Siouxsie and the Banshees | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Janet and the Icebergs |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1976–1996, 2002 |
| Labels | |
| Spinoffs | |
| Past members | |
| Website | siouxsieandthebanshees.co.uk |
Siouxsie and the Banshees (/ˈsuziændðəˈbænʃiz/SU-zi-and-the-BAN-shees) were aBritish rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalistSiouxsie Sioux and bass guitaristSteven Severin.Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later acts.The Times called the group "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".[1]
Initially associated with thepunk scene, the band – including guitaristJohn McKay and drummerKenny Morris – rapidly evolved to create "a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation".[1] Their debut albumThe Scream was released to widespread critical acclaim in 1978. Following membership changes, including the addition of guitaristJohn McGeoch and drummerBudgie, they changed their musical direction and became one of the most successfulalternative pop groups of the 1980s.[2] Their third albumKaleidoscope (1980) peaked at number 5 on theUK Albums Chart. WithJuju (1981) which also reached the top 10, they became an influence on the emerginggothic scene.
In 1988, the band made a breakthrough in North America with the multifaceted albumPeepshow, which received critical praise. With substantial support fromalternative rock radio stations,[3] they achieved a mainstream hit in the US in 1991 with the pop single "Kiss Them for Me".
During their career, Siouxsie and the Banshees released 11 studio albums and 30 singles. The band experienced several line-up changes, with Siouxsie and Severin being the only constant members. They disbanded in 1996, with Siouxsie and Budgie continuing to record music asthe Creatures, a second band they had formed in the early 1980s. In 2004, Siouxsie began a solo career.
Siouxsie Sioux andSteven Severin met at aRoxy Music concert in September 1975, at a time whenglam rock had faded and there was nothing new coming through with which they could identify.[4] From February 1976, Siouxsie, Severin and some friends began to follow an unsigned band, theSex Pistols.[5] JournalistCaroline Coon dubbed them the "Bromley Contingent", as most of them came from theBromley area of south-east London, a label Severin came to despise. "There was no such thing, it was just a bunch of people drawn together by the way they felt and they looked".[5] They were all inspired by the Sex Pistols and their uncompromising attitude.[6] When they learned that one of the bands scheduled to play the100 Club Punk Festival, organised by Sex Pistols managerMalcolm McLaren, was pulling out from the bill at the last minute, Siouxsie suggested that she and Severin play, even though they had no band name or additional members.[7] Two days later, the pair appeared at the festival held in London on 20 September 1976. With two borrowed musicians at their side,Marco Pirroni on guitar andSid Vicious on drums, their set consisted of a 20-minute improvisation based on "The Lord's Prayer".[8]
The band intended to split up after the gig, but they were asked to play again. Over the next few months, Siouxsie and Severin recruited drummerKenny Morris and guitarist Peter Fenton.[9] After playing several gigs in early 1977, they realised that Fenton did not fit in because he was "a real rock guitarist".John McKay took his place in July.[10] Their first live appearance on television took place in November onGranada Television (based inManchester), onTony Wilson's TV showSo It Goes. In that month they also recorded their firstJohn Peel session for BBC radio, in which they premiered a new song, "Metal Postcard"; this introduced a "motorik austerity" in the drum patterns,[11] along with "space in the sound" and "serrated guitars".[12] The band described their music as "cold, machine-like and passionate at the same time". When they appeared on the cover ofSounds magazine,Vivien Goldman wrote: "they sound like a 21st century industrial plant".[13]
The band sold out venues in London in early 1978,[14] but still had problems getting the right recording contract that could give them "complete artistic control".[15]Polydor offered this guarantee and signed them in June. Their first single, "Hong Kong Garden", featuring axylophone motif, reached the top 10 in the UK shortly after. AnNME review hailed it as "a bright, vivid narrative, something like snapshots from the window of a speeding Japanese train, power charged by the most original, intoxicating guitar playing I heard in a long, long time".[16]
