Led by singer Katie Jane Garside and guitarist Crispin Grey (guitars), they debuted with the Love Sick Pleasure E.P. featuring the song 'Love Your Money', which was a surprise hit when Radio 1 latched onto it's frenetic energy and sarcastic lyric. A chaotic appearance on Channel 4's 'The Word' brought further attention, and the media became interested in Garside's image, which consisted of wearing torn dresses and seeming perpetually unwashed.
The success of their first release encouraged larger independent label One Little Indian to sign them, but by the time another single and a debut album had been released, the novelty of their singers image as child-victim was old news. Sales for both releases were disappointing, despite the album displaying a rich texture of buzzsaw guitars, pulsating basslines and unhinged vocal mannerisms.
Shortly after, Garside left, amid rumours at the time that she suffered a nervous breakdown and shaved off all of her hair (The pressures of fame would be a less dramatic, and probably more accurate description).
The band tried to continue without her, but made little headway with their main attention grabber absent from the line-up. The final release under the Daisy Chainsaw moniker saw Grey take on lead vocals, and following their official demise, he periodically emergered under other names such as Dizzy Q Viper and Vapid Dolly.
Grey and Garside would later resurface together in the late 90's with gothic rock 'n' rollers Queen Adreena, performing a darker, grown-up version of the formula they had introduced with Daisy Chainsaw. Helped no doubt by the breakthrough of aggressive female fronted bands such as Hole, they are finally being taken seriously and finding a more stable, albeit less commercial degree of success.
IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOU'LL LIKE DAISY CHAINSAW: Queen Adreena, Hole, My Ruin, The Pixies, The Slits, P.J. Harvey, Babes In Toyland, Bikini Kill, Iggy & the Stooges.