Editing Babes in Toyland (band) (section)

===1987–1991: Formation and early years===
Babes in Toyland formed in 1987, after frontwoman [[Kat Bjelland]] met drummer [[Lori Barbero]] at a friend's barbecue. Originally from [[Woodburn, Oregon]] and a former resident of [[San Francisco]], Bjelland had moved to [[Minneapolis]] to form a band.{{sfn|Taylor|2006|p=21}} Bjelland was a self-taught guitarist, and at the time Barbero had no experience playing any instruments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rookiemag.com/2016/11/babes-in-toyland/|website=Rookie Magazine|title=Don't Do It 'Cause You Think You Have To: An Interview With Lori Barbero|date=November 28, 2016|last=Kuehnert, Stephanie|access-date=May 17, 2018}}</ref> Bjelland commented: "Hopefully, from being technically inexperienced, you can use your imagination, and play the drums like an instrument instead of just being a beat-keeper. And play the bass like you feel it, from your gut, instead of saying, 'Here's my scales.'"<ref>{{cite web|title=Pop/Jazz; Post-Punk Angst of Babes in Toyland|website=The New York Times|date= March 27, 1992|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/27/arts/pop-jazz-post-punk-angst-of-babes-in-toyland.html|access-date=November 4, 2017|last=Schoemer, Karen|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207170056/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/27/arts/pop-jazz-post-punk-angst-of-babes-in-toyland.html|archive-date=December 7, 2010|url-status=live}} {{closed access}}</ref> The band name refers to the [[Babes in Toyland (operetta)|eponymous]] 1903 operetta and alludes to its all-female lineup. In its initial formation in 1987, in addition to Bjelland and Barbero, the band included Kris Holetz on bass and singer Cindy Russell.{{sfn|Gaar|2002|p=389}}

Following the departures of Holetz and Russell, it was believed that the band briefly recruited Bjelland's friend and former bandmate, [[Courtney Love]], on bass, as Love claimed to have been "kicked out" of the band.{{sfn|Brite|1998|p=111}} However, during a 2015 interview, Bjelland and Barbero refuted this, with Barbero stating: "She lived in my house, and one time I think when we were rehearsing she came down and probably picked up something and tried to play and we were just like, "get out of here."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.thecurrent.org/2015/03/a-california-desert-interview-with-babes-in-toyland/|title=A California desert interview with Babes in Toyland|website=The Current|last=Swennson|first=Andrea|date=March 10, 2015|access-date=March 11, 2015}}</ref> However, Michelle Leon, who was hired as the group's bass player, claimed that she was briefly replaced by Love as bassist shortly after joining.{{sfn|Leon|2016|p=23}} After the group rehearsed with Love on "a couple" of occasions, Leon stated Barbero called her and asked her to re-join the band.{{sfn|Leon|2016|p=23}} It has been noted that several songs from the Babes In Toyland's debut album shared lyrics and verses with several songs by Hole, most notably Hole's first several [[single (music)|singles]], including b-sides from "[[Retard Girl]]" and "[[Dicknail]]".{{efn|"Fork Down Throat" was performed as a Hole song in 1990 at their second and third shows, and verses from "Swamp Pussy" can be found in Hole's first recorded track, "Turpentine". Lines such as "spit to see the shine" and "my doll mouth to your deaf ear", which come from some of Hole's first singles, are found scattered in several songs from ''Spanking Machine'' as well as ''Fontanelle''. Although it is believed that it is possible that Love and Bjelland had written some of these songs/lines together, Bjelland originally wrote the lyrics alone after moving by herself to Minneapolis.}}

[[File:Babes in Toyland Groningen 1991.jpg|thumb|right|Bjelland performing with Babes in Toyland in [[Groningen]], Netherlands, 1991]]
The group began performing shows at local art galleries and other venues in late 1987.{{sfn|Leon|2016|pages=23–4}} Local journalist Jon Bream, who initially disparaged the band, recalled: "They were a sort of loud, abrasive, angry, obnoxious thing at first and very amateurish in a sense. And then they developed over time into something that was pretty amazing...The shows just seemed to make more sense. There was a focus there...They were able to connect with the audience."<ref name=lat/> In 1988 they released their first single, "[[Dust Cake Boy]]", on Treehouse Records. {{sfn|Leon|2016|p=38}} The band entered the studio in 1989 to record their debut album, ''[[Spanking Machine]]'', which was recorded with [[grunge]] producer [[Jack Endino]] at Seattle's [[Reciprocal Recording]] and released in April 1990 on Minneapolis' [[Twin/Tone Records]].{{sfn|Earles|2014|p=22}} The album caught the attention of underground rock band [[Sonic Youth]], whose frontman [[Thurston Moore]] invited the band to perform on Sonic Youth's 1990 European tour to promote their latest album, ''[[Goo (album)|Goo]]''.{{sfn|Leon|2016|pages=109–12}} Babes in Toyland subsequently performed alongside Sonic Youth at 1991's [[Reading Festival]],{{sfn|Leon|2016|p=142}} which was documented in [[Dave Markey]]'s music documentary, ''[[1991: The Year Punk Broke]]''.

British DJ [[John Peel]] was also a fan of the album, citing it as his "favourite album of 1990."{{sfn|Leon|2016|p=148}} During the band's tour with Sonic Youth in 1990, Babes in Toyland recorded a radio session for John Peel, one of the many Peel Sessions. The band also completed a second session with Peel in 1991, and the sessions were released as ''[[The Peel Sessions (Babes in Toyland album)|The Peel Sessions]]'' — the band's second [[Extended play|EP]] — in 1992. Their first EP, ''[[To Mother (EP)|To Mother]]'', was composed of outtakes from ''Spanking Machine'' and was released in July 1991; ''To Mother'' was a commercial success, entering the [[UK Independent Singles and Albums Charts|UK Indie Chart]] at number one, and remaining in the top position for ten weeks.<ref>{{cite web|website=Southern Records|title=Babes in Toyland: To Mother [Vinyl]|url=http://shop.southern.com/babes-in-toyland-to-mother-vinyl/|access-date=May 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913164425/http://shop.southern.com/babes-in-toyland-to-mother-vinyl/|archive-date=September 13, 2016}}</ref>