Babes In Toyland

"'It does put a bit of a spring into your step, you know, to know that they're out there somewhere.' (28 August 1992)"

Babes in Toyland were an American alternative rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987 by Oregon native Kat Bjelland (lead vocals and guitar), with Lori Barbero (drums) and Michelle Leon (bass), who was replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992. Courtney Love — a close friend and former bandmate of Bjelland when the two lived in Portland and San Francisco — had a very brief stint in the band in 1987 as a bass player, before being kicked out and forming Hole in 1989. Between 1989 and 1995, Babes in Toyland released three studio albums — Spanking Machine (1989), the commercially successful Fontanelle (1992), and Nemesisters (1995) — before becoming inactive in 1997 and eventually disbanding in 2001 … (read more at Wikipedia)

Links To Peel
Peel first became aware of Babes In Toyland in 1989 and played their Dust Cake Boy single on his show. In October 1990, Peel saw the group perform at a gig in Bedford above a pub and called it one of his all time favourite gigs. In the same show, he chose House, for the Peelenium 1990. On 22 December 1990, Peel called their album Spanking Machine his favourite LP of the year. Such was his veneration of the group that he claimed, "If either of my daughters was in a band like that, I'd be well proud of it." When he discovered that one of their tracks was featured on a limited edition double LP version of Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them, he wrote a begging letter to the band: Barbero gifted him her own copy as a result. 

When details of Peel's record collection were first released from 2012, five albums by Babes In Toyland were among the first 100 LPs by artists beginning with the letter B. The band were also the subject of a short video, B Is For Babes In Toyland, released by the JohnPeelArchive and TheSpace websites.

Festive Fifty Entries

 * 1990 Festive Fifty
 * House #38


 * 1991 Festive Fifty
 * Handsome & Gretel #18
 * Catatonic #30
 * Laugh My Head Off #31
 * Primus #39
 * Ripe #42


 * 1992 Festive Fifty
 * Bruise Violet FF#9
 * Handsome And Gretel #22

Peelenium

 * Peelenium 1990: House

Sessions
Five sessions. Official releases:

- The BBC John Peel Sessions 1990-92 (Cherry Red, CD, 2001).

- The Peel Sessions (10” / CD, Strange Fruit / Dutch East India Trading, 1992).

- ’Ripe’ on ''Various Artists: New Season: The Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit, CD, 1991).  - ’Catatonic’ on Various Artists'': Radio Daze - The John Peel Sessions (Vox magazine, cassette, 1992).

1. Recorded: 1990-09-09. First broadcast: 29 September 1990. Repeated: 09 December 1990, 30 December 1990.
 * Catatonic / Ripe / Primus / Spit To See The Shine

2. Recorded: 1991-06-11. First broadcast: 30 June 1991. Repeated: 06 October 1991
 * Pearl / Dogg / Laugh My Head Off / Mad Pilot

3. Recorded: 1991-08-18. First broadcast: 22 December 1991. Repeated: ?
 * Handsome And Gretel / Blood / Mother / Dirty

4. Recorded: 1992-07-11. First broadcast: 25 July 1992. Repeated: 12 September 1992, 01 January 1993.
 * Jungle Train / Right Now / Sometimes / Magic Flute

5. Recorded: 1995-05-07. First broadcast: 16 June 1995. Repeated: 27 August 1995
 * The Girl Can't Help It / Cauter Eyes / Deep Song / Oh Yeah

Live

 * 27 August 1995: recorded 1995-08-27, Reading Festival
 * 1) Oh Yeah
 * 2) Ariel
 * 3) Memory
 * 4) Sweet 69
 * 5) We Are Family

Other Shows Played
(The list below was compiled only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive and is certainly incomplete. Please add more information if known.)