The band released their debut album,The Scream, in November 1978.Nick Kent ofNME said of the record: "The band sounds like some unique hybrid ofthe Velvet Underground mated with much of the ingenuity ofTago Mago-eraCan, if any parallel can be drawn". At the end of the article, he added this remark: "Certainly, the traditional three-piece sound has never been used in a more unorthodox fashion with such stunning results".[17]
The Banshees' second album,Join Hands, was released in 1979. InMelody Maker,Jon Savage described "Poppy Day" as "a short, powerful evocation of the Great War graveyards",[18] andRecord Mirror described the whole record as a dangerous work that "should be heard".[19] The Banshees embarked on a major tour to promote the album. A few dates into the tour in September, Morris and McKay left an in-store signing after an argument and quit the band.[20] In need of replacements to fulfil tour dates, the Banshees' manager called drummerBudgie, formerly withthe Slits, and asked him to audition. Budgie was hired, but Siouxsie and Severin had no success auditioning guitarists.[21]Robert Smith ofthe Cure offered his services in case they could not find a guitarist (his group were already the support band on the tour); having already seen too many "rock virtuosos", the band accepted his assistance.[22] The tour resumed in September; after the last concert, Smith returned to the Cure.[23]
Budgie became a permanent member, and the band entered the studios to record the single "Happy House" with guitaristJohn McGeoch, then still a member ofMagazine. Their third album,Kaleidoscope, released in 1980, saw the Banshees exploring new musical territories with the use of other instruments like synthesizers, sitars and drum machines. The group initially had a concept of making each song sound completely different, without regard to whether or not the material could be performed live.[24]Melody Maker described the result as "a kaleidoscope of sound and imagery, new forms, and content, flashing before our eyes".[25]Kaleidoscope was a commercial success, peaking at number 5 on the UK albums chart. This line-up, featuring McGeoch on guitar, toured the United States for the first time in support of the album in November 1980.[26]
ForJuju (1981), the band took a different approach and practised the songs in concert first before recording them.[27]Juju, according to Severin, became an unintentional concept album that "drew on darker elements".Sounds hailed it as "intriguing, intense, brooding and powerfully atmospheric".[28] The album later peaked at number 7 on the UK albums chart and became one of their biggest sellers.[29] McGeoch's guitar contributions onJuju were later praised byJohnny Marr ofthe Smiths.[30][31]
During the 1981 accompanying tour, Siouxsie and Budgie became a couple.[32] At the same time, they also began a drum-and-voice duo calledthe Creatures, releasing their firstEP,Wild Things.
The Banshees followed in 1982 with thepsychedelicA Kiss in the Dreamhouse.[33] The record, featuring strings on several numbers, was an intentional contrast to their previous work, with Severin later describing it as a "sexy album".[34] The British press greeted it enthusiastically.[35][36]Richard Cook finished hisNME review with this sentence: "I promise...this music will take your breath away".[37] At that time, McGeoch was struggling with alcohol problems, and was hospitalised on his return to a promotional trip fromMadrid. The band fired him shortly thereafter.[38] Severin asked Robert Smith to take over guitarist duties again; Smith accepted and rejoined the group in November 1982.[39]
During 1983, the band members worked on several side projects; Siouxsie and Budgie composed the first Creatures album,Feast, while Severin and Smith recorded asthe Glove. Smith then insisted on documenting his time with the Banshees, so the group released acover version ofthe Beatles' "Dear Prudence" in September 1983. It became their biggest UK hit, reaching number 3 on theSingles Chart.[40] They also released a live double album and video,Nocturne, and completed their sixth studio album,Hyæna.[41] Shortly before its release in May 1984, Smith left the group, citing health issues due to an overloaded schedule, being in two bands at once.[42]
