The Killer Barbies is a Spanish
punk rock band fronted by singer/guitarist Silvia Superstar. After some success in Spain on the independent label Toxic Records, they got an international distribution through the German label
Drakkar Records in 2000.
The band also starred in a series of two films directed by the prolific
exploitation film
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...
director
Jesús Franco
Jesús Franco Manera (12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013) was a Spanish filmmaker, composer, and actor, known as a prolific director of low-budget exploitation and B-movies. In a career spanning from 1959 to 2013, he wrote, directed, produced, act ...
: ''Killer Barbys'' (1996) and ''Killer Barbys vs. Dracula'' (2003).
Biography
Silvia Superstar (real name: Silvia García Pintos) and Billy King (real name: Antonio Domínguez) formed The Killer Barbies in 1994 and quickly began releasing their material on the Spanish independent label Toxic Records.
They released their first album, ''Dressed to Kiss'', in 1995.
In 1996, they released a second album, ''
...Only for Freaks!'', shortly after starring in the Jesús Franco film, ''Killer Barbys''. They recorded a third album in 1998, ''
Big Muff
The Big Muff Pi (π), often known simply as the Big Muff, is a fuzzbox produced in New York City by the Electro-Harmonix company, along with their Russian sister company Sovtek, primarily for use with the electric guitar. It is used by bassist ...
''. The three albums sold more than 10,000 copies each.
[as stated in their official biography: http://killerbarbies.iespana.es/bio.htm]
After these three successful albums in Spain, the band signed to the German label
Drakkar Records to get a larger audience outside Spain.
In 2000, they released their international debut album ''
Bad Taste
''Bad Taste'' is a 1987 New Zealand science-fiction comedy horror film directed, produced and filmed by Peter Jackson, who also stars in and co-wrote the screenplay, along with Tony Hiles and Ken Hammon. Independently produced on a low budge ...
'', containing a selection of re-recorded songs from their first three albums. In 2002, they released the single "Candy", featuring a vocal participation of
Bela B.
Dirk Albert Felsenheimer (born 14 December 1962),''Die Ärzte. Ein überdimensionales Meerschwein frisst die Erde auf'', p. 80 better known under his stage name Bela B (formerly Bela B.), is a German musician, songwriter, actor and author, b ...
of
Die Ärzte
Die Ärzte (; ) is a German rock band from Berlin. The band has released 14 studio albums. The group consists of guitarist Farin Urlaub, drummer Bela B and bass player Rodrigo González. All three write and perform their songs.
History Ea ...
fame and next released some new material with the album ''Sin Is In'' and starred in a second Jesús Franco film, ''Killer Barbys vs. Dracula'', in 2003. Since then, they have been silent except for releasing a compilation of B-sides, ''
Freakshow'', in 2004, which also contained a DVD of the band's music videos and some live footage.
That same year, Silvia Superstar was featured on the show ''Die drei ??? und die singende Schlange'' by the German comedy theater company
Das Vollplaybacktheater.
Discography
Singles and EPs
* "Maqueta" (1994) demo tape
* "I Wanna Live in
Troma
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pl ...
ville" (1994) single
* "Elvis Live!!" (1994) single
* "Comic Books" (1994) single
* "Killer Barbies/Aneurol 50" (1995) split single
* "Love Killer" (1996) single
* "Freaktown" (1996) single
* ''Attack of the Killer Barbies'' (1997) EP
* "Crazy" (1997) single
* "Mars" (2000) single
* "
Downtown" (2000) single
* "
Candy" (2002) single
Albums
* ''Dressed to Kiss'' (1995)
* ''
...Only for Freaks!'' (1996)
* ''
Big Muff
The Big Muff Pi (π), often known simply as the Big Muff, is a fuzzbox produced in New York City by the Electro-Harmonix company, along with their Russian sister company Sovtek, primarily for use with the electric guitar. It is used by bassist ...
'' (1998)
* ''Fucking Cool'' (1999) a remix album
* ''
Bad Taste
''Bad Taste'' is a 1987 New Zealand science-fiction comedy horror film directed, produced and filmed by Peter Jackson, who also stars in and co-wrote the screenplay, along with Tony Hiles and Ken Hammon. Independently produced on a low budge ...
'' (2000) a re-recording of a selection of songs from the band's first three albums
* ''Sin Is In'' (2003)
* ''
Freakshow'' (2004) a DVD/CD set; the DVD contains the band's music videos and some live footage and the CD is a compilation of B-sides
Songs from compilation albums
* "Xabarin Contra el Doctor No" (1995) from ''A Cantar Con Xabarin''
* "Spiderman" (1996) from ''A Cantar con Xabarin Volumen III e IV''
* "Hackers" (1996) from ''Corsarios del Chip B.S.O.''
* "Ma Baker" (1996) from ''Best in Spain''
* "El Resplandor" and "Sólo Para Ti" (1999) from ''Intoxicación''
* "Gente Pez" and "Autosuficiencia" (2001) from ''Gente Pez''
* "These Boots Are Made For Walking" (2001) from ''Zapping''
* "Bajo mi Piel" (2003) from ''Marea de Musica''
* "A Thing About You" (2005) from ''A Tribute to Tom Petty''
* "Feeling Alone" (2007) from ''Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents The Coolest Songs in the World! Vol. 3''
Films
The band was featured as the main characters of a series of two films directed by Jesús Franco: ''Killer Barbys'', which was made in relation to their first album, ''Dressed to Kiss'', in 1996, and ''Killer Barbys vs. Dracula'', which was made in relation to their last album to date, ''Sin Is In'', in 2003. The spelling of the band's name was changed in the films' titles because
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
would not let them use the
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...
name.
Appearances in video games
*The Killer Barbies' song "Have Some Fun" was featured in the video game ''
Rumble Roses
is a professional wrestling fighting game that was developed by Yuke's and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. The game uses the same engine as Yuke's 2003 release '' WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain''. ''Rumble Roses'' was fol ...
'' as
Candy Cane
A candy cane is a cane-shaped stick candy often associated with Christmastide, as well as Saint Nicholas Day. It is traditionally white with red stripes and flavored with peppermint, but they also come in a variety of other flavors and colors.
...
's entrance music.
*In ''
Rumble Roses XX
is a female professional wrestling fighting game developed by Konami for the Xbox 360 as the sequel to the 2004 PlayStation 2 game ''Rumble Roses''. The game was released by Konami in 2006. ''Rumble Roses XX'' is playable on Xbox One via backwa ...
'', the name "The Killer Barbies" is retained as Candy Cane's band; however, the song "Crazy!" is not the same song as The Killer Barbies' song "Crazy".
*The Killer Barbies' songs "Baby With Two Heads" and "Down the Street" were featured in the video game ''
FlatOut''.
External links
Official websiteOfficial MySpace page
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Killer Barbies
Spanish punk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1994
People from Vigo
1994 establishments in Spain