 * 1989
 * 06 July 1989: Dust Cake Boy (7" - Dust Cake Boy / Spit To See The Shine) Treehouse TR 017
 * 27 July 1989 (Rockradio): Dust Cake Boy (7" b/w 'Spit to See The Shine') Treehouse
 * 31 July 1989: Dust Cake Boy (7" - Dust Cake Boy / Spit To See The Shine) Treehouse


 * 1990
 * 08 May 1990: Fleshcrawl (Compilation 7"-Teriyaki Asthma Volume III) C/Z CZ017
 * 10 May 1990: Swamp Pussy (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin/Tone TTR 08-89183-1
 * 15 May 1990: House (7" - House b/w Arriba) Sub Pop SP66
 * 21 May 1990: Boto(w)rap (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin/Tone
 * 22 May 1990: He's My Thing (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin/Tone
 * 24 May 1990: Vomit Heart (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin/Tone
 * 30 May 1990: Dust Cake Boy (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin/Tone
 * 30 May 1990: House (7" - House b/w Arriba) Sub Pop SP66
 * 31 May 1990: Fork Down Throat (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin/Tone
 * 02 June 1990 (BFBS) (Peel 147 (BFBS)): 'Fleshcrawl (Compilation 7"-Teriyaki Asthma Volume III)' (C/Z)
 * 12 June 1990: House (7" - House b/w Arriba) Sub Pop SP66
 * 12 July 1990: Never (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin/Tone
 * 25 September 1990: House
 * 06 October 1990: Arriba (7" - House b/w Arriba) Sub Pop SP66 (JP: “Yesterday, as I mentioned at the start of the programme, I went to see Babes In Toyland playing in Bedford and they were quite wonderful: I won't go through all that again. I mean, they really were superb, and you ought to definitely make the most strenuous efforts imaginable to see them before they return to the United States Of America. Standing some way in front of me, and enjoying them hugely, was a bloke in an inside-out T-shirt, which seemed to be a kind of cue for something.”)
 * 13 October 1990 (BFBS) (Peel 160 (BFBS)): 'Arriba (7"-House)' (Sub Pop)
 * 20 October 1990: He's My Thing (LP - Spanking Machine) Southern
 * 20 October 1990 (BFBS) (Peel 162 (BFBS)): 'House (7")' (Sub Pop) (JP: 'If either of my daughters was in a band like that, I'd be well proud of it.')
 * 10 November 1990: Lashes (LP-Spanking Machine) Southern
 * 15 November 1990 (Radio Mafia): Spit To See The Shine (7" b/side) Treehouse
 * 08 December 1990: Never (LP - Spanking Machine) Twin/Tone (JP: 'It may not be on many people's lists of LP's of the year, but it certainly will be on mine')
 * 22 December 1990: (JP: "I sat down to try and work out, as people who send in their Festive Fifty entries have to do, what my Festive Fifty entries would have been. This is absolutely true, I got it down to 160 tracks, and this was having excluded 20 LPs. I thought, "Well, I can't put all of 'Extricate' or the Babes In Toyland or Mav Cacherel LP in there."")
 * 23 December 1990: House (7 inch) Sub Pop (1990 Festive Fifty #38)
 * 29 December 1990: (JP: "As though anybody gave a tinker's cuss, I decided that my favourite LP of 1990 was the LP by Babes In Toyland, 'Spanking Machine', which was just that much ahead of the Fall LP, which in turn was that much ahead of the Mav Cacherel LP.")
 * 29 December 1990: Fleshcrawl (EP-Teriyaki Asthma Volume III) C/Z (JP: "Why they call it that I simply don't know, but they do.") (JP: "If they don't come back to Britain very soon, I shall scream and scream and scream until I'm sick.")
 * 30 December 1990: Swamp Pussy (LP-Spanking Machine)' (Twin/Tone)
 * 1991
 * 27 January 1991: 'Watching Girl (2x Compilation LP-Every Band Has A Shonen Knife That Loves Them)' (Giant/Gasatanka)
 * 16 February 1991 (BFBS): 'Watching Girl (2x Compilation LP-Every Band Has A Shonen Knife That Loves Them)' (Giant/Gasatanka)
 * 09 March 1991 (BFBS): "I think there are only about three things on Earth that are better than Babes In Toyland."
 * 27 April 1991: Swamp Machine (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin/Tone
 * 11 May 1991: 'Laugh My Head Off (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone) (mistakenly announced as 'Catatonic')
 * 11 May 1991: Spit To See The Shine (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone) (mistakenly announced as 'Mad Pilot')
 * 18 May 1991: Spit To See The Shine (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone) mistakenly announced as Mad Pilot
 * 18 May 1991: Laugh My Head Off (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone) mistakenly announced as Catatonic
 * 19 May 1991: ? (not on tape)
 * 25 May 1991: Ripe (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone) mistakenly announced as Primus
 * 25 May 1991 (BBC World Service): Spit To See The Shine (12" - To Mother) Southern
 * 26 May 1991: Primus (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone) mistakenly announced as The Quiet Room
 * 01 June 1991: Catatonic (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone) John has finally realised that he mislabelled the white label version of To Mother....
 * 02 June 1991: Mad Pilot (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone) ( JP - "When I put that on Andy Kershaw got up and walked out of the studio. Sometimes I have my doubts about that boy you know...")
 * 03 June 1991 (Ö3): Laugh My Head Off (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone)
 * 03 June 1991 (BBC World Service): Ride (12" - To Mother) Twin/Tone
 * 08 June 1991: Primus (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone)
 * 09 June 1991: Laugh My Head Off (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone) (JP - Reads Press Release announcing that Babes In Toyland will be performing live in HMV in Oxford St on Wednesday June 12th at 1pm to celebrate the release of To Mother. "This will be a taster of their gig at the Mean Fiddler on the 13th. So bring a suitable article of clothing to sign and get on down there. For those of you who are diehard collectors, limited quantities of green vinyl To Mother will be available so get there early". I might turn up for that myself.)
 * 10 June 1991 (BBC World Service): Primus (12" - To Mother) Twin/Tone
 * 16 June 1991: Spit To See The Shine (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone)
 * 21 June 1991 (BFBS): Laugh My Head Off (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone)
 * 22 June 1991: Dust Cake Boy (LP-Spanking Machine) (JP - "And I read somewhere they're signed to a major label now, and well I hope they're happy with that, and I hope that the major label whichever one it is, I forget to be honest, doesn't denature them as so many other bands are denatured under these circumstances. I can't imagine that they would be really, can you?")
 * 24 June 1991 (BBC World Service): Laugh My Head Off (Mini LP-To Mother)' (Twin/Tone)
 * 28 June 1991 (BFBS): Ride (12" - To Mother) Southern
 * 20 July 1991: Handsome And Gretel (7") Insipid Vinyl IV-01
 * 20 July 1991: Pearl (b/w 7" - Handsome And Gretel) Insipid Vinyl IV-01
 * 21 July 1991: Handsome And Gretel (7") Insipid Vinyl IV-01
 * 21 July 1991: Pearl (b/w 7" - Handsome And Gretel) Insipid Vinyl IV-01 pre-announced on previous show
 * 26 July 1991 (BFBS): Catatonic (LP - To Mother) Southern (JP: "They recorded a session for my domestic programmes a week so ago, which was, well a trifle lacklustre to be honest with you")
 * 27 July 1991: Primus (LP-To Mother) Twin Tone
 * 03 August 1991: Handsome And Gretel (7") Insipid Vinyl IV-01
 * 11 August 1991: Handsome And Gretel (7") Insipid Vinyl IV-01
 * 11 August 1991: Pearl (b/w 7" - Handsome And Gretel) Insipid Vinyl IV-01
 * 19 August 1991 (Radio Bremen): Pearl (7" - Handsome And Gretel / Pearl) Insipid Vinyl
 * 21 September 1991: Arriba (7" - House b/w Arriba) Sub Pop SP66
 * 28 September 1991: Ripe (v/a album -  New Season - The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit SFRLP 205
 * 24 November 1991: Ripe (v/a album - New Season - The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit SFRLP 205
 * 21 December 1991: Catatonic (LP - To Mother) Twin/Tone
 * 29 December 1991: Handsome and Gretel