With ex-Clock DVA guitaristJohn Valentine Carruthers replacing Smith, the Banshees then reworked four numbers from their repertoire, augmented by a string section, forThe Thorn EP.NME praised the project: "The power of a classical orchestra is the perfect foil for the band's grindingly insistent sounds".[43] The new Banshees line-up spent much of 1985 working on a new record,Tinderbox. The group finished the song "Cities in Dust" before the album, so they rushed its release as a single prior to their longest tour of the UK.[44]Tinderbox was released in April 1986.Sounds magazine said: "Tinderbox is a refreshing slant on the Banshees' disturbing perspective and restores their vivid shades to pop's pale palette".[45] Due to the length of time spent working onTinderbox, the group desired spontaneity and decided to record an album of cover songs,Through the Looking Glass, in 1987.[46]Mojo magazine later praised their version of "Strange Fruit".[47][48] After the album's release, the band realised Carruthers was no longer fitting in and decided to work on new material as a trio.[49]
Following a lengthy break, the band recruited multi-instrumentalistMartin McCarrick and guitaristJon Klein. The quintet recordedPeepshow in 1988, with non-traditional rock instrumentation including cello andaccordion.Q magazine praised the album in its 5-star review: "Peepshow takes place in some distorted fairground of the mind where weird and wonderful shapes loom".[50] The first single, "Peek-a-Boo", was seen by critics as a "brave move" with horns and dance elements.[51]Sounds wrote: "The snare gets slapped, Siouxsie's voice meanders all around your head and it all comes magically together".[51] "Peek-a-Boo" was their first real breakthrough in the United States.[52] After the tour, the band decided to take a break, with Siouxsie and Budgie recording as the Creatures and releasing their most critically acclaimed album,[53]Boomerang, while Severin and McCarrick worked on material together.[54]
In 1991, Siouxsie and the Banshees returned with the single "Kiss Them for Me", mixing strings over a dance rhythm laced withexotica. The group collaborated with the then unknown Indiantabla playerTalvin Singh, who also sang during the bridge. The single received glowing reviews[55] and later peaked at number 23 on theBillboard Hot 100, allowing them to reach a new audience.[52] The albumSuperstition followed shortly afterwards, and the group toured the US as second headliners of the inauguralLollapalooza tour. The following year, the Banshees were asked to compose "Face to Face" as a single for the filmBatman Returns, at directorTim Burton's request.[56]
In 1993, the Banshees recorded new songs based on string arrangements, and then played them in festivals abroad. On their return home, they hired former Velvet Underground memberJohn Cale to produce the rest of the record.[57] Released in 1995,The Rapture was described byMelody Maker as "a fascinating, transcontinental journey through danger and exotica".[58] A few weeks after its release, Polydor dropped the band from its roster[59] and Klein was replaced on the band's last tour in 1995 by ex-Psychedelic Furs guitaristKnox Chandler. In April 1996, the Banshees disbanded after 20 years of working together.[60] Siouxsie and Budgie announced that they would carry on recording as the Creatures. In 1999, they released the albumAnima Animus.[61]
In 2002,Universal Music kicked off the band'sremastered back catalogue by releasingThe Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees. In April, Siouxsie, Severin, Budgie and Chandler reunited briefly for the Seven Year Itch tour, which spawnedThe Seven Year Itch live album and DVD. The day after their last concert in Tokyo, Japan, Siouxsie and Budgie stayed in town on their own and entered a recording studio as the Creatures. Their fourth and final studio album,Hái!, came out in 2003.[34]
On 4 March 2004, McGeoch died in his sleep after an epileptic seizure, at the age of 48.[62] Siouxsie and Budgie had talked about inviting him to guest with them on stage, before hearing the news.[63]
In November of the same year,Downside Up, abox set that collected all of the Banshees' B-sides andThe Thorn EP, was released.The Times wrote in its review: "here is a group that never filled B-sides with inferior, throwaway tracks. Rather they saw them as an outlet for some of their most radical and challenging work".[64]
In 2006, the band's first four records were remastered and compiled with previously unreleased bonus tracks. Several recordings made for the John Peel radio show from 1978 to 1986 were also compiled on the CDVoices on the Air: The Peel Sessions.AllMusic described the first session as "a fiery statement of intent" and qualified the other performances as "excellent".[65] Eleven years after the split of the Banshees, Siouxsie released her debut solo albumMantaray in 2007.[66] The second batch of the remasters, concerning the band's 1982–1986 era, was issued in April 2009. It included four other reissues (includingA Kiss in the Dreamhouse from 1982).[35][37] TheAt the BBC box set, containing a DVD with all of the band's UK live television performances and three CDs with in-concert recordings, was also released in June of the same year.
