Honey Bane (born Donna Tracy Boylan, 1964,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) is an English singer and actress, possibly best known for her 1981

UK Top 40 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 ...

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"Turn Me On Turn Me Off".

Early life and career

Honey Bane began her musical career at the age of 14 in 1978 when she formed the punk rock band the

Fatal Microbes Fatal Microbes were an English punk rock band formed in 1978. The main line-up of the band consisted of Honey Bane on vocals, Gem Stone on drums, Pete Fender on guitar and Scotty Barker on bass. The band's name is regarded as a reference to ...

. The band released a split 12" record with

anarcho-punk Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, hardcor ...

band

Poison Girls The Poison Girls were an English anarcho-punk band from Brighton. The singer/guitarist, Vi Subversa, was a middle-aged mother of two at the band's inception, and wrote songs that explored sexuality and gender roles, often from an anarchist pers ...

the same year. The first single, "Violence Grows" garnered some press attention and was given positive reviews by the British music paper ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

''. After the 1979 breakup of the Fatal Microbes, and a stint in a juvenile detention facility that garnered more press attention, Bane began a collaboration with

Crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk s ...

, while she was on the run from the Social Services after serving a sentence at the St. Charles Youth Treatment Centre in Essex. Lending lead vocals and backed by the band under the name Donna and the Kebabs, Crass released the EP ''You Can Be You'' in 1979. It was the debut release on Crass' newly found label,

Crass Records Crass Records was an independent record label that was set up by the anarchist Punk rock, punk band Crass. Overview and history Prior to the formation of Crass, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher had published their creative works via their own D ...

. The following year, Bane released her debut solo single, "Guilty", and sang vocals for

Killing Joke Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Ki ...

on "What's the Matter" during a February 1980 gig at London's Venue club. The recording was later released on a bootleg album, ''Killing Joke - Live At The Venue'' LP. In 1980, she met

Sham 69 Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, achieving five top 20 singles, including "If the Kids Are United" and "Hurry Up Harry". The ...

vocalist

Jimmy Pursey James Timothy Pursey (born 9 February 1955) is an English people, English rock musician. He is the founder and frontman of the punk rock band Sham 69, which he has performed with since 1976, along with releasing material as a solo artist. Early ...

who began to manage her musical career. That year she was signed to

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Zonophone Zonophone (early on also rendered as Zon-O-Phone) was a record label founded in 1899 in Camden, New Jersey, by Frank Seaman. The Zonophone name was not that of the company but was applied to records and machines sold by Seaman's Universal Talki ...

records for a five-year

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

. In 1981, Bane began collaborating with her then manager, Jimmy Pursey. The collaboration resulted in a new single, "Turn Me On Turn Me Off" which peaked 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 ...

at No. 37, and Bane subsequently appeared performing the single on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. "Turn Me On Turn Me Off" marked a musical departure of Bane from punk rock to a new wave sound. Bane would be teamed up with

Alan Shacklock Alan Shacklock (born 20 June 1951) is an English musician, composer, arranger and recording producer, who lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee. His 1972 song "The Mexican" as performed by Babe Ruth is considered influential in the early devel ...

Steve Levine Steve LeVine (born in New York) is a journalist. He writes The Electric, new publicationon batteries, electric vehicles, and their impact on society, cities and geopolitics. He is a senior fellow on the Foresight, Strategy and Risk Initiative at ...

and

Nick Tauber Nick Tauber is a British record producer best known for his work with Thin Lizzy, Toyah and Marillion in the 1970s and 1980s. Nick Tauber continues to manage, produce, and consult with acts/artists/and producers. In the late 1990s, Tauber was in ...

, to work on several singles, released between 1981 and 1983. Only one more appeared in the UK Singles Chart ("Baby Love" - No. 58) and her musical career floundered, when Bane left her contract with EMI, frustrated with the direction her music was being forced by her label. In 1982, she appeared in the play ''Demonstration of Affection'' by Chris Ward opposite Richard Jobson of

The Skids Skids are a Scottish punk rock and new wave band, formed in Dunfermline in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (guitar, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), William Simpson (bass guitar and backing vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Job ...

at London's

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamberl ...

