Honey Bane

Honey Bane (born Donna Tracy Boylan 4 November 1963, London) is the stage name of the British singer and actress who is possibly best recalled for her 1981 UK Top 30 single “Turn Me On Turn Me Off”.

Honey Bane began her musical career at the age of 14 in 1978 when she formed the punk rock band the Fatal Microbes. The band released a split 12” record with anarcho-punk band Poison Girls the same year. The first single, “Violence Grows” garnered some press attention and was given positive reviews by the British music paper Sounds.

After the 1979 breakup of the Fatal Microbes, and a stint in a juvenile detention facility that garnered more press attention, Honey Bane began a collaboration with the Essex-based anarcho-punk activist band Crass while she was on the run from the Social Services after serving a sentence at the St. Charles Youth Treatment Centre in Essex. Lending lead vocals and backed by the band under the name Donna and The Kebabs, Crass released the EP “You Can be You” in 1980. That same year, Honey Bane sang vocals for the post-punk band Killing Joke on a song entitled “What’s the Matter” during a February 1980 gig at London’s Venue club. The recording was later released as an inclusion on an album entitled “Killing Joke - Live At The Venue LP”.

In 1980, she met Sham 69 vocalist Jimmy Pursey who began to manage her musical career. That year she was signed to EMI/Zonophone records for a five year contract.