In April 2014, their debut single "Hong Kong Garden" was reissued on double7-inch vinyl. It was announced that this would be part of a three-year plan with Universal. In October, their last four studio albums (1987'sThrough the Looking Glass, 1988'sPeepshow, 1991'sSuperstition and 1995'sThe Rapture) were reissued on CD in remastered versions with bonus tracks.[67] Siouxsie and Severin curated a compilation CD calledIt's a Wonderfull Life for the monthly magazineMojo, issued in September with Siouxsie on the front cover.[68] On this CD, the pair honoured several composers of film and classical music that had inspired them.[69]
In 2015, after releasing another compilation calledSpellbound: The Collection, which included a selection of singles, album tracks and B-sides such as "Tattoo", the band reissued 1979'sJoin Hands on vinyl forRecord Store Day, with different cover artwork.[70]
A vinyl reissue series on Polydor of all of the band's albums, remastered from the original ¼" tapes in 2018 by Miles Showell and cut at half speed atAbbey Road Studios, began in August 2018. The eleven studio albums were reissued on black vinyl.[71]
A 10 track compilation titledAll Souls was released in 2022. The album's track list was curated by Siouxsie and features "Spellbound" (licensed forseason four of seriesStranger Things), "Fireworks", "Peek-a-Boo", plus album tracks and rarities.[72] It was released on black vinyl,[73] and orange vinyl.[74] In 2023The Rapture was reissued on double colored vinyl.[75] Siouxsie's solo albumMantaray was also remastered and reissued on vinyl and CD.[76]
In October 2024Through the Looking Glass including "The Passenger", was reissued on crystal clear vinyl with new artwork featuring a mirror effect sleeve.[77]
In 2025,All Souls was released on CD in a limited edition with anobi strip. It was issued in the form of Japanese mini-LP replica in cardboard sleeve.[78] That same year John Mckay released his debut solo albumSixes and Sevens on vinyl and CD:[79] the album includes songs taped between 1980 and 1989. Some of the tracks produced in 1980 with Kenny Morris on drums gave a glimpse of the direction the Banshees would have taken had McKay stayed in the band.[80] Another CDAdditions included a recording of "People Phobia" which was the very first version of "Hong Kong Garden" presented by McKay to the band before they started to work on it.[81] After going on tour in the UK in October, McKay with his band John McKay's Reactor announced a new date. In 2026 they will play Banshees Mk 1 material inEdinburgh, Scotland on Saturday 11 July.[82]
Siouxsie and the Banshees are consideredpost-punk pioneers.[83] They have been described as developing "a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation".[1]The Times wrote that "The Banshees stand proudly [... as] one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".[1] With some of their darkest material, the band also helped spawn thegothic scene.[84] The band is also considered anew wave act.[85]
They were also one of the firstalternative bands; music historian Peter Buckley pointed out that they were at "the very front of the alternative-rock scene".[86] In 1988, "Peek-a-Boo" was the first track to top the USModern Rock chart afterBillboard launched this chart in the first week of September to list the most played songs onalternative andcollege radio stations.[87]Simon Goddard wrote that the "Banshees – Mk II would become one of the biggest alternative pop groups of the 1980s".[2]Spin described them as "alternative rockers" in 1991 when referring to their presence in the top 40 chart.[88] Noting the band's participation in the first Lollapalooza festival, journalist Jim Gerr saw them as one of the "elements of the alternative rock community".[89]Mojo retrospectively presented them as one of "alternative rock's iconic groups".[90]
When commenting on the lyrics of the first two Banshees albums, Severin said that they were about "madness, and childhood, and escaping suburbia, which are themes that hadn't been dealt with at all in rock music or pop music before".[91]
Siouxsie and the Banshees' earliest influences included an interest for a "glamorousart rock" –David Bowie and Roxy Music – while also "incorporating a love for Can,Kraftwerk andNeu!".[92]
Siouxsie and the Banshees impacted many genres including post-punk, new wave,synth pop, gothic rock,alternative music,shoegaze andtrip hop, influencing a wide range of musicians includingJoy Division,the Cure,the Smiths,Depeche Mode,PJ Harvey,Radiohead,Jeff Buckley,Tricky andLCD Soundsystem.
