Fluffy

Fluffy was an English punk rock band from London, active between 1994 and 1998. The band's most prominent line-up consisted of singer and guitarist Amanda Rootes, guitarist Bridget Jones, bassist Helen Storer, and drummer Angie Adams. The band recorded several singles, an EP, and a studio album, Black Eye, in 1996. History The band formed in 1994 after classmates Amanda Rootes and Angie Adams were inspired by a jazz-blues singer in one of Old Compton Street's gay cafes. They were attending college in London at the time, studying art and design. Guitarist Bridgette Jones did her A levels before joining and the band began rehearsing in Rootes' living room. Fluffy's original bassist was Pandora Ormsby-Gore, but she left the band to become an actress, changing her name to Pandora Colin. Shortly afterwards, Helen Storer left Kingston University to join and the band began recording. Fluffy's first singles "Hypersonic" and "Husband" (both produced by Mal Campbell and Tony Wilson from Freaks of Desire) were released in 1995. The band frequently played shows in their early days at underground fetish balls and parties, such as at Torture Garden and Submission, and gained attention for their raucous shows, performing barefoot in slip dresses. "Young girls shouldn't be afraid to look feminine…" Rootes told Select. "So many girls are afraid to be girls. Apart from Courtney Love, who's really feminine and uses her sexuality and is a strong woman. I don't think women should dress like boys. That's what's great about PJ Harvey. She was boyish and now she's gone really glam. She looks amazing and she's become an icon: a real woman." They were signed by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics to the publishing side of his label, Anxious Records. Stewart threw a party for the band's first single, "Hypersonic". Although Fluffy were initially signed to Parkway Records (owned by press agents Phill Savidge and John Best of Savidge and Best), it was not until A&R man Tom Zutaut signed them to a two-album deal with The Enclave/Hut/Virgin that Fluffy gained wider notoriety. The band appeared on the NME'''s yearly bratbus tour in 1996, along with The Bluetones, The Cardigans, and Heavy Stereo. The band's debut album Black Eye was released in 1996, and the band supported the Foo Fighters on tour. They were the opening act for the Sex Pistols reunion tour of Japan, as well as the Sex Pistols' first reunion show at Finsbury Park.