Honey Bane
Encyclopedia
Honey Bane is an English
singer and actress, possibly best known for her 1981 UK Top 40
single
"Turn Me On Turn Me Off".
Honey Bane began her musical career at the age of 14 in 1978 when she formed the punk rock
band the Fatal Microbes
. The band released a split 12" record with anarcho-punk band Poison Girls
the same year. The first single, "Violence Grows" garnered some press attention and was given positive reviews by the British music paper Sounds
.
After the 1979 breakup of the Fatal Microbes, and a stint in a juvenile detention facility that garnered more press attention, Bane began a collaboration with Crass
while she was on the run from the Social Services after serving a sentence at the St. Charles Youth Treatment Centre in Essex. Lending lead vocals and backed by the band under the name Donna and the Kebabs, Crass released the EP
You Can Be You in 1980. That same year, Bane sang vocals for Killing Joke
on "What's the Matter" during a February 1980 gig at London's Venue club. The recording was later released as on Killing Joke - Live At The Venue LP.
In 1980, she met Sham 69
vocalist Jimmy Pursey
who began to manage her musical career. That year she was signed to EMI
/Zonophone
records for a five year contract. In 1981 the single "Turn Me On Turn Me Off" was released and peaked in the UK Singles Chart
at #37, and Bane subsequently appeared performing the single on Top of the Pops
. "Turn Me On Turn Me Off" marked a musical departure of Bane from punk rock to a new wave
sound.
Although she released several more singles, none charted well and her musical career floundered. In 1982 she appeared in the play Demonstration of Affection by Chris Ward
opposite Richard Jobson
of The Skids
at London's Arts Theatre
. In 1983 she gained a prominent role in the Mai Zetterling
directed British film Scrubbers
. Bane played the role of "Holly" and the film centered on the lives of young women incarcerated in a British girls' borstal
. The film also featured actors Kathy Burke
, Pam St. Clement
, Robbie Coltrane
and Miriam Margolyes
.
Bane spent the remainder of the 1980s as a pin-up model for erotic magazines. During the 1990s, she fronted the band Dog's Tooth Violet. In 2006 she released a two track 7" single entitled "Down Thing" / "Got Me All Wrong".
n 2008 Honey Bane appeared in a role in the Chris Ward
-written and directed short film What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor, based on the life of artist/model Nina Hamnett
, self-styled "Queen of Bohemia", starring Siobhan Fahey
(ex singer with Bananarama
and Shakespeare's Sister
), actor Clive Arrindel and Donny Tourette
(frontman with punk band Towers of London
).
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
singer and actress, possibly best known for her 1981 UK Top 40
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Turn Me On Turn Me Off".
Honey Bane began her musical career at the age of 14 in 1978 when she formed the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band the Fatal Microbes
Fatal Microbes
Fatal Microbes were a UK punk group that existed in the late 1970s. Honey Bane was the lead singer. Other band members were Gem Stone on drums, Pete Fender on guitar, and Scotty Boy Barker who was briefly replaced as bassist by It .In 1979, Small Wonder and XNTRIX Records co-released a split...
. The band released a split 12" record with anarcho-punk band Poison Girls
Poison Girls
The Poison Girls were an English anarcho-punk band. The female singer/guitarist, Vi Subversa, was a middle-aged mother of two at the band's inception, and wrote songs that explored sexuality and gender roles, usually from an anarchist perspective...
the same year. The first single, "Violence Grows" garnered some press attention and was given positive reviews by the British music paper Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
.
After the 1979 breakup of the Fatal Microbes, and a stint in a juvenile detention facility that garnered more press attention, Bane began a collaboration with Crass
Crass
Crass are an English punk rock band that was formed in 1977, which promoted anarchism as a political ideology, way of living, and as a resistance movement. Crass popularised the seminal anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, and advocated direct action, animal rights, and environmentalism...
while she was on the run from the Social Services after serving a sentence at the St. Charles Youth Treatment Centre in Essex. Lending lead vocals and backed by the band under the name Donna and the Kebabs, Crass released the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
You Can Be You in 1980. That same year, Bane sang vocals for Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
on "What's the Matter" during a February 1980 gig at London's Venue club. The recording was later released as on Killing Joke - Live At The Venue LP.
