Belly at the Electric Ballroom

Belly

Electric Ballroom, 1 October 2025

I got to see the always magical Belly return to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their album King, and it was definitely a lovely celebration, full of smiles and good feeling and a great end to their short UK tour!

Belly at The Forum

Belly,
The Forum, 21 July 2016

I have seen Belly before, back in the 1990s, during the King tour. I must admit I can't remember much about it other than it was at Shepherd's Bush Empire before they put the barriers in and you could actually sit on the edge of the stage if you wanted to. I vaguely recall Tanya Donelly being smiley and sweet and Gail Greenwood being the most talkative of them all and looking like she belonged more in L7 than a twangy, slightly twee, indie band.

Throwing Muses at Islington Assembly Hall

Throwing Muses
Tanya Donelly
Islington Assembly Hall, 26 September 2014

I first saw Throwing Muses live in the mid 90s, long after original member Tanya Donelly had left. By then Donelly had her own band in Belly, who were actually far more successful, albeit for a shorter run, than the Muses had ever been. Tanya and her stepsister - Muses head honcho Kristin Hersh - at that point didn't seem that close any more and it seemed something of a hopeless dream to ever see them ever play together again. So when I saw that Throwing Muses were coming to London in support of their first album in 10 years, Purgatory/Paradise, and the special guest was none other than Tanya Donelly herself, I couldn't miss the possibility of seeing them finally share a stage again and playing all those old Muses songs I had been too young to hear live the first time around.