Babes in Toyland was an American punk rock band formed in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native

Kat Bjelland Katherine Lynne Bjelland (born December 9, 1963) is an American musician. She rose to prominence as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the alternative rock band Babes in Toyland, which she formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1987. ...

(

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

), with

Lori Barbero Lori Anne Barbero (born November 27, 1961) is an American musician and singer who rose to notoriety as the drummer of the Minneapolis-based punk rock band Babes in Toyland, which she joined in 1987. After the dissolution of Babes in Toyland in ...

(

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

) and Michelle Leon ( bass), who was later replaced by

Maureen Herman Maureen Herman (born July 25, 1966) is an American writer and a musician known as the bassist for the Minneapolis-based band Babes in Toyland from 1992 until 1996 and from 2014 until August 2015. Biography 1966–1991: Early life and education ...

in 1992.

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...

had a very brief stint in the band in 1987 as a bass player, before being kicked out and forming

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

in 1989. Between 1989 and 1995, Babes in Toyland released three studio albums; ''

Spanking Machine ''Spanking Machine'' is the debut album by American punk rock band Babes in Toyland, released in 1990. Background and production The working title of the album was ''Swamp Pussy'', which later ended up becoming the opening song on the album. T ...

'' (1990), the commercially successful ''

Fontanelle A fontanelle (or fontanel) (colloquially, soft spot) is an anatomical feature of the infant human skull comprising soft membranous gaps ( sutures) between the cranial bones that make up the calvaria of a fetus or an infant. Fontanelles allow f ...

'' (1992), and ''

Nemesisters ''Nemesisters'' is the third and final studio album recorded by Babes in Toyland. It was produced by Tim Mac, and released May 9, 1995 by Reprise Records. Recording The album was recorded under engineer and producer Tim Mac at AmRep Studios in ...

'' (1995), before becoming inactive in 1997 and eventually disbanding in 2001. While the band was inspirational to some performers in the

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

movement in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

, Babes in Toyland never associated themselves with the movement.

Studio albums

Extended plays

Live albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Chart positions

Other contributions

Videography

The best places to catch a Babes In Toyland video in the US was through various MTV outlets. The music videos for "Bruise Violet" and "Sweet '69" were Buzzworthy Clip Features, "Sweet '69" was the cheapest video ever made at the time to be played on the network. The music video for "Sweet '69" 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.

Music videos

References

External links

{{Babes in Toyland (band) Discographies of American artists