Editing Siouxsie and the Banshees (section)

=== ''The Scream'' and ''Join Hands'' (1978–1979) ===
The band sold out venues in London in early 1978,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Morley |first=Paul |title=A World Domination By 1984 Special |journal=[[NME]] |issue=14 January 1978 |quote=They hold the house record at the Vortex. They sold out The Nashville two nights running.}}</ref> but still had problems getting the right recording contract that could give them "complete artistic control".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Thrills |first=Adrian |title=Complete Control: Siouxsie in Wonderland |journal=NME |issue=24 June 1978 |quote=If it's our material, we want to have control over what is put out, how it is put out... the packaging and God knows what else.}}</ref> [[Polydor Records|Polydor]] offered this guarantee and signed them in June. Their first single, "[[Hong Kong Garden (song)|Hong Kong Garden]]", featuring a [[xylophone]] motif, reached the top 10 in the UK shortly after. An ''[[NME]]'' review hailed it as "a bright, vivid narrative, something like snapshots from the window of a speeding Japanese train, power charged by the most original, intoxicating guitar playing I heard in a long, long time".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rambali |first=Paul |title="Hong Kong Garden" review |journal=NME |issue=19 August 1978}}</ref>

The band released their debut album, ''[[The Scream (album)|The Scream]]'', in November 1978. [[Nick Kent]] of ''NME'' said of the record: "The band sounds like some unique hybrid of [[the Velvet Underground]] mated with much of the ingenuity of ''[[Tago Mago]]''-era [[Can (band)|Can]], if any parallel can be drawn". At the end of the article, he added this remark: "Certainly, the traditional three-piece sound has never been used in a more unorthodox fashion with such stunning results".<ref>{{cite journal |author=Nick Kent |title=Bansheed! What's in an Image? |journal=NME |issue=26 August 1978}}</ref>

The Banshees' second album, ''[[Join Hands]]'', was released in 1979. In ''[[Melody Maker]]'', [[Jon Savage]] described "Poppy Day" as "a short, powerful evocation of the Great War graveyards",<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jon Savage |title=A Scream in a Vacuum [''Join Hands'' review] |journal=[[Melody Maker]] |issue=1 September 1979}}</ref> and ''[[Record Mirror]]'' described the whole record as a dangerous work that "should be heard".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gurr |first=Ronnie |title=''Join Hands'' review |journal=[[Record Mirror]] |issue=1 September 1979}}</ref> The Banshees embarked on a major tour to promote the album. A few dates into the tour in September, Morris and McKay left an in-store signing after an argument and quit the band.{{sfn|Paytress|2003|pp=81–82}} In need of replacements to fulfil tour dates, the Banshees' manager called drummer Budgie, formerly with [[the Slits]], and asked him to audition. Budgie was hired, but Siouxsie and Severin had no success auditioning guitarists.{{sfn|Paytress|2003|pp=93–94}} [[Robert Smith (musician)|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); having already seen too many "rock virtuosos", the band accepted his assistance.{{sfn|Paytress|2003|pp=94–95}} The tour resumed in September; after the last concert, Smith returned to the Cure.{{sfn|Paytress|2003|pp=97–98}}