Huggy Bear (band)

Huggy Bear
Huggy Bear (1994)
Background information
Origin	London/Brighton, England
Genres	Riot grrrl, art punk, punk rock
Years active	1991–1994
Labels	Wiiija, Kill Rock Stars, Gravity
Associated acts	Blood Sausage, Skinned Teen, The Element of Crime, The Furbelows
Website	KRS band page
Past members	Niki Elliott Jo Johnson Jon Slade Karen Hill Chris Rowley

Huggy Bear were an English riot grrrl band, formed in 1991 and based in Brighton.

Evolving in tandem with the Olympia, Washington-based riot grrrl movement led by feminist bands such as Bikini Kill, Huggy Bear called themselves "girl-boy revolutionaries", both in reference to their political philosophy and the gender makeup of their band.

For the majority of their existence, they refused to be photographed or interviewed by mainstream press, nor gave their full names once they began releasing records formally. In spite of a major label bidding war, Huggy Bear stayed with indie label Wiiija.

Their avant-garde debut EP, Rubbing the Impossible to Burst, was released in 1992, and in the same year they began working closely with Bikini Kill as riot grrrl's popularity peaked on both sides of the Atlantic, culminating in a split album on Catcall Records (Huggy Bear) and Kill Rock Stars (Bikini Kill) called Our Troubled Youth/Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah, the names of the Huggy Bear and Bikini Kill sides, respectively. Huggy Bear then released a series of EPs, which were collected on Taking the Rough with the Smooch. No longer featuring Slade on guitar, Huggy Bear released two more singles and Weaponry Listens to Love in 1994, their first full-length album as well as their final release.

On 14 February 1993, Huggy Bear performed "Her Jazz" on the British television programme, The Word. After their set, the band stayed in the studio to watch a report on two American models who called themselves "The Barbi Twins". Huggy Bear and their fans became upset at this and started shouting at the show's presenter Terry Christian. They were ejected from the studio, and a spokesperson for The Word later claimed that one of the band's friends had "bit the face of a member of our production team." Future Goldblade frontman and editor of music blog Louderthanwar, John Robb was with the band in the studio and said no-one got bitten and the security was heavy-handed and had to be calmed down. The performance was given a Melody Maker cover story, the event being compared to the Sex Pistols' Bill Grundy incident.

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