Born on 10 June: Kim Deal (Pixies), a beautiful kind of dissonance

The journey of the Dayton (Ohio) native, born in 1961, has always been fascinating but somewhat chaotic.

Together with her twin sister Kelley, to whom she has always been very close, Kimberley Ann (her full first name) was endlessly passionate about hard rock bands like AC/DC and Led Zeppelin when they were both kids. Always a little rebellious towards authority, she nevertheless joined the cheerleading squad at school (strangely called "pom-pom girls" in French!) and got pretty good grades. "We were basically part of the popular girls, but for my sister and me, Dayton felt like living in the Soviet Union. We were bored out of our minds!" Kim Deal would later say, remembering her younger years. As teenagers, their interest quickly shifted to artists like Siouxsie & The Banshees or Elvis Costello, whose (pirated, of course) cassettes they received from an older friend. Yet, their very first band—naturally formed with her twin—leaned more towards folk rock. Straightaway, Kim found it easier to write songs herself rather than clumsily copy the choruses of other artists. "I wrote a few hundred at the time. Musically, they sort of held together, but the lyrics were very sentimental!"

The idea of taking a shot at music professionally was always there. In January 1986, after replying to a small anonymous advert from a band looking for a bassist "who liked both Husker Dü and Peter, Paul & Mary" (talk about a wide range), she joined what were then the very early Pixies. "I was the only one who answered, and they didn’t know my main instrument was guitar!"

For the band’s first album "Come On Pilgrim" (1987), she decided to use the pseudonym Mrs John Murphy in a tongue-in-cheek (and feminist) jab at women who wanted to be known only by their husband’s name.

Despite the dominant presence of Black Francis, the authoritative Pixies singer, Kim still managed a few wins. She co-wrote and sang "Gigantic", the only single off "Surfer Rosa" (1988). She tried to repeat the feat later on, but increasingly obvious tensions between the two strong personalities, coupled with the bassist’s fondness for a drink, led to the band’s first split after the rather mediocre "Trompe le monde" (1991). It would take twenty-three years for the Pixies to return to the studio with "Indie Cindy" (2014), but Kim Deal, who had started playing on stage with them again, had already left for good by then.

In truth, she never put all her eggs in one basket. She initially saw The Breeders as a side project with her mate Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses). Their second album, "Last Splash" (1993)—before Tanya left the project—brought them a nearly unexpected hit with "Cannonball". Joined by her sister, Kim has carried on with the Breeders ever since, putting out no fewer than five studio albums, sometimes with strong folk influences as in "Drivin’ On 9", or surf vibes like "Do You Love Me Now?"

Although she had previously released just a handful of singles under her own name (some, like the stunning "Are You Mine?", have found a new lease on life), Kim Deal made the decision in 2024 to release "Nobody Loves You", her first full solo album. Her sister Kelley is, of course, present alongside her, as is Jack Lawrence from Raconteurs and some members of Teenage Fan Club.

A few upcoming concerts:

10 June: De Roma - Antwerp (Belgium)

11 June: Trianon - Paris (France)

16 June: Vicar Street - Dublin (Ireland)

20 June: Roundhouse - London (England)

21 June: Teater - Rotterdam (Netherlands)

Photo: Kim Deal with The Dixies at the Torhout Festival (Belgium) on 8 July 1989