Joy Division'sPeter Hook, who saw the group in concert in Manchester in 1977,[93] said: "Siouxsie and the Banshees were one of our big influences ... The Banshees first LP was one of my favourite ever records, the way the guitarist and the drummer played was a really unusual way of playing".[94] Joy Division drummerStephen Morris was influenced by the Banshees Mk1 from their 1977's John Peel session because their "first drummer Kenny Morris played mostly toms" and "the sound of cymbals was forbidden". He added, "The Banshees had that ... foreboding sound, sketching out the future from the dark of the past".[95] Joy Division producerMartin Hannett saw a difference between the Banshees' first main line-up and the other bands of 1977: "Any harmonies you got were stark, to say the least, except for the odd exception, like Siouxsie. They were interesting".[96] The Cure's leader, Robert Smith, declared in 2003: "Siouxsie and the Banshees andWire were the two bands I really admired. They meant something."[97] He also pinpointed what the 1979Join Hands tour brought him musically. "On stage that first night with the Banshees, I was blown away by how powerful I felt playing that kind of music. It was so different to what we were doing with the Cure. Before that, I'd wanted us to be like the Buzzcocks orElvis Costello, the punk Beatles. Being a Banshee really changed my attitude to what I was doing".[98]Killing Joke cited the band in their influences: guitaristGeordie Walker praised "the Banshees onThe Scream" for bringing "chord structures that I found very refreshing".[99]
The two songwriters of the Smiths cited them; singerMorrissey said that "Siouxsie and the Banshees were excellent", and that "they were one of the great groups of the late 1970s, early 1980s".[100] He also said in 1994: "If you study modern groups, those who gain press coverage and chart action, none of them are as good as Siouxsie and the Banshees at full pelt. That's not dusty nostalgia, that's fact".[101] When asked "who do you regret not going to see live", guitarist Johnny Marr replied "Siouxsie and the Banshees mk 1. But mk 2 were even better".[102] Marr mentioned his liking for John McGeoch and his contribution to the single "Spellbound". Marr qualified it as "clever" with a "really good picky thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll".[103] Smiths' historian Goddard wrote that Marr "praise[d] the McGeoch-era Banshees as a significant inspiration".[2]U2 cited Siouxsie and the Banshees as a major influence[104] and selected "Christine" for aMojo compilation.[105]The Edge was the presenter of an award given to Siouxsie at theMojo ceremony in 2005.[106][107] In December 1981,Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode named the Banshees as one of his three favourite bands, along withSparks and Roxy Music.[108] Gahan later hailed the single "Candyman" at its release, saying, "She always sounds exciting. She sings with a lot of sex – that's what I like. This is a great Banshees record ..., I like their sound. I used to see them quite a lot when I was younger."[109] Commenting on the original Banshees line-up and how they were different from other groups, Gahan said: "Siouxsie And The Banshees, whom I adored, sang much more abstract, artistic about frustration. Colder and darker".[110]Jim Reid ofthe Jesus and Mary Chain selected "Jigsaw Feeling" fromThe Scream as being among his favourite songs.[111] Jim Reid wrote that in 1978 bands were doing something new; "The Banshees were one of them and their first record is one of my favourites".[112]Thurston Moore ofSonic Youth listed "Hong Kong Garden" in his top 25 all-time favourite songs,[113] saying "it was a completely new world".[114]Kevin Shields ofMy Bloody Valentine also mentioned them as being among his early influences.[115]Dave Navarro ofJane's Addiction once noted a parallel between his band and the Banshees: "There are so many similar threads: melody, use of sound, attitude, sex-appeal. I always saw Jane's Addiction as the masculine Siouxsie and the Banshees".[116]Primal Scream'sBobby Gillespie liked the group's ability to produce pop songs while transmitting something subversive. He said, "They were outsiders bringing outsider subjects to the mainstream. We're not trying to rip off the Banshees, but that's kind of where we're coming from".[117] He stated that among "the last great rock bands were Siouxsie and the Banshees ... the best post-punk bands for me. The ideas in the music and the lyrics for those ... bands completely influenced Primal Scream".[118]
