`MISERY' DUO LOVES CALIFORNIA COMPANY.Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer Nobody said moving to London and putting a band together would be easy. But for Encino-bred sisters Tracey and Missy Belland - otherwise known as Voices of the Beehive Beehive (star cluster): see Praesepe. beehive heraldic and verbal symbol. [Western Folklore: Jobes, 193] See : Industriousness - it wasn't as hard as it might have been. The Bellands had some strong support in their corner 10 years ago, including a couple of ex-Madness members as backup musicians, and pals such as the Clash and the Kinks to hang around with. For a while, it looked like the trans-Atlantic move had been the right thing to do. Two British-made Voices of the Beehive albums, ``Let It Bee'' and ``Honey Lingers,'' spawned quirky, infectious United Kingdom chart hits such as ``Walk the Earth,'' ``Don't Call Me Baby "Don't Call Me Baby" is a single by Madison Avenue released in 1999. It contains a sample from the Italo disco hit 'Ma quale idea' by Pino D'Angio. Track listing
But four years ago, the Beehive began to fall apart: band members left, friends died of AIDS and suicide, boyfriends strayed. ``It all started to come apart at the seams,'' said Missy Belland. ``All our relationships collapsed. It was an awful, wretched time. We almost packed it in.'' What they did was pack and return to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. in the last few months. ``There's nothing England has that we don't have here,'' Belland said a few days after returning home to Encino. ``It's got lousy weather and warm beer. I'm ready I'm Ready is the double platinum second release from R&B singer Tevin Campbell. I'm Ready yielded the biggest R&B hit of his career the #1 R&B smash "Can We Talk", and produce 3 more successful hits in "I'm Ready", "Always In My Heart" and "Don't Say Goodbye Girl". for a perfect California tan. It's great to be back.'' A catchy new single, ``Scary Kisses,'' from the current Beehive album, ``Sex & Misery'' (Discovery), has already landed on the playlist A file that contains an index to a selected group of music files on the computer. Using digital jukebox software such as iTunes and Winamp, playlists are created by the user by dragging and dropping titles from a master index. The software may be able to create a playlist automatically. at Houston's top-40 KRBE-FM, among other pop outlets. The album, produced by Peter Vetesse (Seal, Annie Lennox Annie Lennox (born Ann Lennox on 25 December 1954) is a Scottish musician and vocalist. She is both a solo artist and the lead singer of the duo Eurythmics, called "The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive" on the VH1 show 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll 1999. , Sophie B. Hawkins), features a collaboration with XTC's Andy Partridge partridge, common name applied to various henlike birds of several families. The true partridges of the Old World are members of the pheasant family (Phasianidae); the common European or Hungarian species has been successfully introduced in parts of North America. (``Blue in Paradise''). Back on home turf, the Bellands are busy doing radio promotion, making a video and putting a band together with a view toward going on the road this summer. ``It was a hard life over there,'' Belland said. ``Too hard. Toward the end, it was like being stuck in a loveless marriage. Being back in California is like finding a new boyfriend who really digs you.'' Tracey and Missy, both in their 30s, come from a musical family. Their Valley-based dad, Bruce Belland, served as lead singer for the vocal group the Four Preps, which had a string of top-40 hits, including ``26 Miles (Santa Catalina Santa Catalina (săn`tə kăt'əlē`nə) or Catalina Island, S Calif., one of the Santa Barbara Islands, off Huntington Beach, Calif. It is a resort island, 22 mi (35 km) long and 1 to 8 mi (1.6–12. ),'' in the late '50s and early '60s. The elder Belland also gave voice to the vulture vulture, common name for large birds of prey of temperate and tropical regions. The Old World vultures (family Accipitridae) are allied to hawks and eagles; the more ancient American vultures and condors are of a different family (Cathartidae) with distant links to in Disney's ``The Jungle Book.'' ``We wanted to be in a band almost as soon as we were out of diapers,'' Missy recalled. ``It was always a huge ambition.'' The London decade began in the mid-'80s when Tracey traveled to Britain on vacation and decided to stay. Missy was persuaded to join her sister overseas and put Voices of the Beehive together. The band fit perfectly in late-'80s Britain, a period when dance-pop ruled the roost. ``The whole thing happened so fast,'' Missy Belland said. ``One minute we were touted as the Next Big Thing, and the next we were having hit records and selling out tours. While all this was going on, we were thinking, `This is better than waitressing!' It took us completely by surprise.'' Instead of duplicating the chirpy chirp·y n. 1. Characterized by chirping tones: a bird with a chirpy song. 2. Tending to chirp: a chirpy parakeet. 3. synth-pop sound of their '80s hits, Voices of the Beehive went for a harder, more guitar-driven approach on ``Sex & Misery.'' The album title, by the way, is derived from a phrase used by Tracey to tell friends what their current album would deal with. ``We just didn't have it in us to do the same stuff we did before,'' Belland said. ``I feel this was a brave record to make, and we like it that way.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: ``There's nothing England has that we don't have her e,'' says Missy Belland, right, with sister Tracey. ``It's got lousy weather and warm beer. ... It's great to be back.'' |
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