 * 1992
 * 22 February 1992: Catatonic (10 inch – The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit (John says that the new Babes In Toyland Peel Sessions 10” LP is his new favourite Strange Fruit record.)
 * 23 February 1992: Ripe (10"-The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit
 * 29 February 1992: Primus (10 inch – The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit
 * 02 March 1992 (Ö3): Primus (limited 10 inch-The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit
 * 07 March 1992: Spit To See The Shine (10 inch EP - Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit
 * 28 March 1992: Mad Pilot (10 inch - The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit (Babes in Toyland competition winners are announced.)
 * 21 March 1992: Catatonic (LP-To Mother) Twin Tone
 * 05 April 1992 (BFBS): Mad Pilot (10"-The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit
 * 12 April 1992 (BFBS): Laugh My Head Off (LP - The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit
 * 11 July 1992: Bruise Violet (Cassette – Fontanelle) Southern
 * 11 July 1992: Won’t Tell (Cassette – Fontanelle) Southern
 * 24 July 1992: JP announces that tomorrow night there will be a new Babes In Toyland session. He has an advance cassette of some tracks from Fontanelle and proceeds to play them all:
 * 1) Bruise Violet (LP: Fontanelle) (Reprise)
 * 2) Won’t Tell (LP: Fontanelle) (Reprise)
 * 3) Gone (LP: Fontanelle) (Reprise)
 * 4) Magic Flute (LP: Fontanelle) (Reprise)
 * 07 August 1992: Bruised Violet (LP – Fontanelle) Southern
 * 07 August 1992: Right Now (LP – Fontanelle) Southern
 * 07 August 1992: Blood (LP – Fontanelle) Southern
 * 07 August 1992: Magic Flute (LP – Fontanelle) Southern
 * 08 August 1992: Won't Tell (album - Fontanelle) Southern 18501-1
 * 08 August 1992: Quiet Room (album - Fontanelle) Southern 18501-1
 * 08 August 1992: Jungle Train (album - Fontanelle) Southern 18501-1
 * 08 August 1992: Gone (album - Fontanelle) Southern 18501-1
 * 15 August 1992: Mother (LP - Fontanelle) Southern
 * 24 August 1992 (BFBS): Mother (LP - Fontanelle) Southern
 * 28 August 1992: Won't Tell (LP - Fontanelle) Southern (JP: "It does put a bit of a spring into your step you know, to know that they're out there somewhere.")
 * 29 August 1992: Jungle Train (album - Fontanelle) Southern 18501-1
 * 31 August 1992 (BFBS): Won't Tell (LP - Fontanelle) Southern
 * 05 September 1992: Sometimes (Compilation CD-Volume Four) Volume
 * 11 September 1992: Sometimes (v/a LP - Volume Four) Volume V4CD
 * 13 September 1992 (BFBS): Sometimes (CD - Volume Four) Volume
 * 27 September 1992 (BFBS): Sometimes (CD - Volume Four) Volume
 * 04 October 1992 (BFBS): Sometimes (CD - Volume Four) Volume
 * 14 November 1992: Bruise Violet (7") Southern
 * 20 November 1992: Bruise Violet (7 inch) Southern Records
 * 06 December 1992 (BFBS): Bruise Violet (7") Southern
 * 07 December 1992 (Ö3): Bruise Violet (7") Reprise
 * 25 December 1992: Handsome And Gretel (LP-Fontanelle) Southern (1992 Festive Fifty #22)