The Banshees have been praised by other acts.Thom Yorke said that seeing Siouxsie on stage in concert in 1985 inspired him to become a performer.[119] Radiohead cited McGeoch-era Siouxsie records when mentioning the recording of the song "There There",[120] and rehearsed Banshees' material prior to their 2008 tour.[121]Jeff Buckley, who said during a press conference in Lyon, France in March 1995, "Siouxsie, I have much of her influence in my voice",[122] covered "Killing Time" (from theBoomerang album) on various occasions.[123][124] Buckley also owned all the Banshees' albums.[125] When asked what were his influences, Buckley replied: "I grew up for the 1960s, early 1970s, 1980s, so I observedJoni Mitchell, I observed the Smiths and Siouxsie and the Banshees. That turns me on completely".[126]Suede singerBrett Anderson namedJuju as one of his favourite records.[127]Red Hot Chili Peppers performed "Christine" in concert,[128] and their guitaristJohn Frusciante cited the Banshees in interviews.[129]Garbage singerShirley Manson stated, "I learned how to sing listening toThe Scream andKaleidoscope".[130][131] Siouxsie has also been praised by other female singers includingPJ Harvey[132] andCourtney Love.[133] PJ Harvey has stated, "It's hard to beat Siouxsie Sioux, in terms of live performance. She is so exciting to watch, so full of energy and human raw quality",[134] and selected Siouxsie's albumAnima Animus in her top 10 albums of 1999.[132] The band had a strong effect on two importanttrip hop acts.[135][136] Tricky covered "Tattoo" to open his second album,Nearly God;[137] the original 1983 proto-trip-hop version of that song aided Tricky in the creation of his style.[135]Massive Attack heavily sampled "Metal Postcard" on the song "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)", recorded prior to theirMezzanine album.[138]Air'sJean-Benoît Dunckel cited the group as one of his three main influences.[139]Billy Corgan of theSmashing Pumpkins cited the Banshees as an important influence on his music.[140]Faith No More covered "Switch" in concert[141] and citedThe Scream as one of their influences.[142]
The Banshees continue to influence younger musicians. SingerJames Murphy was marked by certain Banshees albums during his childhood.[143] His band LCD Soundsystem covered "Slowdive" as a B-side to the single "Disco Infiltrator".The Beta Band sampled "Painted Bird" on their track "Liquid Bird" from theHeroes to Zeros album.[144]TV on the Radio said that they have always tried to make a song that begins like "Kiss Them for Me" where all of a sudden, there's an "element of surprise" with "a giant drum coming in".[145]Santigold based one of her songs around the music of "Red Light". "'My Superman' is an interpolation of 'Red Light'".[146]Indie folk groupDeVotchKa covered the ballad "The Last Beat of My Heart" at the suggestion ofArcade Fire singerWin Butler; it was released on theCurse Your Little Heart EP.[147]Gossip named the Banshees as one of their major influences during the promotion of their single "Heavy Cross".[148] British indie bandBloc Party took inspiration from "Peek-a-Boo" and their singerKele Okereke stated about that Banshees' single: "it sounded like nothing else on this planet. This is ... a pop song that they put out in the middle of their career ... to me it sounded like the most current but most futuristic bit of guitar-pop music I've heard".[149]A Perfect Circle'sBilly Howerdel said that the Banshees were "top three favorite bands for me".[150]The Weeknd sampled different parts of "Happy House" for his song "House of Balloons", and also used the chorus of the initial version.[151]
In 2022, guitarists John Frusciante, Johnny Marr, andEd O'Brien gave interviews for a book about John McGeoch, particularly his work with the Banshees.The Light Pours Out Of Me: The Authorised Biography Of John McGeoch was released in April on Omnibus Press. It also included new interviews with Siouxsie and Severin.
Principal members
Other members
...with the Banshees she helped to invent a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation... The Banshees stand proudly alongsidePIL,Gang of Four andthe Fall as the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era.
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)the very first group to make the transition from punk's stage invasion to the more developed theatre of post-punk. You can hear it in the 1977 Peel sessions here, on "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)" – the space in the sound, the serrated guitars.
They hold the house record at the Vortex. They sold out The Nashville two nights running.
If it's our material, we want to have control over what is put out, how it is put out... the packaging and God knows what else.
Dreamhouse is an intoxicating achievement
This is a very fine pop record.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)A rich and unsettling landscape ofexotica
Sublime, [...] It doesn't just groove, [...] It floats almost imperceptibly to its ecstatic climax, each sweet verse and saccharin chorus a tantalising hint of what's to come.
hypnotic and inventive
post-punk pioneers like [...] Siouxsie and the Banshees
We've lined up pioneering post-punks Siouxsie and the Banshees
Joining the Banshees in 1977 aged 19, McKay's unconventional, jaggedly metallic playing transformed the band from punk contenders to post-punk pioneers.
