Rockbitch was originally formed as Red Abyss by bassist Amanda, who drew other band members from the matriarchal, polygamous pagan community of which she was the founder. Musically, Red Abyss drew on jazz, funk and rock influences dominated by singer Julie's Janis Joplin-influenced vocals. In time, its music took on harder punk and metal edginess. Red Abyss switched to the Rockbitch name when the lineup changed ; however, it nearly folded because audiences weren't responding. The band blamed male-dominated apathy.
At its intended last gig (at a biker festival),the decision to incorporate the orgiastic, pagan sex from its home life into the stage act gave birth to Rockbitch. The band toured Germany, France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, the UK, (but were banned in Scotland) , Italy, Spain, Slovenia and Estonia and did a promotional tour that involved Canada (but were eventually also banned without having played) , while instituting its new theme of liberation through sexual freedom.
Rockbitch became infamous not only for performing live sex acts, but also doing so with audience members via "The Golden Condom". At a point during its show, a condom was tossed to the crowd and whomever caught it (male or female) was taken backstage for sexual relations with one or more band members. This led to critics saying they tried to sell bad music through sex; however, fellow musicians from disciplines as varied as jazz (bassist Jonas Hellborg) and funk/rock (Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers) have voiced their appreciation.
Rockbitch toured widely from approximately 1998 until 2002, meeting increasing resistance from authorities, particularly English town councils who often banned its concerts. Many of the Rockbitch crowds consisted of drunken lads seeking nudity, not typially interested in any "message"; however, Rockbitch also attracted followers that seemingly understood the band's message and they consisted mainly of women.
It was local authorities, not the public itself, who caused a struggle. Babe stated in the program "Anna in Wonderland" : "Rockbitch had no problem with lads out for seeing breasts, as they were a component of the audience, there were always others seeing the deeper meaning and both groups had a good time. They generally made up for a great combined atmosphere".
Outside the UK (and censorship problems it also encountered in some states of Germany) March 2008 audiences were sympathetic, particularly in Holland, where they drew vast crowds of men and women from all walks of life.
The Rockbitch lineup became entirely female . Original lead guitarist The Beast retired, taking over management/production. Babe moved into lead guitar duties (from rhythm) while Luci, previously a "Stage Slut" (one of the nude dancers and sexual band/crowd liaisons) instead strapped on a rhythm guitar.
Members lent their voices to female and sexual issues, were sponsors of the Sex Maniacs Ball (now Night of the Senses) founded by Tuppy Owens, openly voiced their admiration for sexual politics icons such as Annie Sprinkle and Betty Dodson, and generally put in a good word for open female sexuality as a healthy part of human nature. Via the Rockbitch website, on which members could also view their community life, the band had contact with straight/bi/lesbian women reaching as far as Borneo, Chile, Japan, India and the US, all of whom expressed a sense of empowerment and justification by the stated beliefs of Rockbitch.After the release of its first studio album, "Motor Driven Bimbo", which received critical acclaim in many countries (OOR Magazine in The Netherlands, the UK, and Japan), Rockbitch was dropped by its record company for refusing to remove sex and nudity from its stage act. A second, goth-influenced album called "Psychic Attack", which featured the song "I Wish I Were" written by American poetess Erzsebet Beck, was never released. Following continued pressure about its sexually driven themes and performances, Rockbitch ceased performing in 2002 and was the subject of a 30-minute documentary on BBC Choice the same year [Anna in Wonderland ] and an hour-long documentary broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK in 2003. [This is Rockbitch] In 2005, the entire latter-day Rockbitch lineup emerged under the name MT-TV. This was a music-only project—no sex or nudity of the Rockbitch days—but it incorporated stage theatrics. After a UK tour in summer 2005, they performed throughout the United States.
