Siouxsie and the Banshees

Siouxsie and the Banshees (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later acts. The Times called the group "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".<ref name="The Times"/>

Initially associated with the punk scene, the band – including guitarist John McKay and drummer Kenny Morris – rapidly evolved to create "a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation".<ref name="The Times">Template:Cite web</ref> Their debut album The Scream was released to widespread critical acclaim in 1978. Following membership changes, including the addition of guitarist John McGeoch and drummer Budgie, they changed their musical direction and became one of the most successful alternative pop groups of the 1980s.<ref name=Goddard>Template:Cite book</ref> Their third album Kaleidoscope (1980) peaked at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart. With Juju (1981) which also reached the top 10, they became an influence on the emerging gothic scene.

In 1988, the band made a breakthrough in North America with the multifaceted album Peepshow, which received critical praise. With substantial support from alternative rock radio stations,<ref>The singles "Peek-a-Boo" (1988) and "Kiss Them For Me" were both number 1 for several weeks in the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, which listed the most played songs on alternative radio stations in the US. "Kiss Them for Me" stayed at the top of this chart for six weeks in a row from 6 July 1991. See Template:Cite magazine</ref> they achieved a mainstream hit in the US in 1991 with the pop single "Kiss Them for Me".

During their career, Siouxsie and the Banshees released 11 studio albums and 30 singles. The band experienced several line-up changes, with Siouxsie and Severin being the only constant members. They disbanded in 1996, with Siouxsie and 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.

History

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.Template:Sfn From February 1976, Siouxsie, Severin and some friends began to follow an unsigned band, the Sex Pistols.Template:Sfn 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".Template:Sfn They were all inspired by the Sex Pistols and their uncompromising attitude.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn 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".Template:Sfn

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 and guitarist Peter Fenton.Template:Sfn After playing several gigs in early 1977, they realised that Fenton did not fit in because he was "a real rock guitarist". John McKay took his place in July.Template:Sfn Their first live appearance on television took place in November on Granada Television (based in Manchester), on Tony Wilson's TV show 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>Template:Citation</ref> along with "space in the sound" and "serrated guitars".<ref>Template:Cite journal</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, Vivien Goldman wrote: "they sound like a 21st century industrial plant".<ref name="Sounds">Template:Cite journal</ref>

The Scream and Join Hands (1978–1979)

The band sold out venues in London in early 1978,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> but still had problems getting the right recording contract that could give them "complete artistic control".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Polydor offered this guarantee and signed them in June. Their first single, "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>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The band released their debut 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, 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>Template:Cite journal</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>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Record Mirror described the whole record as a dangerous work that "should be heard".<ref>Template:Cite journal</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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn The tour resumed in September; after the last concert, Smith returned to the Cure.Template:Sfn

Kaleidoscope, Juju and A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (1980–1982)

Budgie became a permanent member, and the band entered the studios to record the single "Happy House" with guitarist John McGeoch, then still a member of Magazine. Their third album, Kaleidoscope, released in 1980, saw the Banshees exploring new musical territories with the use of other instruments like synthesizers, sitars and drum machines. The group initially had a concept of making each song sound completely different, without regard to whether or not the material could be performed in concert.Template:Sfn Melody Maker described the result as "a kaleidoscope of sound and imagery, new forms, and content, flashing before our eyes".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Kaleidoscope was a commercial success, peaking at number 5 on the UK albums chart. This line-up, featuring McGeoch on guitar, toured the United States for the first time in support of the album, playing their first shows in New York City in November 1980.Template:Sfn

File:Siouxsie and the banshees 1981's line-up with John McGeoch.jpg

Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1981, left to right: Budgie, Siouxsie, Steven Severin and John McGeoch

For Juju (1981), the band took a different approach and practised the songs in concert first before recording them.Template:Sfn Juju, according to Severin, became an unintentional concept album that "drew on darker elements". Sounds hailed it as "intriguing, intense, brooding and powerfully atmospheric".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The album later peaked at number 7 on the UK albums chart and became one of their biggest sellers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> McGeoch's guitar contributions on Juju were later praised by Johnny Marr of the Smiths.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the 1981 accompanying tour, Siouxsie and Budgie became a couple.Template:Sfn At the same time, they also began a drum-and-voice duo called the Creatures, releasing their first EP, Wild Things.

The Banshees followed in 1982 with the psychedelic A Kiss in the Dreamhouse.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The record, featuring strings on several numbers, was an intentional contrast to their previous work, with Severin later describing it as a "sexy album".Template:Sfn The British press greeted it enthusiastically.<ref name="Sutherland">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Richard Cook finished his NME review with this sentence: "I promise...this music will take your breath away".<ref name="Cook">Template:Cite web</ref> At that time, McGeoch was struggling with alcohol problems, and was hospitalised on his return to a promotional trip from Madrid. The band fired him shortly thereafter.Template:Sfn Severin asked Robert Smith to take over guitarist duties again; Smith accepted and rejoined the group in November 1982.Template:Sfn

Hyæna, Tinderbox and Through the Looking Glass (1983–1987)

During 1983, the band members worked on several side projects; Siouxsie and Budgie composed the first Creatures album, Feast, while Severin and Smith recorded as the Glove. Smith then insisted on documenting his time with the Banshees, so the group released a cover version of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence" in September 1983. It became their biggest UK hit, reaching number 3 on the Singles Chart.Template:Sfn They also released a live double album and video, Nocturne, and completed their sixth studio album, Hyæna.Template:Sfn Shortly before its release in May 1984, Smith left the group, citing health issues due to an overloaded schedule, being in two bands at once.Template:Sfn

With ex-Clock DVA guitarist John Valentine Carruthers replacing Smith, the Banshees then reworked four numbers from their repertoire, augmented by a string section, for The Thorn EP. NME praised the project: "The power of a classical orchestra is the perfect foil for the band's grindingly insistent sounds".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The new Banshees line-up spent much of 1985 working on a new record, Tinderbox. The group finished the song "Cities in Dust" before the album, so they rushed its release as a single prior to their longest tour of the UK.Template:Sfn Tinderbox was released in April 1986. Sounds magazine said: "Tinderbox is a refreshing slant on the Banshees' disturbing perspective and restores their vivid shades to pop's pale palette".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Due to the length of time spent working on Tinderbox, the group desired spontaneity and decided to record an album of cover songs, Through the Looking Glass, in 1987.Template:Sfn Mojo magazine later praised their version of "Strange Fruit".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the album's release, the band realised Carruthers was no longer fitting in and decided to work on new material as a trio.Template:Sfn

Peepshow (1988–1990)

Following a lengthy break, the band recruited multi-instrumentalist Martin McCarrick and guitarist Jon Klein. The quintet recorded Peepshow in 1988, with non-traditional rock instrumentation including cello and accordion. Q magazine praised the album in its 5-star review: "Peepshow takes place in some distorted fairground of the mind where weird and wonderful shapes loom".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The first single, "Peek-a-Boo", was seen by critics as a "brave move" with horns and dance elements.<ref name="Peek"/> Sounds wrote: "The snare gets slapped, Siouxsie's voice meanders all around your head and it all comes magically together".<ref name="Peek">Template:Cite journal</ref> "Peek-a-Boo" was their first real breakthrough in the United States.<ref name="AllMusic">Template:Cite web</ref> After the tour, the band decided to take a break, with Siouxsie and Budgie recording as the Creatures and releasing their most critically acclaimed album,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Boomerang, and Severin and McCarrick working on material together.Template:Sfn

Superstition, The Rapture and break-up (1991–1999)

In 1991, Siouxsie and the Banshees returned with the single "Kiss Them for Me", mixing strings over a dance rhythm laced with exotica. The group collaborated with the then unknown Indian tabla player Talvin Singh, who also sang during the bridge. The single received glowing reviews<ref name="Kiss">Template:Cite journal</ref> and later peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, allowing them to reach a new audience.<ref name="AllMusic"/> The album Superstition followed shortly afterwards, and the group toured the US as second headliners of the inaugural Lollapalooza tour. The following year, the Banshees were asked to compose "Face to Face" as a single for the film Batman Returns, at director Tim Burton's request.Template:Sfn

In 1993, the Banshees recorded new songs based on string arrangements, and then played them in festivals abroad. On their return home, they hired former Velvet Underground member John Cale to produce the rest of the record.Template:Sfn Released in 1995, The Rapture was described by Melody Maker as "a fascinating, transcontinental journey through danger and exotica".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A few weeks after its release, Polydor dropped the band from its rosterTemplate:Sfn and Klein was replaced on the band's last tour in 1995 by ex-Psychedelic Furs guitarist Knox Chandler. In April 1996, the Banshees disbanded after 20 years of working together.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Siouxsie and Budgie announced that they would carry on recording as the Creatures. In 1999, they released the album Anima Animus.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2000s–present

