Siouxsie & the Banshees
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Siouxsie and the Banshees are a British gothic rock band. Their musical career has also encompassed the punk and new wave genres, however.
| Contents |
Formation
The band was originally formed to fill an empty space on a bill at the first UK based 'international punk rock festival'. This show was organised by Malcolm McLaren at the 100 Club in London's Oxford Street on September 20th, 1976.
The initial line up consisted of 'Bromley Contingent' members Siouxsie Sioux (real name Susan Janet Ballion), Steven Severin (aka Steve Spunker/Havoc), Marco Pirroni (later of Adam and the Ants and Rema Rema) and Sid Vicious (real name John Simon Ritchie), later of the Sex Pistols, on drums. On this occasion their set consisted of a lengthy and chaotic unrehearsed improvisation of "The Lord's Prayer", which also included lines from songs like "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", "Smoke On The Water" and "Twist and Shout".
"God it was awful" and "excruciating!" were two eye-witness accounts of their performance. This was not a unanimous view, however. A recording of the concert, though of relatively poor quality, demonstrates that the group gave a performance which commanded and repaid attention.
Style and notoriety
Siouxsie courted much controversy in the band's early days with her dress, often wearing 'bondage' clothes and fetish wear. She was also heavily critisised for wearing swastika armbands, although she always maintained that this was intended to be for 'shock value' rather than any form of display of Nazi or fascist political sympathies.
Pistols guitarist Steve Jones' infamous "you dirty fuckin' rotter" comment during the band's December 976 interview with Bill Grundy, which helped fuel their notoriety, was sparked when Grundy attempted to 'chat up' Siouxsie on prime time TV.
History
By February 1977 the Banshees were taking themselves seriously as a musical unit. They recruited Kenny Morris and Pete Fenton to their line up, which was by now gigging regularly and had attracted a solid fan base. Fenton was subsequently sacked and replaced in July by John McKay. It was not until 1978 that they finally obtained a record contract with Polydor Records, where upon they released their first single "Hong Kong Garden" (which reached the top 10 in the UK), followed soon after by the album The Scream.
Their second album, Join Hands, was released in 1979, and included a lengthy version of the aforementioned "Lord's Prayer" track. However, two days into a tour promoting this album, Morris and McKay unexpectedly quit the band. They were hastily replaced by Robert Smith (whose band The Cure opened for the Banshees during the tour) on guitar and Budgie (real name Peter Clarke, formerly of The Slits and Big In Japan) on drums. After the completion of the tour, Budgie stayed on as the Banshees' permanent drummer, whilst John McGeoch, formerly of Magazine joined as guitarist.
McGeoch played on the albums Kaleidoscope, Ju-Ju, and A Kiss in the Dreamhouse. McGeoch was hospitalized in 1979 after collapsing onstage during the tour for the latter. He was replaced on tour by Smith, who later became a full time member. Smith contributed to the live double album Nocturne and Hyaena, but quit the following year to concentrate all his energy on fronting the Cure.
Ex-Clock DVA guitarist John Valentine Carruthers replaced Smith. The Banshees re-recorded the The Thorn EP with Carruthers and cellist/keyboardist Martin McCarrick, who later became a full-time member.
1986 saw the release of Tinderbox and the single "Cities in Dust," followed in 1987 by the cover album Through the Looking Glass. Carruthers was absent from one of the music videos.
Following a long break, the rest of the band recruited McCarrick and the ex-Specimen guitarist Jon Klein and recorded Peepshow, Superstition and The Rapture. Klien left after the completion of their last album and was replaced on tour by ex-Psychedlic Furs guitarist Knox Chandler.
While probably best known for songs like "Kiss Them For Me", Siouxsie and the Banshees has done everything from punk (in the 1970s) to goth to new wave. How to classify this band depends on what era/song/album one is talking about.
Siouxsie and her husband Budgie also started a side-project band called The Creatures.
LP discography
The Scream Polydor, 1978
- Pure
- Jigsaw Feeling
- Overground
- Carcass
- Helter Skelter
- Mirage
- Metal Postcard
- Nicotine Stain
- Suburban Relapse
- Switch
Join Hands Polydor, 1979
- Poppy Day
- Regal Zone
- Placebo Effect
- Icon
- Premature Burial
- Playground Twist
- Mother-Oh Mein Papa
- The Lord's Prayer
Kaleidoscope Polydor, 1980
- Happy House
- Tenant
- Trophy
- Hybrid
- Clockface
- Lunar Camel
- Christine
- Desert Kisses
- Red Light
- Paradise Place
- Skin
Juju Polydor, 1981
- Spellbound
- Into the Light
- Arabian Knights
- Halloween
- Monitor
- Night Shift
- Sin in My Heart
- Head Cut
- Voodoo Dolly
Once Upon A Time: The Singles Polydor, 1981
- Hong Kong Garden
- Mirage
- The Staircase (Mystery)
- Playground Twist
- Love In A Void
- Happy House
- Christine
- Israel
- Spellbound
- Arabian Knights
A Kiss In The Dreamhouse Polydor, 1982
- Cascade
- Green Fingers
- Obsession
- She's a Carnival
- Circle
- Melt!
- Painted Bird
- Cocoon
- Slowdive
Nocturne (live) Polydor, 1983
- Israel
- Dear Prudence
- Paradise Place
- Melt!
