Voice of the Beehive

Just spent some time fondly sifting through Voice of the Beehive’s stuff on YouTube. Didn't realize how much I missed them. They may not have been an all-girl band, but I still think they out-Go-Go'd and out-Bangled the distaff competition.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2021 09:06PM by locutor.

It's funny - I've been on a little bit of a VOTB kick lately too. I largely missed them back in the day, but after hearing "It's Just A City" on the excellent Make More Noise! comp from Cherry Red, I sought out that first CD. Ludicrous video aside, I think that's just a spectacular song. The rest of the CD is pretty great too. The TP reviews make it sound like I can stop after that one album, but I'd be curious if others think I should dig deeper.

I only ever owned ‘Let it Bee’ so I can’t vouch for subsequent releases. Haven’t dug it out in awhile but remember always liking it so thanks for the reminder!

I like the dual female vocals found here, Kate and Cindy, dance hall crashers on ‘lockjaw’ (a 90s album I’m still glad to own) and on ‘we’ve got a fuzzbox and we’re gonna use it’….which I think I picked up the same time as ‘let it bee’. Hmmm…both came out in ‘88, or as I sometimes call it: the beginning of the end!

Let It Bee was their zenith. 1991’s Honey Lingers is decent (best tracks: Monsters and Angels, Adonis Blue, Beauty to My Eyes, cheeky remake of Partridge Family’s I Think I Love You). 1995’s Sex & Misery was meh; only Heavenly stands out for me.

I seriously loved this band!

Voice of the Beehive were a group that I first heard of in 1988 when scanning a friend’s copy of some UK music paper. The name was all I needed to hear. It was a foregone conclusion that I would absolutely love any group who would name themselves that! I just blind-bought CD singles from the mail order catalogs that were my meat back then. And the music completely met my expectations! The music was sweet yet powerful, touched by their great harmony singing throughout. That the lyrics were smart and biting made the package even more attractive.

I was lucky enough to see the group once when they opened for That Petrol Emotion on their Chemicrazy tour. I think Tracey was with TPE's Steve Mack at the time. My friend Tom and I blew off the headliners to meet the sisters and hang out for a bit after their set with a few other fans, talking about the UK pop scene like the fans they were. One topic of discussion I recall was the then new debut single by Shakespear’s Sister, “Break My Heart.” They offered us a beer, but we declined as we don’t drink.

In 2004, I compiled a CD-R set of their rarities on my imaginary vanity label, REVO [short for REVOlt Into Style].


REVO | 3xCD | 2004 | REVO 033

Voice of the Beehive: The Vault of the Beehive 3XCD [2004]

DISC 1
1. What You Have Is Enough [ver. 1]
2. 7 Shocks
3. D’Yer Mak’Er
4. I Say Nothing [single ver.]
5. The Things You See When You Don’t Have Your Gun
6. Independence Day
7. Any Day Of The Week
8. This Weak
9. Jesus
10. No Green Blues
11. Jump This Way
12. Goodbye Tonight
13. In The Flesh
14. Tattoo Song
15. Everything I Had
16. 7 Shocks [live]
17. There’s Barbarian In The Back Of My Car [live]
18. The Bomb Party – Sugar, Sugar
19. The Bomb Party – Do The Right Thing

DISC 2
1. Tracy & Melissa Beehive – 5 Feet High & Risin’
2. No Green Blues [BBC]
3. Jump This Way [BBC]
4. Independence Day [BBC]
5. Jesus [BBC]
6. Waitress
7. Only If You Want To
8. Pocketsize
9. I Think I Love You [Don Was guilty pleasure mix]
10. Say It [acoustic BBC]
11. I Think I Love You [orgy mix]
12. Don’t Call Me Baby [acoustic BBC]
13. VB-Goddess of Love [vocal mix]
14. Something About God
15. I Say Nothing [live]
16. Just A City [live]
17. Sit Down [live]
18. Trust Me [live]

DISC 3
1. Shine Away
2. Inconsistencies
3. Cartoon City
4. You And Your Dumb Club
5. Time On All Fours
6. Stupid Boy
7. Cupid [demo]
8. Doriah
9. Playing House [demo]
10. Modern Heart
11. Only If You Want To [demo]
12. Heavenly [demo]
13. Baby Don’t Stay
14. Waitress [demo]
15. Perfect Place [demo]

The 110 page liner note PDF for this collection has high-res scans of the pieces in my collection and can be found here:

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2021 04:23AM by Post-Punk Monk.

My goodness that is a lot of content on Voice of the Beehive! It's a band I recall hearing a lot in the mid-90s in college radio but didn't cultivate an interest in. Perhaps I need to work through some of their content with a new set of ears.

"The Vault of the Beehive" ... I like it!

I admit I'd shell out for an expanded double-CD reissue of Let It Bee with the period b-sides ("Tattoo Song"!), BBC sessions, and other rarities tacked on. (I also admit that, highlights like "Monsters & Angels" aside, you start getting into diminishing returns post-Bee).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2021 08:14PM by dj45rpm.