Josephine Wiggs came to prominence as the bassist for the British goth band
Perfect Disaster in the late '80s. During 1990, she became part of
the Breeders, an alternative-rock supergroup led by
Kim Deal of
the Pixies and Tanya Donnelly of
Throwing Muses.
The Breeders became a full-time group in 1992, once
the Pixies disbanded. Donnelly left the group shortly afterward, leaving
Deal in control of the band.
The Breeders' second album, 1993's
Last Splash, became an unexpected hit, going gold and landing the band a slot on the 1994 Lollapalooza. During the tour, the group released the Head to Toe EP, which marked the first time a
Wiggs composition was featured on a
Breeders records; she had previously sung the group's cover of
Aerosmith's "Lord of the Thighs" on the "Cannonball" B-side.
The Breeders went on hiatus following Lollapalooza.
During the Lollapalooza tour, she began a romantic relationship with
Luscious Jackson's drummer
Kate Schellenbach, and the pair began the short-lived band
Ladies Who Lunch. In 1996,
Wiggs provided bass for the
Luscious Jackson side-project
the Kostars before splitting up with
Schellenbach. During the summer of 1996, she moved back to England, where she formed
the Josephine Wiggs Experience with drummer
John Mattock, a member of
Spiritualized and
Spaceman 3, releasing her first solo album,
Bon Bon Life, at the end of the year.
–
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi