Editing Siouxsie and the Banshees (section)

=== Formation (1976–1977) ===
Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin met at a [[Roxy Music]] concert in September 1975, at a time when [[glam rock]] had faded and there was nothing new coming through with which they could identify.{{sfn|Paytress|2003|p=27}} From February 1976, Siouxsie, Severin and some friends began to follow an unsigned band, the [[Sex Pistols]].{{sfn|Johns|1989|p=13}} Journalist [[Caroline Coon]] dubbed them the "[[Bromley Contingent]]", as most of them came from the [[Bromley]] area of south-east London, a label Severin came to despise. "There was no such thing, it was just a bunch of people drawn together by the way they felt and they looked".{{sfn|Johns|1989|p=13}} They were all inspired by the Sex Pistols and their uncompromising attitude.{{sfn|Paytress|2003|p=48}} When they learned that one of the bands scheduled to play the [[100 Club Punk Festival]], organised by Sex Pistols manager [[Malcolm McLaren]], was pulling out from the bill at the last minute, Siouxsie suggested that she and Severin play, even though they had no band name or additional members.{{sfn|Paytress|2003|p=49}} Two days later, the pair appeared at the festival held in London on 20 September 1976. With two borrowed musicians at their side, [[Marco Pirroni]] on guitar and [[Sid Vicious]] on drums, their set consisted of a 20-minute improvisation based on "[[The Lord's Prayer]]".{{sfn|Paytress|2003|pp=53–54}}

The band intended to split up after the gig, but they were asked to play again. Over the next few months, Siouxsie and Severin recruited drummer [[Kenny Morris (musician)|Kenny Morris]] and guitarist Peter Fenton.{{sfn|Paytress|2003|pp=54–55}} After playing several gigs in early 1977, they realised that Fenton did not fit in because he was "a real rock guitarist". [[John McKay (guitarist)|John McKay]] took his place in July.{{sfn|Paytress|2003|p=57}} Their first live appearance on television took place in November on [[ITV Granada|Granada Television]] (based in [[Manchester]]), on [[Tony Wilson]]'s TV show ''[[So It Goes (TV series)|So It Goes]]''. In that month they also recorded their first [[John Peel]] session for BBC radio, in which they premiered a new song, "Metal Postcard"; this introduced a "[[motorik]] austerity" in the drum patterns,<ref>{{citation |last=Cairns |first=Dan |title=I didn't get permission – I just went ahead and did it |work=The Sunday Times|date=26 August 2007}}</ref> along with "space in the sound" and "serrated guitars".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stubbs |first=David |title=Siouxsie and the Banshees ''At the BBC'' [review] |journal=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |date=July 2009 |quote=the very first group to make the transition from punk's stage invasion to the more developed theatre of post-punk. You can hear it in the 1977 Peel sessions here, on "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)" – the space in the sound, the serrated guitars.}}</ref> The band described their music as "cold, machine-like and passionate at the same time". When they appeared on the cover of ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' magazine, [[Vivien Goldman]] wrote: "they sound like a 21st century industrial plant".<ref name="Sounds">{{cite journal |last=Goldman |first=Vivien |date=3 December 1977 |title=New Music – Siouxsie Sioux Who R U? |journal=[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]}}</ref>