Pagan Babies (band)
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder | Kat Bjelland, Courtney Love |
| Defunct | 1986 |
| Headquarters | Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California , United States |
| Products | Music recordings, demo tape |
Pagan Babies was a short-lived American group established in 1985 by Kat Bjelland and Courtney Love, which dissolved the following year.
Initially formed in Portland, Oregon under the name Sugar Babydoll, the band included drummer Jane Weems and keyboardist Suzanne Ramsey. After moving to San Francisco, bassist Jennifer Finch became part of the lineup. The ensemble experienced several changes in both members and name before producing a four-song demo as Pagan Babies, featuring drummer Deirdre Schletter and bassist Janis Tanaka.
Two tracks from this era—"Best Sunday Dress" and "Quiet Room"—were later adapted by Love's band, Hole, and Bjelland's group, Babes in Toyland, respectively.
Formation as Sugar Babydoll
In the early 1980s, while still a teenager in Portland, Courtney Love originated the concept and name for the band. She initially formed a group called Sugar Babydoll with Ursula Wehr and Robin Barbur; however, this lineup never recorded any material. After relocating to San Francisco in 1982 and briefly performing with Faith No More, Love returned to Portland in 1983, where she met Kat Bjelland at the influential punk venue, the Satyricon nightclub.
Determined to establish an all-female rock outfit, Love convinced Bjelland to join as guitarist. By mid-1985, they had added Suzanne Ramsey and drummer Jane Weems, with bassist Jennifer Finch joining later after the move to San Francisco. The band adopted the name Sugar Babydoll, evolving from an earlier idea called Sugar Babylon. Love described their goal as creating "the most obnoxious music," but due to her health issues and vocal constraints, their sound leaned towards a gentler style reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins.
Bjelland later described Sugar Babydoll as a fleeting project with limited live appearances, calling it "the smallest thing I've ever done musically." She noted its lack of commercial success but acknowledged its significance in shaping their future careers.
Name change and demo recording
Following the departure of bassist Finch, Bjelland and Love brought in Janis Tanaka on bass, who introduced them to drummer and pianist Deidre Schletter. Rehearsing mostly in friends' homes, they performed both covers and original songs under the new name Pagan Babies.
Their San Francisco apartment served as their rehearsal hub where they recorded a demo tape in December 1985. Alongside four primary tracks, early compositions such as "I See Nothing," "Colder than Me," "My Angels," and "All Roads Lead To" were developed, though some consisted only of preliminary lyrics penned by Love.
The band played two informal live shows before disbanding—one electric set in a friend's bedroom and an acoustic performance in a living room—both described as casual jam sessions. Afterward, Bjelland began crafting punk-inspired songs influenced by Frightwig, introduced through Tanaka’s boyfriend; several of these pieces would later appear with Babes in Toyland. Love preferred the band's earlier new wave and dream pop direction and opposed this stylistic shift, causing friction that led to her exit. Upon leaving, she remarked, "you're never going to get anywhere playing that punk rock noise."
After Love's departure, the remaining members briefly continued under the name Italian Whorenuns before ultimately dissolving. Love later referred to Pagan Babies as one of her "pretend bands" that never fully took off.
The December 1985 demo was recorded using a 4-track cassette recorder and reportedly received some local radio play. It contained four songs:
- "Cold Shoulders" (Love, Bjelland)
- "Bernadine" (Love)
- "Best Sunday Dress" (Love, Bjelland)
- "Quiet Room" (Love, Bjelland)
Aftermath
In 1998, Courtney Love's band, Hole, reinterpreted "Best Sunday Dress." Although the track was a staple in their 1994–1995 live performances, a studio recording was made only in 1997 and released as a b-side to Hole's prominent single, "Celebrity Skin." Additionally, a segment from the demo's master tape was featured on Hole's debut album Pretty on the Inside (1991) within the song "Starbelly."
"Quiet Room" underwent a re-recording by Kat Bjelland’s group, Babes in Toyland, appearing on their 1991 EP To Mother as well as the 1992 album Fontanelle. The track is said to have been influenced by Love’s experiences at Hillcrest school, as mentioned in her memoir Dirty Blonde: The Diaries of Courtney Love, though there are differing views regarding its authorship. Musically, "Quiet Room" shares similarities with Bauhaus’s "King Volcano," and Love has admitted to incorporating riffs from Bauhaus in other compositions.
In 2004, the complete demo tape surfaced online after being digitized into MP3 format from a cassette source. By 2006, speculation arose that Sympathy for the Record Industry—Hole’s previous label—had plans to release Pagan Babies demos in a compilation but ultimately decided against it. Nonetheless, "Quiet Room" was featured on Babes in Toyland’s 2004 compilation album, The Best of Babes In Toyland and Kat Bjelland.
Members
- Courtney Love – lead vocals
- Kat Bjelland – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Janis Tanaka – bass
- Deirdre Schletter – drums, piano
- Jennifer Finch – bass
- Suzanne Ramsey – drums