Belly, the twice grammy nominated Newport band who graced the cover of Rolling Stone, is getting back together for a reunion tour with July 2016 shows in the UK and August and September shows in the US.
The band made the announcement on their website today:
Belly is very happy to announce that we will be reuniting to play some shows this coming summer in the US and the UK. Dates will be announced as they are confirmed, but right now we can tell you with relative confidence that the UK shows will fall in the middle of July, and US shows will be scattered throughout August and possibly into September.
We’ve also got a handful of brand new Belly songs in various stages of writing and recording, that we’ll be releasing one by one over the next few months. First previews will be right here on the website!
In the meantime… new swag! We’ve got a couple beautiful new t’s and other extras designed by Chris Gorman, with more to come.
Please keep checking this site, as we will be updating it regularly with news and information (and music).
We are very excited to be playing together again, and hope to see you out there in Summer of 2016!
Belly was an alternative rock band formed in 1991 by former Throwing Muses member Tanya Donelly (who was also in The Breeders). The band consisted of Donelly on lead vocals and guitar, Fred Abong on bass, and brothers Tom and Chris Gorman (on guitar and drums respectively). All knew each other from high-school, the Gormans and Abong coming out of the Newport hardcore scene (Fred having played in Vicious Circle, the Gormans in Verbal Assault). Shortly after the release of their first album, Abong left the group and was replaced by Gail Greenwood.
Belly was the band that saw Tanya Donelly finally step out of the shadows and emerge as a songwriting talent and a huge commercial success in her own right. Releasing just two albums – Star in 1993 and King in 1995 – their joyous pop-rock shone brightly, by turns seductive, poetically adventurous and full-on rocking.
The quartet’s breakout hit ‘Feed The Tree’, propelled Tanya to Gap ad icon, Star to gold status, and Belly to double Grammy nominations. Belly was named after Tanya’s favorite word – chosen because, as she said back then, “it’s both pretty and ugly” (a paradox that her songs often explored) – but it was a band in the truest sense: the secret to their chemistry lay in the mix of personalities. First there was Tanya herself, a shy, pretty, self-confessed “art chick” with hotshot credentials – she’d already co-founded the legendary Throwing Muses with her step-sister Kristin Hersh, then helped Kim Deal launch The Breeders. Next up were the Gorman brothers, childhood skate-punk friends of Tanya’s who’d both spent time in Newport hardcore bands. Lead guitarist Tom brought his brooding intensity and power-pop licks to the table, while younger sibling Chris was the surfer boy drummer with an art degree, contributing endlessly inventive rhythms and also serving as the band’s graphics director. The final addition was bassist Gail Greenwood, another Newport native, who came onboard after the departure of ex-Throwing Muse Fred Abong, who played on Star.
As so often, what made the band so great also made them volatile. “The force that pulled this group together and made it good – the differences in our personalities – was ultimately a centrifugal force, and we flew apart”, recalls Tanya. After an 18-month world tour in support of second-album King, the foursome quietly called it quits in 1996.
