Gossip (band)

Gossip was formed in 1999 in Olympia, Washington, by vocalist Beth Ditto, guitarist Nathan "Brace Paine" Howdeshell, and drummer Kathy Mendonça.[2] All three were originally from Searcy, Arkansas; Mendonça moved to Olympia to attend Evergreen State College and Howdeshell and Ditto followed.[2] Howdeshell and Mendonça had been in bands together in Arkansas.[3] Gossip coalesced when the three members were roommates in Olympia.[2]

In 1999, the independent record label K Records released Gossip's first recording, their debut EP The Gossip, to coincide with the band's tour with Sleater-Kinney.[2] Gossip played at the first Ladyfest in Olympia in August 2000 and was included in Time magazine's article on the festival.[4]

Their next record was the debut studio album That's Not What I Heard, released by the label Kill Rock Stars on January 23, 2001. They followed it with the EP Arkansas Heat on May 7, 2002. Movement, their second studio album, was released on May 6, 2003. In November 2003, two months after the release of their first live album Undead in NYC on September 9, drummer Kathy Mendonça left the band to pursue a career as a midwife. Established punk drummer Hannah Blilie joined to replace her. The band then dropped "The" from their name, continuing as plain "Gossip".

The first release featuring new drummer Hannah Blilie was the band's next album, Standing in the Way of Control. It was released on January 24, 2006, on Kill Rock Stars and later in 2006 on UK independent label Back Yard Recordings. The record was produced by Ryan Hadlock, owner of Bear Creek Studio, and Fugazi singer/guitarist Guy Picciotto.

Gossip at the London Barfly, May 16, 2007

The album Standing in the Way of Control has earned Gold Record Status in the UK. Gossip's first UK TV appearance was on BBC1's Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, where they performed the title track "Standing in the Way of Control".

As reported on Pitchfork in March 2007, the group signed to Music With a Twist, a subsidiary of Sony Music Label Group, concentrating on LGBT music acts.[5] During the summer of 2007, Gossip was a part of the multi-artist True Colors Tour 2007,[6] which traveled through 15 cities in the United States and Canada. Hosted by comedian Margaret Cho and headlined by Cyndi Lauper, the tour also included Debbie Harry, Erasure, Rufus Wainwright, The Dresden Dolls, The MisShapes, The Cliks, and special guests. Profits from the tour went to benefit the Human Rights Campaign.

Gossip is based in Portland, Oregon and has played with bands such as Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre, CSS, Erase Errata, Mika Miko, Panther, Comanechi, and Mates of State. They also opened for Scissor Sisters on three dates of their November 2006 tour.

On June 24, 2007, Gossip closed the Glastonbury Festival, playing the final set on the John Peel stage during which Ditto gave a tribute to the late John Peel. The band also performed the following year, on the Pyramid Stage.

Gossip launched their Live in Liverpool album in the UK and the U.S. in April 2008. The album was produced by Rick Rubin and also features a DVD of their live performance. A new studio album called Music For Men was released in June 2009. The first single from the album, "Heavy Cross", was especially successful in Germany where it was certified triple gold[7] for selling over 450,000 copies, and was mentioned as the "most successful internationally produced single" of all time in September 2010.[8] In January 2011 the single broke the German record for the longest-selling track in chart history. By January 14, 2011, it had spent 82 consecutive weeks on the German Top 100.[9]

On March 12, 2012, the band's comeback single, "Perfect World", was unveiled on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show. Their fifth studio album, A Joyful Noise, produced by Xenomania's Brian Higgins, was released in late May.[10][11] The band's music had evolved and become poppier. Andy Gill, writing in The Independent, welcomed the result,[12] whereas Pitchfork's review was more negative.[13] A second single, "Move in the Right Direction", was issued in May. During the summer, the band headlined various festivals.

In an interview with Pitchfork in February 2016, Ditto confirmed the split of Gossip. She stated that she intended to focus on her clothing line and music as a solo artist.[14]

In March 2019, Ditto announced the band's return with a show in late July 2019 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Music for Men.[15] This later expanded into a world tour.[16] The band played their final show of the tour at Rote Fabrik in Zurich, Switzerland on August 19, 2019.[17] In October 2020, Ditto shared a photo to her Instagram page of herself with Paine and Mendonça in the studio together.[18] As of April 2023, however, no recordings have been shared from this session.

• Beth Ditto – vocals, piano (1999–2016, 2019–2020)
• Nathan "Brace Paine" Howdeshell – guitar, bass, keyboards (1999–2016, 2019–2020)
• Hannah Blilie – drums (2004–2016, 2019)

• Kathy Mendonça – drums (1999–2003, 2020)

• Christopher Sutton – bass (2009–2013, 2019–2020)
• Gregg Foreman – keyboards (2012–2013, 2019–2020)