In 2002, Universal Music kicked off the band's remastered back catalogue by releasing The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees. In April, Siouxsie, Severin, Budgie and Chandler reunited briefly for the Seven Year Itch tour, which spawned The Seven Year Itch live album and DVD in 2003. The day after their last concert in Tokyo, Japan, Siouxsie and Budgie stayed in town on their own and entered a recording studio as the Creatures. Their fourth and final studio album, Hái!, came out a few months later.Template:Sfn

On 4 March 2004, McGeoch died in his sleep after an epileptic seizure, at the age of 48.Template:Sfn Siouxsie and Budgie had talked about inviting him to guest with them on stage, before hearing the news.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November of the same year, Downside Up, a box set that collected all of the Banshees' B-sides and The Thorn EP, was released. The Times wrote in its review: "here is a group that never filled B-sides with inferior, throwaway tracks. Rather they saw them as an outlet for some of their most radical and challenging work".<ref name="Times-04c">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2006, the band's first four records were remastered and compiled with previously unreleased bonus tracks. Several recordings made for the John Peel radio show from 1978 to 1986 were also compiled on the CD Voices on the Air: The Peel Sessions. AllMusic described the first session as "a fiery statement of intent" and qualified the other performances as "excellent".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Eleven years after the split of the Banshees, Siouxsie released her debut solo album Mantaray in 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The second batch of the remasters, concerning the band's 1982–1986 era, was issued in April 2009. It included four other reissues (including A Kiss in the Dreamhouse from 1982).<ref name="Sutherland"/><ref name="Cook"/> The At the BBC box set, containing a DVD with all of the band's UK live television performances and three CDs with in-concert recordings, was also released in June of the same year.

In April 2014, their debut single "Hong Kong Garden" was reissued on double 7-inch vinyl. It was announced that this would be part of a three-year plan with Universal. In late October, their last four studio albums (1987's Through the Looking Glass, 1988's Peepshow, 1991's Superstition and 1995's The Rapture) were reissued on CD in remastered versions with bonus tracks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Siouxsie and Severin curated a compilation CD called It's a Wonderfull Life for the monthly magazine Mojo, issued in September with Siouxsie on the front cover.<ref name="Life">Template:Cite web</ref> On this CD, the pair honoured several composers of film and classical music that had inspired them.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

In 2015, after releasing another compilation called Spellbound: The Collection, which included a selection of singles, album tracks and B-sides such as "Tattoo", the band reissued 1979's Join Hands on vinyl for Record Store Day, with different cover artwork.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A vinyl reissue series on Polydor of all of the band's albums, remastered from the original ¼" tapes in 2018 by Miles Showell and cut at half speed at Abbey Road Studios, began in August 2018. The eleven studio albums were reissued on black vinyl.<ref>Template:Cite web
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A 10 track compilation titled All Souls was released in 2022. The album's track list was curated by Siouxsie and features "Spellbound" (licensed for season four of series Stranger Things), "Fireworks", "Peek-a-Boo", plus album tracks and rarities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was released on black vinyl,<ref name=soul>Template:Cite web
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In October 2024 Through the Looking Glass including "The Passenger", was reissued on crystal clear vinyl with new artwork featuring a mirror effect sleeve.<ref name=Glass>Template:Cite web
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In May 2025, John Mckay released his debut solo album Sixes And Sevens on vinyl and CD; it includes songs taped between 1980 and 1989. Some of the tracks produced in 1980 with Kenny Morris on drums gave a glimpse of the direction the Banshees would have taken had McKay stayed in the band.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> A limited edition is available via McKay's website with a bonus CD inxluding a 1977 recording of "People Phobia" – the very first version of "Hong Kong Garden" presented by McKay to the band before they started to work on it.<ref name=six>Template:Cite web</ref>

Artistry

Influences

Siouxsie and the Banshees' earliest influences included an interest for a "glamorous art rock" - David Bowie and Roxy Music while also "incorporating a love for Can, Kraftwerk and Neu!".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Musical style

