'Siouxsie & the Banshees' emerged from the London punk community and over the course of a career which lasted two decades, they evolved from an abrasive, primitive art-punk band into a stylish, sophisticated group that enjoyed mainstream success in the 80's.
Throughout their numerous line up changes, the group remained under the leadership of vocalist Siouxsie Sioux. She and the Banshees were inspired by the growing punk movement in 70's, In addition to bassist Steve Severin and guitarist Marco Perroni, the band included drummer John Simon Ritchie.. who we all now know as Sid Vicious.
Siouxsie & the Banshees debuted in 1976 at the legendary Punk Festival held at London's 100 Club, where their entire set consisted of a savage, 20-minute rendition of "The Lord's Prayer."
Soon after, Vicious decided to join the Sex Pistols while Perroni went on to join Adam and the Ants. The core duo of Sioux and Severin along with new guitarist John McKay and drummer Kenny Morris reached the U.K. Top Ten with their 1978 debut single, "Hong Kong Garden". However, after only two days into a tour for their 1979 follow-up "Join Hands".. both McKay and Morris abruptly departed. But something that is amazing is the fact that guitarist Robert Smith of the Cure (the tour's opening act) and ex-Slits and Big in Japan drummer Budgie were enlisted to fill the void. Although Smith returned to the Cure soon after, Budgie became a permanent member of the group and remained with the Banshees throughout the duration of their career.
This pic is from the 'Cities in Dust' tour and illustrates why Siouxsie & the Banshees were so outrageously entertaining in concert.
And fans of the movie "Out of Bounds" will always appreciate this scene being in the film:
My fav tunes are "Dear Prudence", "Cities In Dust", and "Kiss Them For Me" ..
Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
Valley I'd only ever know Siouxsie from "Peek a Boo" .........golly jeepers....where'd you get those peepers....creepshow peepshow" oh man my little sister and I used to sing that like it was a kids song haha!
Til I recently saw Out of Bounds and they were awesome. Well I now know I knew "Kiss them for Me" will have to check out the others....I always thought then, Shakespeare's Sister was the same group haha
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Hey Muffy! Great story about you and your sister from last weekend.. wait you meant when you were kids.
Here's what at one time was my fav Siouxsie & the Banshees tune:
quote:i didn't follow their career, but i love siouxsie sioux's relation to the punk scene.
'Bromley contingent' - included a young hanger on called William Broad... better known as Billy Idol. A bunch of middle class kids playing dress-up rebels. But they did it so damn well, and society need it so much - it helped change the course of music history. Reading about it, it becomes jaw-dropping how such a small localised scene went on to create so many people that impacted the world. Same with the 'Blitz' scene just four years later. Amazing.
Never really got into Siouxie and the Banshees, although I found individual songs enjoyable.
Posted by cindymancini (Member # 679) on :
My bf just gave me "Cities in the Dust" not too long ago...never heard it before. Good tune ! Always loved "Kiss Them For Me." Additionally, never knew they had a cameo in Out Of Bounds...I've got a copy of this movie but only made it through the first 15 mins...guess I should revisit it in its entirety!!
Posted by xchazx (Member # 7158) on :
Valley, it's funny your three favorite songs don't even come off of her greatest album, Juju. This album is one of the ten greatest albums of the 80's.
Once Upon A Time, and Twice Upon A Time are greatest hits albums that are good introductions to Siouxsie. i would still listen to Juju first.
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