Voice Of The Beehive have opened up about their vault of unreleased material as they celebrate 35 years of their hit debut.
The group’s first long-player, 1987’s ‘Let It Bee’, was released on London Records and peaked in the UK Top 20, alongside the single Don’t Call Me Baby.
Celebrating the milestone, it’s set for an expanded deluxe reissue this month and, speaking in Retro Pop’s December 2022 issue, frontwoman Tracey Bryn looks back on their early success.
“I was travelling around Europe with my boyfriend, who ended up writing I Walk the Earth on that trip,” recalls the vocalist. “We got to London and I fell in love with the city. I never wanted to leave. I met Mike [Jones, guitarist] through friends and we recorded Just a City and This Weak together at his home studio.”
They ended up inking a one-single deal with Food Records, after a mix-up found their demo tape in the label’s office.
“My boyfriend was in a band and he submitted his demo to Food Records,” she recalls. “They accidentally played the wrong side, which had the track Mike and I had done. Food passed on his demo but wanted to know who the girl was singing on the other side. Needless to say, our relationship didn’t last…”
Having inked a deal with London to release their album, the group was incredibly prolific and, although they only produced three records, Tracey quips they could have easily doubled their output: “We have a lot of B-sides and unreleased stuff. If I hadn’t had to write so many B-sides, we probably could have released three more albums, but there’s no point dwelling on that.”
In retrospect, however, she’s incredibly proud of the work she and sister Melissa achieved with the group.
“Voice Of The Beehive means everything to me,” she admits. “Mainly, because of the kindness and loyalty of the fans that have stayed in touch and kept everything alive for all these years. The band is my family and it’s an amazing thing to look back on that time and think about what we accomplished.
“Everyone says we were underrated but I’m really happy with the way things turned out.”
‘Let It Bee’ is out November 25 and available to pre-order now.
Read the full interview in the December 2022 edition of Retro Pop, out now. Order yours or subscribe via our Online Store, use our Store Finder to locate your nearest stockist, or get Digital Copies delivered direct to your devices.