Coppola paired the pretty, pale luxury of Versailles with the sound of new wave acts like [...] Siouxsie and the Banshees
New Wave treasure Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie and the Banshees began to build a wider audience and it was the vastly influential "Juju" (1981) that propelled them to the very front of the alternative-rock scene
Alternative rockers Siouxsie and the Banshees scored a top 40 hit with "Kiss Them for Me".
one of alternative rock's iconic groups
I went to see Siouxsie and the Banshees at The Oaks, and I still have my ticket
It would be Siouxsie and the Banshees to whom I most felt some kind of affinity. [...] the bass-led rhythm, the way first drummer Kenny Morris played mostly toms. In interviews Siouxsie would claim the sound of cymbals was forbidden [...] The Banshees had that [...] foreboding sound, sketching out the future from the dark of the past. [...] hearing the sessions they'd done on John Peel's show and reading gigs write-ups, I had to admit they sounded interesting.
I think the guitar should convey some sort of emotion. Incidentally, the only thing I've heard since Sabre Dance, the only thing I've ever come across that was similar, was the guy in the original Banshees onThe Scream. Apparently that guy had just learnt to play, and he came out with these chord structures that I found very refreshing. The guy's been ripped off so much, he started that flanged chord thing
Last night Siouxsie lifted the Icon Award and the Mojo Honours Awards. The award was given to her by U2's The Edge who cited Siouxsie as a big influence on Bono and U2 before handing over the Award
Icon Award: Siouxsie Sioux [presenter: The Edge]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Siouxsie And The Banshees, die ich verehrte, sangen viel abstrakter, kunstvoller über Frustration. Kälter und dunkler. (Siouxsie And The Banshees, whom I adored, sang much more abstract, artistic about frustration. Colder and darker.)
Jim Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain plays some of his favourite records, including tracks by Pink Floyd, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Monkees and Muddy Waters
all of the records that you would have owned at my age — such as a Sabbath record [...] — all of those records got kind of put into the basement. And they were supplanted by [...] Patti Smith [...] Talking Heads and Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was a completely new world, a new identity of music that was an option for youth culture.
Kevin: Well, we started playing with a bass player who was your typical early 80s, slightly funky... Gang Of Four type guy. So then we moved from being a typical punk band to being much more like Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Colin Greenwood remembers: "The first single we're releasing is actually the longest song on the record. ("There There"). It was all recorded live in Oxford. We all got excited at the end because Nigel was trying to get Jonny to play like John McGeoch in Siouxsie and the Banshees."
By the last weeks of December, the band was beginning to rehearse for its 2008 tour. The rehearsals included a number of covers: Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Smiths, "The Night" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
[enter 'Siouxsie' in the research]
I've been listening to lots of my old records, like... Siouxsie & The Banshees' Ju Ju
Siouxsie embodied everything I wanted to be when I was a freaky adolescent. She was really articulate and string; there's so much power in songs like 'Jigsaw Feeling'.
[List of her favourite records] Siouxsie and the BansheesBest-of
Q: Was there any figure who connected with you when you were just a listener? A: It's hard to beat Siouxsie Sioux, in terms of live performance. She is so exciting to watch, so full of energy and human raw quality.
I grew up listening to all kinds of music, classical but also a lot of electronic music like Kraftwerk, then all the English dark rock like Joy Division, Siouxsie And The Banshees, and of course I was a big fan of David Bowie Iggy Pop and Lou Reed
My first album: I got some birthday money, went to the record store and bought Siouxsie and the Banshees'Join Hands, the FallGrotesque, andthe Birthday PartyNick the Stripper, all in one day. And all three of those records are three of my favorite things I've ever heard.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)We were playing in Montreal, and Arcade Fire stopped by, back in the earlier days. We were doing this covers album and Win [Butler] recommended that we record The Last Beat of My Heart
What bands influenced the new album's sound? Everything from the Birthday Party tohouse music and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
With the new record, he said he was inspired by a song written years ago by Siouxsie and the Banshees called Peek-a-Boo. 'I heard it for the first time, and it sounded like nothing else on this planet. This is just a pop song that they put out in the middle of their career that nobody knows about, but to me it sounded like the most current but most futuristic bit of guitar-pop music I've heard. I thought, that'd be cool, to make music that people might not get at the time, but in ten years' time, people would revisit it."
So here on the title track from that mixtape, we get a more-than-generous portion of Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1980 single "Happy House". which is worked into a softly anthemic slow-burn number full of diva-ish vocals tied to a chilly beat. John McGeoch's riff remains untouched and runs throughout most of the track, giving it a filmy pop feel that periodically peaks with a generous swipe from the "Happy House" chorus
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