Siouxsie and the Banshees are considered post-punk pioneers.<ref>Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web</ref> They have been described as developing "a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation".<ref name="The Times"/> The Times wrote that "The Banshees stand proudly [... as] one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".<ref name="The Times"/> With some of their darkest material, the band also helped spawn the gothic scene.<ref name=rey>Template:Cite book</ref> The band is also considered a new wave act.<ref>Template:Cite web
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They were also one of the first alternative bands; music historian Peter Buckley pointed out that they were at "the very front of the alternative-rock scene".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1988, "Peek-a-Boo" was the first track to top the US Modern Rock chart after Billboard launched this chart in the first week of September to list the most played songs on alternative and college radio stations.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Simon Goddard wrote that the "Banshees - Mk II would become one of the biggest alternative pop groups of the 1980s".<ref name=Goddard/> Spin described them as "alternative rockers" in 1991 when referring to their presence in the top 40 chart.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Noting the band's participation in the first Lollapalooza festival, journalist Jim Gerr saw them as one of the "elements of the alternative rock community".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Mojo retrospectively presented them as one of "alternative rock's iconic groups".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

When commenting on the lyrics of the first two Banshees albums, Severin said that they were about "madness, and childhood, and escaping suburbia, which are themes that hadn't been dealt with at all in rock music or pop music before".<ref>Top Ten. Channel 4. Air Date:5 February 2000.</ref>

Legacy

Siouxsie and the Banshees impacted many genres including post-punk, new wave, synth pop, gothic rock, alternative music, shoegaze and trip hop, influencing a wide range of musicians including Joy Division, the Cure, the Smiths, Depeche Mode, PJ Harvey, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Tricky and LCD Soundsystem.

