Teenage terror Honey Bane, supposedly a proper problem child, formed The Fatal Microbes when she was 14 years old, with Gem Stone And Pete Fender, children of Vi Subversa. Think she stayed around there house a fair bit. The Fatal Microbes then released a split 12″ on Small Wonder Records with The Poison Girls in 1978 which was most excellent. Should upload that at some point (although the Fatal Microbes tracks were also released as a separate 7″ by Small Wonder a little later on in 1979 – these tracks are on this site if you search for them). Think she was returned to some kind of hostel for problem kids, then run away from there and sought sanctuary at Dial House with the various members of Crass. She was only 15 years old when Crass backed her up with the very first non Crass release on Crass Records going under the name of Donna And The Kebabs. For some reason I have two of these singles, how strange, only remember only having one…oh well. This release was played on John Peel a little bit and by the time she was 16 years old she was performing (rarely) under the name Honey Bane. This record is not too bad for a slice of punky reggae for the era. It fit’s in with The Slits / Androids Of Mu kind of stuff and it all plods along nicely enough. Honey Bane was featured in KYPP number 3.
Honey Bane meets the singer of Sham 69, who quickly tries it on, then offers a deal with EMI to push her into a 1980’s pop sex symbol. Almost worked with ‘Turn Me On’ single which got her an appearance on Top Of The Pops. After that, I know nothing apart from seeing her in a theatre 1984 I think, skinned out in her birthday suit, underneath a ‘strong chinned’ equally naked Richard Jobson, apres Skids and pre Armoury Show. Nice work if you can get it I guess!
alistairliv
February 11, 2008 at 11:17 pmhttp://www.myspace.com/honeybaneband
Nic
February 12, 2008 at 10:24 amI never could dig this one, Penguin…
It always did sound like reggae stripped of the qualities which make it so appealing (as is the case with much ‘white’ reggae)…
‘Fatal’ Microbes were fantastic: ‘Violence Grows’ has such an alienated feel to it, aligned with a great almost-PiL dub feel on the bass, washing swathes of effected Psych guitar, and great amateurish stuttering drums… I wish they had released more of their creativity…
I enjoyed the Honey Bane single on Crass, but the music is so recognisably written by Crass that it may as well be one of their releases…
(It has some nice dub effects on it in places, like Hot Butter through a Space Echo)…
If I remember rightly, the back cover picture of ‘Guilty’ was taken at a gig at the Moonlight in 1980…
As a jeune homme, I found Honey Bane extremely attractive…
🙂
Good to know – according to her myspace – that she still likes Slaughter and the Dogs…
😉
(I just read one of the posts in Honey Bane’s blog entries on myspace about the dog used in an art piece in Honduras: if that is real (I haven’t had the opportunity to research it yet for verification), it is incredibly depressing)
Stewart
June 3, 2008 at 12:07 amI think the Honey Bane single on Crass ‘You can be you’ etc (recorded 27/10/79) probably WAS Crass – the record says the design and production was by Crass, it has Crass all over it (even the record number is 521984/I – geddit????), and Penny Rimbaud plays drums. The rest of the band, whoever they were, appeared under silly pseudonyms…
She was horny though, lol – good record too!
Graham Burnett
June 3, 2008 at 1:43 amYep was Crass. Penny R told me that ‘You Can Be You’ was deleted from Crass records the same day she signed a contract with EMI.
Penguin • Post Author •
June 3, 2008 at 1:52 amI wrote the Crass connection in the post, old beans…I got two copies of the Donna and Kebabs (Honey Bane and Crass) 7″ anyone wanna buy one?
Nic
June 3, 2008 at 9:06 amIf you look at the names on the sleeve, even to an 11 year old (as I was when it came out), it was pretty obvious that it was Crass…
😉
Phil Dat – Lead Guitar
P.A. Nana – Rhythm Guitar
Pete Wrong – Bass
Arthur-Penny Rimbaud – Drums
The main mystery is: who was Fingers Tarbuck (piano)?
🙂
Stewart
June 3, 2008 at 9:31 amI think Fingers Tarbuck should have been in the recording studio with N Parsons and R Harty doing the TV Personalities EP ‘Where’s Bill Grundy Now?’ but fancied his chances of copping off with Honey Bane instead…
Nic
June 3, 2008 at 9:43 amAh, that explains it…
No wonder he was called ‘Fingers’ – his wandering hands were itching to get further than the ivories…