. ''Star'' was a big hit and we partied hard. But by the time we went to make ''King'', there was a lot of negative stuff going on. ''King'' was a reaction to the bright shininess of ''Star'' and we weren't surprised when it didn't sell. I regret not making another Belly album, but at the time I thought, Screw it, I'm outta here." After the break-up Tanya Donelly started a successful solo career and has since released several solo albums. Greenwood went on to stints playing bass for L7 and for

Bif Naked Beth Torbert is a Canadian singer best known by her stage name Bif Naked. Between 1996 and 2016, she was among the top 150 selling Canadian artists in Canada. Early life and education Bif Naked was born in New Delhi, India, to teenage parents a ...

, while playing guitar in her own Rhode Island-based band Benny Sizzler. Tom Gorman played briefly with

Buffalo Tom Buffalo Tom is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986. Its principal members are guitarist Bill Janovitz, bassist Chris Colbourn, and drummer Tom Maginnis. The band's name is derived from the band Buffalo Spr ...

, then on tour in 1999 with

before joining up with his brother Chris in a commercial photography business based in New York City. Fred Abong first worked post-Belly as a carpenter "working in a high-end woodworking shop making fancy cabinets for rich people", then went on to earn a PhD in philosophy. Belly performing at the Glasgow Garage on 16 June 2018 - 01

Belly performing at the Glasgow Garage on 16 June 2018 - 01

2016–present: Reunion and ''Dove''

On February 8, 2016, the band launched an official web site announcing a limited summer reunion tour with dates in the UK, Ireland and the US. In advance of the tour, the band performed two warm-up shows in their hometown of

on July 8 and 9, the band's first live appearances since 1995. Two new songs, "Human Child" and "Army of Clay" were debuted on the tour that followed, hinting that the band was evolving, while at the same time maintaining familiar elements of the Belly "sound" of the past. Belly announced in July 2017 that they had begun recording a third album, to be titled ''

''. On October 5, 2017, the band started a

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

campaign for the album, and the album was released on May 4, 2018. On October 26, 2017 the band released their cover of
Hushabye Mountain
as an exclusive download on Pledgemusic- their first new recording in over 20 years. "Shiny One", the first single from ''Dove'', was released on February 23, 2018. Preceding the release of ''Dove'', the band released the ''Feel'' EP for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

in April 2018. In the summer and fall of 2018, the band went on a tour of the United States and Europe to promote the album. For their 30th anniversary and for Record Store Day 2021, the band released a compilation of B-Sides and cover songs called ''Bees''.

Style

Belly vocalist Tanya Donelly's voice has been described as having a "fiery spark" with a "sweet rasp in her throat", with a style described as "down to earth." Her lyrics are rich with celestial, mythological and fairytale-like imagery. Musically the band finds its foundations in guitar rock, with sometimes quirky, but tightly composed arrangements that put a premium on melody.

Band members

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1991–1996, 2016–present) *Chris Gorman – drums (1991–1996, 2016–present) *Thomas Gorman – lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (1991–1996, 2016–present) *

– bass, backing vocals (1993–1996, 2016–present) Former members *Fred Abong – bass (1991–1993)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1993) *''

'' (1995) *''

'' (2018)

Extended plays

*''Slow Dust'' (1992) *''Gepetto'' (1992) *''Feed the Tree'' (1993) *''Moon'' (1993) *''Seal My Fate'' (1995) *''Now They'll Sleep'' (1995) *''Super-Connected'' (1995) *''Sun'' (1995) *''Feel'' (2018)

Singles

Compilation albums

*''Baby Silvertooth'' (1993) – Japanese release *''Sweet Ride: The Best of Belly'' (2002) *''Bees'' (2021)

Songs contributed

*'' Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix'' (1993) – " Are You Experienced?" *''Generation X: Alternative Point of View'' (1994) – "Feed The Tree" *''Just Say Roe (Just Say Yes Vol. 7)'' (1994) – "It's Not Unusual" *''With Honors'' oundtrack(1994) – "It's Not Unusual" *''UMPF'' (1995) – "Now They'll Sleep" *''

Mallrats ''Mallrats'' is a 1995 American buddy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Jason Lee, Jeremy London, Shannen Doherty, Claire Forlani, Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes, Joey Lauren Adams, Michael Rooker, and Smith as Silent Bob. ...

'' oundtrack(1995) – "Broken" *''Sharks Patrol These Waters'' (1995) – "White Belly" *''This Is Fort Apache'' (1995) – "Star" *''

Tank Girl ''Tank Girl'' is a British comic book character created by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, and first appeared in print in 1988 in the British comics magazine ''Deadline''. After a period of intense popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ...

'' oundtrack(1995) – "Thief" *''Safe and Sound: A Benefit In Response To The Brookline Clinic Violence '' (1996) – "Think About Your Troubles" *''A Bunch O' Hits: The Best Rock of the 90's, Vol. 1'' (1996) – "Feed The Tree" *''In Defense of Animals, Volume 2'' (1996) – "Spaceman" *''Twister'' oundtrack(1996) – "Broken" *''The Rolling Stone Women in Rock Collection'' (1998) – "Feed The Tree" *''Intimate Portrait: Women in Rock'' (1999) – "Feed The Tree" *''Out of Bounds: Journey Through Modern Rock'' (1999) – "Gepetto" *''Double Shot: Pop Alternative'' (2000) – "Feed The Tree" *''Rick and Morty'' 1:Ep8(2014) - "Seal My Fate"

References

{{Authority control 1991 establishments in Massachusetts 4AD artists Alternative rock groups from Massachusetts Alternative rock groups from Rhode Island Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups from Boston Musical groups from Massachusetts Musical groups from Rhode Island Musical groups reestablished in 2016 Musical quartets Reprise Records artists Sire Records artists Warner Records artists Sibling musical groups Dream pop musical groups Jangle pop groups