Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees were an English gothic rock band. They were started in 1976 in London by Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin. They met at a Roxy Music concert the year before. The band broke up in 1996. They later performed together again in 2002 for a tour. They released 11 studio albums between 1978 and 1995. Their most popular song in the UK was "Dear Prudence", a Beatles cover. It reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. They were less popular in the United States, but their 1991 single "Kiss Them For Me" reached 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. They were also the second headliners for the first Lollapalooza.
The group played their first concert at the 100 Club Punk Festival. Sid Vicious played drums. Marco Pirroni played guitar. Without practising beforehand, they did a twenty-minute improvised version of the Lord's Prayer. The band had no name and was going to break up after the concert, but they were asked to play again.
Two months later Kenny Morris joined as a drummer and Peter Fenton as a guitarist. After a few performances, the band realized that Fenton didn't fit in and John McKay took his place.
In 1978, the band were signed to Polydor Records. They released their first single "Hong Kong Garden". It reached 7 on the UK Singles Chart. They released their first album, The Scream, in November. It reached number 12 in the UK Albums Chart. It got mostly good reviews. Sounds said it was "the best debut album of the year".
Robert Smith was guitarist in the band's 1979 tour for Join Hands. He joined the group again in 1982 to replace John McGeoch. He left in 1984 because he said that being in two bands at once was too much stress. He was replaced by John "Valentine" Carruthers. Before he left he wanted his time with the band to be documented, so the band released a cover of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence" with Smith on guitar.
Peter Edward Clark, known as Budgie, also joined the band for the Join Hands tour. He stayed a member until the band broke up. In 1987 Carruthers left and was replaced with Jon Klein. Martin McCarrick became the band's full-time keyboard player.
In 1987, the band released Through the Looking Glass, an album of covers of songs by other musicians.
Between January and June 1988, the band recorded their ninth album, Peepshow. It was released on 5 September 1988. It had a more pop sound than their previous albums. It got very good reviews. Q gave it 5 stars.
In 1991, Superstition, the Banshees' tenth album, was released. The single "Kiss Them for Me" became their biggest US hit.
In 1995, they released their last album, The Rapture. A few weeks later, Polydor dropped them from their label. Guitarist Klein was replaced with Knox Chandler for the band's last tour.
Discography
change- 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)
Other websites
change- 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