Artist · chart history

Babes In Toyland

Band Minneapolis United States Active 1987–2001

Babes In Toyland formed in 1987 in Minneapolis, United States and was active until 2001. Babes In Toyland has 14 chart appearances on 8 radio countdowns from 6 stations on RockLists, spanning 1990–2023. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Bruise Violet”, which appears on 3 lists with a best position of #9. The station that charted Babes In Toyland most often is John Peel (BBC Radio 1), with 8 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1991.

14appearances

8countdowns

8songs charted

6stations

0#1 finishes

1990–2023years

Babes in Toyland came howling out of Minneapolis in 1987, and nobody who heard Kat Bjelland shriek over her own serrated guitar was ever going to mistake them for the nice girls of college radio. Bjelland started the band with drummer Lori Barbero, singer Cindy Russell and bassist Kris Holetz; once Russell and Holetz were gone it boiled down to a trio, with Michelle Leon on bass until she walked in 1992 and Maureen Herman took over.

Signed to Twin/Tone, they put out the To Mother EP and the debut album Spanking Machine in 1990, and the sound was already set: Barbero pounding like she's trying to break through the floor, bass lines like a slow grind, and Bjelland swinging from little-girl coo to full-throated scream inside a single bar. Fontanelle in 1992 was the one that sold, and "Bruise Violet" and "Handsome & Gretel" are every bit as bruising and funny as their titles. Nemesisters followed in 1995, with "Sweet 69" in tow.

The band went quiet in 1997 and called it off in 2001, then reunited in 2014 and toured internationally the next year, with Clara Salyer replacing Herman along the way. They usually get filed under riot grrrl, but they sounded meaner than any label.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

Songs by Babes In Toyland on radio countdowns

#	Song	Strength	Lists	Best	#1s	Peak year
1	Bruise Violet	222	3	#9	–	1992
2	Handsome & Gretel	124	2	#18	–	1991
3	Sweet 69	86	4	#93	–	1995
4	Catatonic	42	1	#30	–	1991
5	Laugh My Head Off	40	1	#31	–	1991
6	House	26	1	#38	–	1990
7	Primus	24	1	#39	–	1991
8	Ripe	18	1	#42	–	1991

Albums with charting songs

Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.

Year-end chart timeline

Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.

90 91 92 95

Every countdown appearance

Year	#	Song	Countdown
2023	395	Bruise Violet	The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s
2023	519	Sweet 69	The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s
2021	165	Bruise Violet	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s
2002	1663	Sweet 69	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)
1999	882	Sweet 69	Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1995	93	Sweet 69	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995
1992	9	Bruise Violet	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1992
1992	22	Handsome & Gretel	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1992
1991	18	Handsome & Gretel	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1991 (the 'Phantom Fifty')
1991	30	Catatonic	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1991 (the 'Phantom Fifty')
1991	31	Laugh My Head Off	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1991 (the 'Phantom Fifty')
1991	39	Primus	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1991 (the 'Phantom Fifty')
1991	42	Ripe	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1991 (the 'Phantom Fifty')
1990	38	House	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1990

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