The Belle Stars
| The Belle Stars | |
|---|---|
| Origin | England, UK |
| Genres | Pop rock, new wave |
| Years active | 1980–1986 |
| Labels | Stiff Records |
| Past members | Jennie Matthias Sarah-Jane Owen Stella Barker Lesley Shone Judy Parsons Miranda Joyce Penny Leyton Clare Hirst |
The Belle Stars were an all female British pop/rock band, founded in London in 1980 after splitting from the band The Bodysnatchers.
After The Bodysnatchers broke up, guitarists Stella Barker and Sarah-Jane Owen, saxophonist Miranda Joyce, keyboardist Penny Leyton, and drummer Judy Parsons decided to form a new band, recruiting bass player Lesley Shone and lead vocalist Jennie Matthias (also known as Jenny McKeown and Jenny Bellestar). Their first performance was on Christmas Day 1980, before they had chosen a name.
Within a short time, the group became well-known around London, notably appearing on the front cover of Sounds magazine early in 1981. Shortly thereafter, they were signed by Stiff Records, then highly successful through its star act, Madness.
The band's debut single, "Hiawatha", was released in the late spring of 1981; it was produced by Madness producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. The band promoted the single by playing support slots at gigs by ska acts The Beat and Madness. However, the single failed to chart, despite continuing media attention.
The same production team was responsible for "Slick Trick", the second single. It too failed to chart. Keyboard player Penny Leyton left the band late in the year, to be replaced on saxophone and keyboards by Clare Hirst.
When the third single, the radio-friendly "Another Latin Love Song" again failed to break into the charts, the band tried cover versions instead, with some success. "Iko Iko", a cover of The Dixie Cups' 1965 hit (later featured in the 1988 movie Rain Man), was The Belle Stars' long-hoped-for UK Singles Chart debut, peaking at a modest number 35 in June 1982. This single was unfortunately released at the same time as another version by Natasha England, whose version went on to reach the UK Top Ten. The Belle Stars furthered this with "The Clapping Song" (their first top 20 hit), a remake of the 1965 Shirley Ellis hit, and then "Mockingbird", a hit for Inez and Charlie Foxx in 1969 and James Taylor and Carly Simon in 1974.
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