Miranda Sex Garden
Miranda Sex Garden is a band that originates from London, England. Their music is extremely dark and intense and they have had complications with multiple band members as people continued to leave and join the group. Katharine Blake founded the group in 1991 and she was the only member to stay with it through its inception, its breakup and its reunion that enabled Miranda Sex Garden to release a new album, Carnival of Souls that was released in 2000.
When Katharine Blake formed the band in 1991, it was a group of three girls who sang music that was a tribute to the music of the Renaissance and Baroque eras. The girls, Katharine, Jocelyn West, and Kelly McCusker would stand on Portobello Road and perform their songs. This is where they were discovered and signed by Mute Records. The album was completely a cappella and Danny Rampling remixed it. Katharine hated the album from the beginning and still is said to still not be able to listen to it although this was the home of their first hit single, Gush Forth My Tears.
Their second album was a mini album called Iris. Although it was the second album released under the band name Miranda Sex Garden, the group had changed almost entirely. Ben Golomstock joined playing guitar and Trevor Sharpe joined to play the drums. Jocelyn and Kelly has also left to be replaced by Donna McKevitt and Hepzibah Sessa. Iris featured another hit single for the band in a song called Play. They followed this mini album with Suspiria and it was this album that saw the band moving away from its original classic sound to something that sounded more contemporary and yet still held a beautiful and unique sound.
It was during this time that the group began to tour and also began to play at London S&M clubs, such as The Torture Chamber. It was here that they began playing around with everything erotic and they were known as members that enjoyed fetishes and partying. Miranda Sex Garden often provided the soundtrack for these parties as they performed onstage.
In 1994 they ensured that the spotlight would remain on them by performing in the window of Tower Records for their release of the album Fairytales of Slavery. They played the part of tourists that was meant to be in keeping of the single Peepshow which had also just been released. Fans didn’t understand the connection. Public support became even less notable when they were playing a gig with Depeche Mode that same year and fans threw random objects at them.
Shortly after in 1995, the band left Mute Records and in effect, disbanded and the members went their own way. Katharine began performing in the Waikiki Lounge. She would perform Diamonds Are Forever while wearing a very silvery, glittery outfit and then rip it off to reveal her naked body that was painted in gold as she would move on to Goldfinger. She also founded the group Mediaeval Babes in 1996.
Katharine then met a man who remains very mysterious but with him, she formed SugarDaddy Records. She quickly brought Miranda Sex Garden together again to record their album Carnival of Souls, which was released in 2000 and is their latest album. The album was recording in a studio that was situated in the middle of a graveyard in Norwich.