Belly – Live in Philly 8/14/2016
Belly is an alternative rock band formed in Rhode Island in 1991 by former Throwing Muses and Breeders member Tanya Donelly. The original lineup consisted of Donelly on vocals and guitar, Fred Abong on bass, and brothers Tom and Chris Gorman on guitar and drums respectively. The band released two albums during the early 1990s alternative rock boom before breaking up in 1995. They reunited in 2016, and mounted limited tours in the United States and United Kingdom that year.
All four original members knew each other from high-school on Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island – the Gormans and Abong coming out of the Newport hardcore scene (the Gormans having played in Verbal Assault, Abong in Vicious Circle). Donelly had previously been a member of two Boston-based indie rock bands, Throwing Muses and The Breeders. In 1993, their debut album Star was released, and its lead single “Feed the Tree” would be Belly’s biggest hit song, peaking at number one on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 95 on the Hot 100. Several additional singles from the album also appeared on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Shortly after the release of Star, Abong left the group and was replaced by Gail Greenwood. The band released their second album, King, in early 1995 and broke up at the end of that year, and Donelly embarked on a long solo career. She reformed Belly in 2016 with the same lineup that had recorded King, and their third album, Dove, was released in 2018.