Hall of Fame Inductee: Kittie

The Jack Richardson Music Awards steering committee is proud to induct one of London’s most successful and hardest-working bands, Kittie, into the London music hall of fame in 2010. The JRMA steering committee oversees inductions into the hall at the JRMA annual gala and continues to advocate for a London music hall of fame, hoping to see it one day move from dream to reality.

Kittie was founded in London in 1996 by two sisters — drummer Mercedes and singer-guitarist Morgan Lander — as an all-female metal band. Kittie was soon playing clubs in London. The sisters were just 15 and 17 respectively when Kittie’s first album, “Spit,” was released on Artemis records.

Kittie rose to success in 1999 when the track “Brackish” from “Spit” became a hit single. “Spit” was quickly Certified Gold and Kittie has sold more than 1.25 million albums worldwide.

Kittie was nominated for a Juno as best new artist in 2000. Kittie has toured extensively, playing with such metal notables as Pantera and Slipknot. They have co-headlined the second stage at Ozzfest, performed on the Conan O’Brien show and hosted MTV’s Headbangers Ball.

Between October and November of 2008, Kittie embarked on its first European tour in six years. The “Kittie Does Europe” tour included dates in the Netherlands, England, Scotland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Russia. Kittie toured Europe again in the winter of 2010.

Kittie released its fifth studio album “In the Black” in September, 2009. The sisters launched their own clothing line called Poisoned Black Clothing and a management company called X of Infamy. Kittie has been back on the road in North America earlier this year with God Forbid and then plays throughout the U.S. with Insane Clown Posse in May and June.

Kittie’s members are the co-founding Lander sisters who have been joined by Tara McLeod on guitar and Ivy Vujic on bass in recent years. All four young women are part of the class of 2010, along with Amabile Choirs, as London music hall of fame inductees.