Belly (Band)

Belly is an Grammy-nominated alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1991 by Tanya Donelly, formerly of Throwing Muses and The Breeders. Despite forming in Boston, the group identifies as a Rhode Island band since all four original members knew each other from their high school on Aquidneck Island. Donelly chose the name Belly because she found the word to be “both pretty and ugly”.

After releasing two EPs, the band’s 1993 debut album Star (a collection of songs originally intended for her previous band Breeders) was certified Gold after “Feed The Tree” became an alternative chart topper in the US, also crossing over to pop and peaking near the bottom of the Hot 100. It also was a top 40 hit in the UK, pushing Star all the way to #2 there. The band was invited to perform “Feed The Tree” on late night shows like Letterman and Leno.

The follow-up single “Gepetto” found moderate success in both countries as they toured with opening acts Radiohead then The Cranberries. Over the next year, not only would Star sell 800,000 copies and earn Belly two Grammy nominations, but Donelly became one of Gap’s iconic 1990’s ad models (alongside Spike Lee and Whoopi Goldberg).

During the writing of Belly’s sophomore album King, the band was still working well together. But by the time they went to record it, they were breaking apart. Donelly later explained:

There was a lot of joy in King, even in lyrics that didn’t sound inherently joyful, it got into the music, while we were writing it, [the band] was crazy about each other, and I was in love. And I love the songs on King. But recording the album was a lot stickier. We were all in the studio together, but once it was overdub time, we were all spending most of our off-time solo as band members were not speaking – that’s what an eighteen-month tour can do. And I was a horrible bandleader, I didn’t take the helm, and so the rudder was unmanned.

King initially found similar chart success in the US and UK, and both of its singles reached the top 40 in the UK and found marginal success on US alternative radio. However, ultimately the album “failed to meet commercial expectations”. After a European tour opening for REM, then a headlining US tour with Catherine Wheel and Jewel, Donelly quietly disbanded the group in 1996 and launched her solo career the following year with the album Lovesongs For Underdogs.

In 2013, Donelly released the original Breeders demos that became Star. Belly then announced a reunion in 2016 and toured the UK, Ireland and US before releasing their crowd-funded third album Dove two years later.