Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Post-punk, gothic rock, new-wave, alternative rock |
| Years active | 1976–1996 |
| Labels | Polydor Geffen Records Universal |
| Members | Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, Budgie, Knox Chandler |
| Past member(s) | Marco Pirroni, Sid Vicious, Peter Fenton, Kenny Morris, John McKay, John McGeoch, Robert Smith, John Carruthers, Martin McCarrick, Jon Klein |
Siouxsie and the Banshees were an English rock band from London. They formed in 1976 and split up in 1996. They released 11 studio albums. The two only constant members of the band were singer Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin. Critics have called them post-punk pioneers.
With guitarist John McKay and drummer Kenny Morris, they recorded The Scream (1978) and Join Hands (1979) which portrayed ennui and alienation in the suburbs. The music rejected blues and bar chords guitar to center around angular and distorted guitar, punchy bass and machine-like drums heavy on toms with a spacious production. Their music was a dark monochrome, apart on their debut single "Hong Kong Garden" which was pop with an apparent lightness and a touch of exotica. After a change of personnel with the arrival of guitarist John McGeoch and drummer Budgie, they widened their musical palette with psychedelic guitars and synthesizers. Kaleidoscope (1980) and Juju (1981) reached number 5 and number 7 respectively in the UK Albums Chart. The band incorporated strings in their music for the first time on A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (1982). Guitarist Robert Smith of the Cure replaced McGeoch and they released Hyæna (1984) preceeded by "Dear Prudence", a Beatles cover which reached number 3 in the UK singles chart. The b-side "Tattoo" recorded as a trio without any guitar, would be retrospectively described as proto trip-hop by critics. After Smith returned to his own band at full-time, Siouxsie and the Banshees encountered success in the United States with the Billboard Club hit "Cities in Dust" and Tinderbox (1986) and a covers album Through the Looking Glass (1987), recorded with guitarist John Carruthers. The line-up of the band became stable from 1988 when they recruited multi-instrumentalist and cello player Martin McCarrick and guitarist Jon Klein. The quintet recorded Peepshow (1988), Superstition (1991) and The Rapture (1995). The new quintet saw two of their singles "Peek-a-Boo" (1988) and "Kiss Them for Me" (1991) peaking in the US Billboard Hot 100, at number 52 and number 23 respectively. Klein was replaced by guitarist Knox Chandler on their finale tour in 1995. The band finally broke up in April 1996. They later performed together again in 2002 as a four-piece for the Seven-Year Itch tour.
The band have been cited as influence by Joy Division, the Cure, Depeche Mode, the Smiths, Tricky, Jeff Buckley and Radiohead.
Discography
[change | change source]- Studio albums
- The Scream (1978)
- Join Hands (1979)
- Kaleidoscope (1980)
- Juju (1981)
- A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (1982)
- Hyæna (1984)
- Tinderbox (1986)
- Through the Looking Glass (1987)
- Peepshow (1988)
- Superstition (1991)
- The Rapture (1995)
- Compilations
- The Best if Siouxsie and the Banshees (2002)
- Downside-up (55 b-sides) (2004)
- All Souls (2022)
- Live album
- Nocturne (1983)
Other websites
[change | change source]- Siouxsieandthebanshees.co.uk Archived 2020-12-01 at the Wayback Machine Official website
- Siouxsie.com Archived 2018-12-07 at the Wayback Machine Official website