Formation, Taxidermy: 1998–2001 Queenadreena formed in 1998 after guitarist
Crispin Gray reunited with vocalist
KatieJane Garside, with whom he had collaborated in 1989 when they formed the band
Daisy Chainsaw. Garside left Daisy Chainsaw after completing two years with the band, and went into seclusion in the
Lake District, where she lived in the historic
Rigg Beck, a retreat for artists and bohemians. There, Garside began writing and recording her own material. Reflecting on leaving the music industry, Garside commented: "If I hadn't left, it would have killed me... Because I didn't write the songs [in Daisy Chainsaw] I could never give enough, never go far enough. I couldn't bleed in words, I couldn't bleed in lyrics—I could only bleed in performance, and that meant attacking [myself], literally." Returning to London in 1998, Garside moved to
Belsize Park, where Gray had also been living, and the two reconnected to form the group. Gray and Garside were joined by drummer Billy Freedom and bassist Orson Wajih and released their debut single, "X-ing Off the Days" / "Heavenly Surrender" on 25 October 1999. To support the record, the band toured nationally supporting
Nine Inch Nails, After its release, the band's name stylized as Queenadreena, and subsequent releases reflect this.
Label shifts, The Butcher and the Butterfly: 2002–2006 Billy Freedom was replaced in 2002 by drummer
Pete Howard, formerly of
The Clash. The band signed with
Rough Trade for their second album, 2002's
Drink Me. The record spawned the single "
Pretty Like Drugs," which garnered the band attention from rock press. The album was well received by such publications as
Drowned in Sound, who gave it a 7/10 rating, writing: "KatieJane Garside is the kind of woman who makes ordinarily rational grown guys go weak at the knees. "Pretty Like Drugs" will show you why. As her cutesy lost girl
Tori Amos/Björk-isms erupt into fearsome hollers that would have piss dribbling down
Courtney Love's surgically enhanced thighs, it'll all make sense." The French publication
Les inrockuptibles described the record as "Gothic, dark, and threatening." Rough Trade dropped the group shortly after the release of
Drink Me, and Wajih left the band while they embarked on a tour supporting
Garbage. Janie Jarvis, formerly of
Radiator, joined the band as a temporary bassist for their tour, before former Daisy Chainsaw bassist Richard Adams joined the group. Their final studio album
Djin was re-released in a limited edition, gatefold double neon pink vinyl set by Cadiz Entertainment on 16 April 2021. The reissue included six additional new demo tracks and a previously unheard song "Heaven Doesn't Wait", co-written and recorded with the late
Andy Gill from
Gang of Four. Gray was interviewed at length in May 2021 about the formation and history of Queenadreena, as well as his other bands. In 2026, Gray and Garside released a remix of the album
Ride a Cock Horse with the overall sound completely rebuilt. The album was made available exclusively as a digital download on their Bandcamp. ==Members==