 * 1993
 * 01 January 1993: Bruise Violet (LP-Fontanelle)' (Southern) (1992 Festive Fifty #09)
 * 16 January 1993: Blood
 * 16 January 1993: Jungle Train
 * 23 January 1993: Pearl (CD: Live At The Academy) Reprise
 * 05 February 1993: Ripe (mini-album - To Mother) Twin/Tone TTR 89208-1 (1991 Festive Fifty #42)
 * 07 February 1993 (BFBS): Blood (album - Live At The Academy) Reprise
 * 07 February 1993 (BFBS): Jungle Train (album - Live At The Academy) Reprise
 * 13 February 1993: Primus (1991 Festive Fifty) #39)
 * 13 March 1993: Laugh My Head Off (1991 Festive Fifty #31)
 * 19 March 1993: Catatonic (1991 Festive Fifty #30)
 * 01 May 1993: Handsome & Gretel (1991 Festive Fifty #18)
 * 18 June 1993: Ragweed (album - Painkillers) Southern 18512-2
 * 19 June 1993: Laredo (LP – Painkillers) Southern
 * 25 June 1993: Istigkeit (LP – Painkillers) Southern
 * 26 June 1993 (BFBS): Laredo (CD-Painkillers) Southern
 * 26 June 1993 (BFBS): Istigkeit (LP Painkillers) Southern
 * 02 July 1993: Laredo (LP – Painkillers) Southern
 * 03 July 1993 (BFBS): Ragweed (album - Painkillers) Southern
 * 03 July 1993 (BFBS): Angel Hair (album - Painkillers) Southern
 * 28 August 1993: Bruised Violet (7 inch) Southern (Kat Bjelland from Babes In Toyland interview)
 * 01 October 1993: Catatonic (10 inch – The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit
 * 15 October 1993 (BFBS): Catatonic (10" - The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit
 * 13 November 1993 (BFBS): House (7") Sub Pop