. In 1983, she gained a prominent role in the

Mai Zetterling Mai Elisabeth Zetterling (; 24 May 1925 – 17 March 1994) was a Swedish film director, novelist and actor. Early life Zetterling was born in Västerås, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actor at the age of 17 at D ...

directed British film ''

Scrubbers ''Scrubbers'' is a 1982 British drama film directed by Mai Zetterling and produced by Don Boyd starring Amanda York, Kathy Burke, and Chrissie Cotterill. It was shot primarily in Virginia Water, Surrey, England. It was inspired by the success ...

''. Bane played the role of Molly and the film centered on the lives of young women incarcerated in a British girls'

borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

. The film also featured actors

Kathy Burke Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director. She achieved fame with her appearances on sketch shows such as ''French and Saunders'' (1988–1999) and her recurring role as Mag ...

Pam St. Clement Pamela Ann Clements (born 11 May 1942), known professionally as Pam St Clement, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Pat Butcher in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' from June 1986 until January 2012, with a guest appe ...

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor and comedian. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He ...

and

Miriam Margolyes Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Tora ...

. Bane spent the remainder of the 1980s as a pin-up model for erotic magazines. During the 1990s, she fronted the band Dog's Tooth Violet. In 2006, she released the single, "Down Thing" / "Got Me All Wrong".

Later career

In 2008, Bane appeared in a role in the Chris Ward written and directed short film, ''What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor'', based on the life of artist/model

Nina Hamnett Nina Hamnett (14 February 1890 – 16 December 1956) was a Welsh artist and writer, and an expert on sailors' chanteys, who became known as the Queen of Bohemia. Early life Hamnett was born in Shirley House, Picton Road in the small c ...

, self-styled "Queen of Bohemia", starring

Siobhan Fahey Siobhan Maire Fahey (; born 10 September 1958) is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the US number one hit single "Venus". She later ...

(ex-singer with

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Thei ...

and

Shakespears Sister Shakespears Sister is an alternative pop and rock musical duo based in the United Kingdom that was formed in 1988 by singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey, a former member of Bananarama. Shakespears Sister was initially a solo act, but became a duo ...

), actor Clive Arrindel and Donny Tourette (frontman with punk band Towers of London).
In 2015, Bane released her first full studio album ''Acceptance of Existence'', which was over ten years in the making. She released it independently via her website, along with an

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

CD titled, ''It's a Baneful Life... The Anthology 1978- 2015'', which features her complete works. Both titles were released on Bane's own label, You Can Be You Records.

Discography

Singles

* 1978 - "Violence Grows" (12" split single) * 1979 - "You Can Be You" (7" EP) UK Indie No. 3 * 1980 - "Guilty" (7") UK Indie No. 9 * 1980 - "

Baby Love "Baby Love" is a song by American music group the Supremes from their second studio album, ''Where Did Our Love Go''. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland and was released on September 17, 1964. ...

" (7") UK No. 58 * 1981 - "Turn Me On Turn Me Off" (7") UK No. 37 * 1981 - "Negative Exposure" (7") * 1981 - "Jimmy... (Listen To Me)" (7") * 1982 - "Wish I Could Be Me" (7" and 12") * 1983 - "Dizzy Dreamers" (7") * 2006 - "Downthing" (CD) * 2015 - "Violence Grew" (Digital Download) * 2015 - "You Can Be You" (Celebratory CD Reissue)

Albums

* 2015 - ''It's a Baneful Life... The Anthology 1978 - 2015'' (CD/Digital Download) * 2015 - ''Acceptance of Existence'' (CD/Digital Download) * 2023 - ''A Baneful Life (revised edition of ‘It’s A Baneful Life’'' (CD/Digital Download)

References

External links

Official Website
*

Honey Bane's MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bane, Honey Living people 1964 births Anarcho-punk musicians Crass English film actresses English women singers English punk rock singers Women punk rock singers Women new wave singers