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Siouxsie and the Banshees

Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band, formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. 

Famously, their first gig featured Sid Viscous on drums and the singing of the 'Lords Prayer' as one of their tracks. 

Initially associated with the punk scene, the band rapidly evolved to create a form of post-punk discord full of experimentation.

Their debut album The Scream was released in 1978 to widespread critical acclaim. 

They gained popular appeal with their 1978 single 'Hong Kong Garden', which was coincidentally the name of our local Chinese Take-Away on the London Road, when at Uni in Reading.


From the 1979 album 'Join Hands' came 'Poppy Day'.



The Banshees embarked on a major tour to promote the album. A few dates into the tour in September, half the band left an in-store signing after an argument and quit.

In need of replacements to fulfill tour dates, the Banshees' manager called drummer Budgie, formerly with the Slits, and asked him to audition. 

Robert Smith of The Cure offered his services in case they could not find a guitarist (his group were already the support band on the tour), so the band held him to it, Smith returned to the Cure after th etour.

By 1980, the new line-up had changed the band's musical direction and members with the album 'Kaleidoscope', which peaked at number 5 in the UK Albums Chart. 

From this album came the tracks 'Christine' and 'Happy House'



With the album Juju, released in 1981, (which also reached the top 10), they became an influence on the emerging gothic scene. A standout track of this period was 'Spellbound'.



Other favourite tracks for me are 'This Wheels on Fire' a cover of the The Bird and Julie Driscal's hit from 1968, plus 'The Passenger' another cover, this time of 's hit.



The band experienced several line-up changes, with Siouxsie and Severin being the only constant members. They disbanded in 1996, with Siouxsie and drummer Budgie continuing to record music as the Creatures, a second band they had formed in the early 1980s. 

In 2004, Siouxsie began a solo career.

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