Voice of the Beehive
| Company type | Music group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1986 in London, England |
| Headquarters | London , England |
| Products | Music albums, singles |
Voice of the Beehive was an alternative pop rock ensemble with Anglo-American roots, established in London in 1986. The lineup included Californian sisters Tracey Bryn and Melissa Brooke Belland—both vocalists and daughters of Bruce Belland from The Four Preps—alongside British musicians Mike Jones, Martin Brett, and Daniel Woodgate, who had previously played with Madness. The band's name is inspired by the Greek interpretation of Melissa, which means "honey bee."
Career
The band secured five singles within the UK Top 40 charts across two studio albums. Notable hits such as "I Say Nothing," "Don't Call Me Baby," "Monsters and Angels," and "I Think I Love You" appeared on their debut Let It Bee and sophomore album Honey Lingers. Their third release, Sex & Misery (1996), featured only the Belland sisters as official members. In 2003, the group reunited for a brief two-week tour across the United Kingdom.
Members have intermittently continued performing while engaging in various professional pursuits. Tracey Bryn has taken up teaching in Laguna Beach, California, whereas Melissa Belland manages her business Made in Heaven in the same area. Martin Brett ran Brett Dempsey Music Productions based in London and joined I, Ludicrous as a bassist in 2008; he also issued a solo single under the alias Brett Martini and trained professionally as a facial hair artist for film and television productions. Daniel Woodgate remains active with Madness, while Mike Jones resides in Norwich and continues his guitar work.
In October 2017, Bryn and Belland reunited with the original members for live performances in London, including participation in the '80s/'90s revival event Indie Daze 4.
Band members
- Tracey Bryn – vocals and guitar (born 17 May 1962, Encino, California)
- Melissa Brooke Belland ("Missy Beehive") – vocals (born 17 February 1966, Los Angeles, California)
- Martin Brett (also known as Brett Martini) – bass guitar
- Mike Jones – guitar
- Daniel "Woody" Woodgate – drums
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS | NZ | SCO | ||
| Let It Bee |
|
13 | 53 | 40 | 52 |
| Honey Lingers |
|
17 | 68 | — | 26 |
| Sex & Misery | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" indicates albums that did not chart or were unavailable in those regions. | |||||
Live albums
| Title | Album information |
|---|---|
| Don't Call Me Baby |
|
| Access All Areas |
|
Compilation albums
| Title | Album information |
|---|---|
| A Portrait |
|
| The Best of Voice of the Beehive |
|
| Bee-Sides |
|
Video albums
| Title | Album information |
|---|---|
| Don't Call Me Baby – Live |
|
EPs
| Title | EP information |
|---|---|
| The Radio 1 Sessions – The Evening Show |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Highest chart rankings | Associated album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK Indie | AUS | CAN | IRE | NZ | US | US Alt | |||
| "Just a City" | 1987 | 154 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Let It Bee |
| "I Say Nothing" | 45 | — | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I Walk the Earth" | 1988 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Don't Call Me Baby | 15 | — | 48 | — | 15 | 25 | — | — | ||
| Reissued "I Say Nothing" | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | ||
| Reissued "I Walk the Earth" | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Man in the Moon" | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Monsters and Angels" |
1991 |
17 |
— |
72 |
— |
— |
74 |
8 | ||
| "I Think I Love You" |
25 |
— |
12 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— | ||
| "Perfect Place" |
37 |
— |
31 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— | ||
| "Angel Come Down" |
1995 |
86 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— | ||
| "Scary Kisses" |
1996 |
— |
— |
— |
35 |
— |
77 |
— | ||
| "Heavenly" |
— |
— | ||||||||
| "So Hard" |
66 | |||||||||
Additional Contributions
- On Bill Drummond's 1986 record The Man, Voice of the Beehive lent their vocal harmonies.
- A preliminary version of "Beat of Love" was included in the 1987 London Records compilation titled Giant.
- Melissa and Tracey appeared as Tracey & Melissa Beehive, performing a rendition of "Five Feet High and Rising" for the 1988 Johnny Cash tribute album Til Things Are Brighter.
- In 1993, the group teamed up with Jimmy Somerville to cover "Gimme Shelter" for the Putting Our House in Order EP supporting homeless causes; this release attained No. 23 on UK charts and No. 214 in Australia.
External links
- The Beehive—Voice of the Beehive Online (Archived February 2, 2011)
- Voice of the Beehive on Myspace
- Voice of the Beehive 1992 interview conducted by Maynard
- Melissa Belland Instagram profile