- Cascade
- Pulled to Bits
- Night Shift
- Sin in My Heart
- Slowdive
- Painted Bird
- Happy House
- Switch
- Spellbound
- Helter Skelter
- Eve White, Eve Black
- Voodoo Dolly
The Thorn Polydor/Geffen, 1984
- Overground
- Placebo Effect
- Red Over White
- Voices
Hyaena Polydor/Geffen, 1984
- Dazzle
- We Hunger
- Take Me Back
- Belladonna
- Swimming Horses
- Dear Prudence
- Bring Me the Head of the Preacher Man
- Running Town
- Pointing Bone
- Blow the House Down
Tinderbox Polydor/Geffen, 1986
- Candyman
- The Sweetest Chill
- This Unrest
- Cities in Dust
- Cannons
- Party's Fall
- 92 Degrees
- Lands End
Through The Looking Glass Polydor/Geffen, 1987
- This Town Ain't Big Enough
- Hall of Mirrors
- Trust in Me
- This Wheel's on Fire
- Strange Fruit
- You're Lost Little Girl
- The Passenger
- Gun
- Sea Breezes
- Little Johnny Jewel
Peepshow Polydor/Geffen, 1988
- Peek-a-Boo
- The Killing Jar
- Scarecrow
- Carousel
- Burn-Up
- Ornaments of Gold
- Turn to Stone
- Rawhead and Bloodybones
- The Last Beat of My Heart
- Rhapsody
The Peel Sessions 1991
- Love in a Void
- Mirage
- Metal Postcard
- Suburban Relapse
- Hong Kong Garden
- Overground
- Carcass
- Helter Skelter
Superstition Polydor/Geffen, 1991
- Kiss Them for Me
- Fear (of the Unknown)
- Cry
- Drifter
- Little Sister
- Shadowtime
- Silly Thing
- Got to Get Up
- Silver Waterfalls
- Softly
- The Ghost in You
Twice Upon A Time: The Singles Polydor/Geffen, 1992
- Fireworks
- Slowdive
- Melt!
- Dear Prudence
- Swimming Horses
- Dazzle
- Overground
- Cities in Dust
- Candyman
- This Wheel's on Fire
- The Passenger
- Peek-a-Boo
- The Killing Jar
- The Last Beat of My Heart (Live)
- Kiss Them for Me
- Shadowtime
- Fear (of the Unknown Remix)
- Face to Face
The Rapture Polydor, 1995
- O Baby
- Tearing Apart
- Stargazer
- Fall From Grace
- Not Forgotten
- Sick Child
- Lonely One
- Falling Down
- Forever
- The Rapture
- The Double Life
- Love Out Me
The Best Of Universal, 2002 Disc One:
- Dear Prudance
- Hong Kong Garden
- Cities In Dust
- Peek-A-Boo
- Happy House
- Kiss Them For Me
- Face To Face
- Dizzy
- Israel
- Christine
- Spellbound
- Stargazer
- Arabian Knights
- The Killing Jar
- This Wheel's On Fire
Disc Two:
- Spellbound (Extended 12 Version)
- Song From The Edge Of The World (Columbus Mix)
- Kiss Them For Me (Kathak #2 Mix)
- Peek-A-Boo (Silver Dollar Mix)
- The Killing Jar (Lepidopteristic Mix)
- Cities In Dust (Eruption Mix)
- Dazzle (Glamour Mix)
- Stargazer (Mambo Sun Mix)
- Face To Face (Catatonic Mix)
Seven Year Itch Sanctuary, 2003
- Pure
- Jigsaw Feeling
- Metal Postcard
- Red Light
- Lullaby
- Lands End
- I Could Be Again
- Icon
- Night Shift
- Voodoo Dolly
- Trust In Me
- Blue Jay Way
- Monitor
- Peek-A-Boo
Downside Up (B-Side Box Set) Polydor, 2004 Disc One:
- Voices
- 20th Century Boy
- Pulled To Bits
- Mittageisen
- Drop Dead/Celebration
- Eve White/Eve Black
- Red Over White
- Follow The Sun
- Slap Dash Snap
- Supernatural Thing
- Conga Congo
- Coal Mind
- We Fall
- Cannibal Roses
- Obsession II
- A Sleeping Rain
- Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant
Disc Two:
- Tattoo
- There's A Planet In My Kitchen
- Let Go
- The Humming Wires
- I Promise
- Throw Them to the Lions
- An Execution
- The Quarterdrawing of the Dog
- Lullaby
- Umbrella
- Shooting Sun
- Sleepwalking (On The High Wire)
- She Cracked
- She's Cuckoo
- Something Blue
- The Whole Price Of Blood
- Mechanical Eyes
Disc Three:
- False Face
- Catwalk
- Something Wicked (This Way Comes)
- Are You Still Dying Darling?
- El Dia De Los Muertos
- Sunless
- Staring Back
- Return
- Spiral Twist
- Sea Of Light
- I Could Be Again
- Hothead
- B Side Ourselves
- Swimming Horses (KROQ Acoustic Christmas)
- All Tomorrow's Parties (KROQ Acoustic Christmas)
- Hang Me High
- Black Sun
Disc Four:
- Overground (The Thorn)
- Placebo Effect (The Thorn)
- Red Over White (The Thorn)
- Voices (The Thorn)
See also
The Glove - Steven Severin's side-project with The Cure's Robert Smith
References
Bill Grundy Interview (http://www.televisionpersonalities.co.uk/pistols.htm)
External links
- The Creatures.com (http://www.thecreatures.com/) is the official Siouxsie and the Banshees website
- Untied Undone.com (http://www.untiedundone.com/) is a fan site with lots of information, images, and even some video of Siouxsie and the Banshees
- Fantazee (http://www.fantazee.themoon.co.uk/) is Vernette Butler's excellent Siouxsie site, containing a complete history, official and bootleg discographies and much more.fr:Siouxsie and the Banshees