In 1980, she met Sham 69
Sham 69
Sham 69 is an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1976.Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived...
vocalist Jimmy Pursey
Jimmy Pursey
Jimmy Pursey is an English singer and record producer. He was the founder and frontman of the English punk rock band, Sham 69 from 1976 to 1980, and from 1986 to 2006.-Biography:...
who began to manage her musical career. That year she was signed to EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
/Zonophone
Zonophone
Zonophone, early on also rendered as Zon-O-Phone was a record label founded in 1899 in Camden, New Jersey by Frank Seaman. The Zonophone name was not that of the company, but was applied to the records and machines sold by Seaman from 1899-1900 to 1903...
records for a five year contract. In 1981 the single "Turn Me On Turn Me Off" was released and peaked in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at #37, and Bane subsequently appeared performing the single on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. "Turn Me On Turn Me Off" marked a musical departure of Bane from punk rock to a new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
sound.
Although she released several more singles, none charted well and her musical career floundered. In 1982 she appeared in the play Demonstration of Affection by Chris Ward
Chris Ward (playwright)
Chris Ward is an English/Canadian playwright, born in 1958.From 1979-82 attended the London International Film School.His play Demonstration of Affection was produced at the Arts Theatre in 1981, starring Richard Jobson of The Skids....
opposite Richard Jobson
Richard Jobson (television presenter)
Richard Jobson is a Scottish singer-songwriter and film-maker, best known as a television presenter, film director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:...
of The Skids
The Skids
Skids were an art-punk/punk rock and new wave band from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson , William Simpson , Thomas Kellichan and Richard Jobson...
at London's Arts Theatre
Arts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It now operates as the West End's smallest commercial receiving house.-History:...
. In 1983 she gained a prominent role in the Mai Zetterling
Mai Zetterling
-Early life:Zetterling was born in Västerås, Västmanland, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actress by the age of seventeen at Dramaten, the Swedish national theater, and appeared in war-era film starting in her teens.-Career:...
directed British film Scrubbers
Scrubbers
Scrubbers is a 1983 British drama film directed by Mai Zetterling and starring Amanda York and Chrissie Cotterill. It was shot primarily in Virginia Water, Surrey, England. It was inspired by the success of the 1979 film Scum.-Plot:...
. Bane played the role of "Holly" and the film centered on the lives of young women incarcerated in a British girls' borstal
Borstal
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...
. The film also featured actors Kathy Burke
Kathy Burke
Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an English actress, comedienne, playwright and theatre director. She is best known for her portrayals of Perry in the Harry Enfield film Kevin and Perry Go Large, and of Linda La Hughes in the British sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme...
, Pam St. Clement
Pam St. Clement
Pamela Ann Clement , known by the stage name Pam St. Clement, is an English actress. She has played Pat Evans in the BBC soap opera EastEnders since 1986, and is now one of the programme's longest-serving cast members. St. Clement announced her intention to leave EastEnders on 8 July 2011 and will...
, Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
and Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:...
.
Bane spent the remainder of the 1980s as a pin-up model for erotic magazines. During the 1990s, she fronted the band Dog's Tooth Violet. In 2006 she released a two track 7" single entitled "Down Thing" / "Got Me All Wrong".
n 2008 Honey Bane appeared in a role in the Chris Ward
Chris Ward (playwright)
Chris Ward is an English/Canadian playwright, born in 1958.From 1979-82 attended the London International Film School.His play Demonstration of Affection was produced at the Arts Theatre in 1981, starring Richard Jobson of The Skids....
-written and directed short film What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor, based on the life of artist/model Nina Hamnett
Nina Hamnett
Nina Hamnett was a Welsh artist and writer, and an expert on sailors' chanteys, who became known as the Queen of Bohemia.- Early life :...
, self-styled "Queen of Bohemia", starring Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey is an Irish musician and founding member of the 1980s British girl group Bananarama, and later formed the BRIT Award and Ivor Novello award winning musical outfit Shakespears Sister.-Career:Fahey was born the eldest of three daughters to Helen and...
(ex singer with Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
and Shakespeare's Sister
Shakespeare's Sister
Shakespeare's Sister can refer to:*Shakespears Sister, an alternative pop group featuring Siobhan Fahey*Shakespeare's Sister , a song by The Smiths*A section of the essay A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf...
), actor Clive Arrindel and Donny Tourette
Donny Tourette
Donny Tourette is an English singer-songwriter best known for his work with the pop rock band Towers of London...
(frontman with punk band Towers of London
Towers of London
Towers of London are a Punk Rock n Roll band, fromLondon, England, who formed in 2004. Their music mixes elements of rock and heavy metal music with 1977 style British punk...
).