 * 1994
 * 21 January 1994: Dirty (Various Artist CD - Milk For Pussy) Mad Queen
 * 12 February 1994: Dirty (Compilation CD: Milk For Pussy) Mad Queen
 * February 1994 (2) (BBC World Service): (v/a album - International Virus Part One)
 * 05 August 1994: Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft (LP - If I Were A Carpenter) A&M
 * 13 August 1994 (BFBS): Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft (v/a album - If I Were A Carpenter) A&M


 * 1995
 * 17 February 1995: Dust Cake Boy (7 inch) Treehouse
 * 01 April 1995: Sweet '69 (CD: Nemesisters) Reprise
 * 07 April 1995: Drivin' (LP-Nemesisters) Reprise
 * 31 March 1995: Oh Yeah! (LP-Nemesisters) Reprise
 * 14 April 1995: Oh Yeah! (LP - Nemesisters) Reprise

1999 2004
 * 1997
 * 06 May 1997: Never (LP - Spanking Machine) Southern Records
 * 16 May 1997 (BFBS): Never (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin Tone
 * 28 December 1999: House (7") Sub Pop (Peelenium 1990) (John proclaims Babes In Toyland's gig in a room above a pub in Bedford to be one of the all-time greats.)
 * 09 November 2004 (Rob Da Bank): 'Ripe' - (Peel Session)


 * Other
 * Best Of Peel Vol 4: Fleshcrawl (7 inch-Teriyaki Asthma Volume III) C/Z
 * Best Of Peel Vol 4: Swamp Pussy (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin Tone
 * Best Of Peel Vol 5: Boto(w)rap (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin Tone
 * Best Of Peel Vol 5: He's My Thing (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin Tone
 * Best Of Peel Vol 5: Dust Cake Boy (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin Tone
 * Best Of Peel Vol 5: House (7 inch) Sub Pop
 * Best Of Peel Vol 13: Arriba (7 inch-B side of House) Sub Pop (John raves about Babes In Toyland, having seen them live recently.)
 * Best Of Peel Vol 14: #1 debut session (Probably first broadcast, 29 September 1990. Also, telephone conversation with Kat Bjelland live from Germany in which she swears twice 'accidentally'.)
 * Best Of Peel Vol 15: Vomit Heart (LP-Spanking Machine) Twin Tone
 * Best Of Peel Vol 22: (JP: "I was moaning a couple of months ago about the LP 'Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them', and pointing out that in America there was a limited edition double LP which had an extra track on it from Babes In Toyland. I eventually wrote to them and said, "Hey! How do you get hold of a copy of that?", and they sent me one. So, this is their contribution.")
 * Watching Girl (2xLP-Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them) Giant


 * Best Of Peel Vol 28: Laugh My Head Off (LP-To Mother) Southern
 * Best Of Peel Vol 28: Mad Pilot (LP-To Mother) Southern
 * Best Of Peel Vol 29: Mad Pilote (LP-To Mother) Twin Tone (JP: "When I put that record on, Andy Kershaw got up and walked out of the studio. Sometimes, I have my doubts about that boy, you know.")
 * Best Of Peel Vol 31: #2 session
 * Best Of Peel Vol 32: Handsome And Gretel (7 inch) Insipid Vinyl
 * Best Of Peel Vol 50: JP announces that tomorrow night there will be a new Babes In Toyland session. He has an advance cassette of some tracks from Fontanelle and proceeds to play them all:
 * Bruise Violet (LP: Fontanelle) (Reprise)
 * Won’t Tell (LP: Fontanelle) (Reprise)
 * Gone (LP: Fontanelle) (Reprise)
 * Magic Flute (LP: Fontanelle) (Reprise)
 * Best Of Peel Vol 52: Sometimes (v/a LP - Volume Four) Volume


 * Best Of 1991 Vol 1: Catatonic (LP - To Mother) Twin/Tone
 * Best Of 1991 Vol 2: Dust Cake Boy
 * Best Of 1991 Vol 5: Handsome And Gretel (session) (22 December 1991)
 * Best Of 1991 Vol 6: Handsome and Gretel
 * Best Of 1991 Vol 7: Ripe


 * Peel Late Summer 1991: Handsome And Gretel (7") Insipid Vinyl
 * Peel Early Autumn 1991: session (06 October 1991)