Joy Division's Peter Hook, who saw the group in concert in Manchester in 1977,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> said: "Siouxsie and the Banshees were one of our big influencesTemplate:Nbsp... The Banshees first LP was one of my favourite ever records, the way the guitarist and the drummer played was a really unusual way of playing and this album showcases a landmark performance".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris was influenced by the Banshees Mk1 from their 1977's John Peel session because their "first drummer Kenny Morris played mostly toms" and "the sound of cymbals was forbidden". He added, "The Banshees had thatTemplate:Nbsp... foreboding sound, sketching out the future from the dark of the past".<ref name=play>Template:Cite book</ref> Joy Division producer Martin Hannett saw a difference between the Banshees' first main line-up and the other bands of 1977: "Any harmonies you got were stark, to say the least, except for the odd exception, like Siouxsie. They were interesting".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Cure's leader, Robert Smith, declared in 2003: "Siouxsie and the Banshees and Wire were the two bands I really admired. They meant something."Template:Sfn He also pinpointed what the 1979 Join Hands tour brought him musically. "On stage that first night with the Banshees, I was blown away by how powerful I felt playing that kind of music. It was so different to what we were doing with the Cure. Before that, I'd wanted us to be like the Buzzcocks or Elvis Costello, the punk Beatles. Being a Banshee really changed my attitude to what I was doing".Template:Sfn Killing Joke cited the band in their influences: guitarist Geordie Walker praised "the Banshees on The Scream" for bringing "chord structures that I found very refreshing".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The two songwriters of the Smiths cited them; singer Morrissey said that "Siouxsie and the Banshees were excellent", and that "they were one of the great groups of the late 1970s, early 1980s".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also said in 1994: "If you study modern groups, those who gain press coverage and chart action, none of them are as good as Siouxsie and the Banshees at full pelt. That's not dusty nostalgia, that's fact".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> When asked "who do you regret not going to see live", guitarist Johnny Marr replied "Siouxsie and the Banshees mk 1. But mk 2 were even better".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Marr mentioned his liking for John McGeoch and his contribution to the single "Spellbound". Marr qualified it as "clever" with a "really good picky thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll".<ref>Mitchell, Pete. "Spellbound: the story of John McGeoch" BBC2. February 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2010. About McGeoch's contribution to the single "Spellbound", Marr stated: "It's so clever. He's got this really good picky thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll and this actual tune he's playing is really quite mysterious". Radio 2's Pete Mitchell talks to Howard Devoto, Siouxsie Sioux and Johnny Marr among others, as he shines a light on the life of this unsung guitar hero.</ref> Smiths' historian Goddard wrote that Marr "praise[d] the McGeoch-era Banshees as a significant inspiration".<ref name="Goddard"/> U2 cited Siouxsie and the Banshees as a major influence<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and selected "Christine" for a Mojo compilation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Edge was the presenter of an award given to Siouxsie at the Mojo ceremony in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In December 1981, Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode named the Banshees as one of his three favourite bands, along with Sparks and Roxy Music.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Gahan later hailed the single "Candyman" at its release, saying, "She always sounds exciting. She sings with a lot of sex – that's what I like. This is a great Banshees recordTemplate:Nbsp..., I like their sound. I used to see them quite a lot when I was younger."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Commenting on the original Banshees line-up and how they were different from other groups, Gahan said: "Siouxsie And The Banshees, whom I adored, sang much more abstract, artistic about frustration. Colder and darker".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jim Reid of the Jesus and Mary Chain selected "Jigsaw Feeling" from The Scream as being among his favourite songs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jim Reid wrote that in 1978 bands were doing something new; "The Banshees were one of them and their first record is one of my favourites".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth listed "Hong Kong Garden" in his top 25 all-time favourite songs,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> saying "it was a completely new world".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine also mentioned them as being among his early influences.<ref name="autogenerated1">Template:Cite interview</ref> Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction once noted a parallel between his band and the Banshees: "There are so many similar threads: melody, use of sound, attitude, sex-appeal. I always saw Jane's Addiction as the masculine Siouxsie and the Banshees".Template:Sfn Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie liked the group's ability to produce pop songs while transmitting something subversive. He said, "They were outsiders bringing outsider subjects to the mainstream. We're not trying to rip off the Banshees, but that's kind of where we're coming from".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He stated that among "the last great rock bands were Siouxsie and the BansheesTemplate:Nbsp... the best post-punk bands for me. The ideas in the music and the lyrics for thoseTemplate:Nbsp... bands completely influenced Primal Scream".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Banshees have been praised by other acts. Thom Yorke said that seeing Siouxsie on stage in concert in 1985 inspired him to become a performer.<ref>Template:Cite web
The audio recording mentioned in the Pitchfork article about the Siouxsie concert is uploaded from here on youtube. "I saw Siouxsie and the Banshees at the Apollo... That one completely blew my mind... I'd never seen anyone manage to captivate an audience like she did... They were amazing to watch... It was an amazing show."</ref> Radiohead cited McGeoch-era Siouxsie records when mentioning the recording of the song "There There",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and rehearsed Banshees' material prior to their 2008 tour.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Jeff Buckley, who said during a press conference in Lyon, France in March 1995, "Siouxsie, I have much of her influence in my voice",<ref>Template:Cite book
Perret, Philippe. (March 1995). "Get your soul out!" [Jeff Buckley interview and report on tour]. L’Indic. "Je crois que les artistes qui m’ont le plus marqué sont ceux que j’ai écoutés étant enfant comme Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell. MC5, Billie Holliday, Nina Simone, Patti Smith, John Lennon puis, plus tard. Siouxsie (j’ai beaucoup d’elle dans ma voix)."</ref> covered "Killing Time" (from the Boomerang album) on various occasions.<ref>Jeff Buckley "Killing Time" (Siouxsie – The Creatures cover). Untiedundone.com. Retrieved 21 April 2007. Buckley's version of "Killing Time" performed at the radio WFMU Studios, East Orange, New Jersey, 10 November 1992. "Killing Time" is a Creatures song from their Boomerang album. Buckley also performed it in January 1995 in London at the Astoria.</ref><ref>"JeffBuckley-fr.net" Template:Webarchive. Retrieved 1 November 2010. List of songs covered by Jeff Buckley, including "Killing Time" composed by Siouxsie for the Creatures.</ref> Buckley also owned all the Banshees' albums.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When asked what were his influences, Buckley replied: "I grew up for the 1960s, early 1970s, 1980s, so I observed Joni Mitchell, I observed the Smiths and Siouxsie and the Banshees. That turns me on completely".<ref>"Jeff Buckley interview - MuchMusic". MuchMusic Canadian TV. November 1994. Retrieved 2 February 2021.</ref> Suede singer Brett Anderson named Juju as one of his favourite records.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Red Hot Chili Peppers performed "Christine" in concert,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and their guitarist John Frusciante cited the Banshees in interviews.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Garbage singer Shirley Manson stated, "I learned how to sing listening to The Scream and Kaleidoscope".Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Siouxsie has also been praised by other female singers including PJ Harvey<ref name=pj>Template:Cite web</ref> and Courtney Love.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> PJ Harvey has stated, "It's hard to beat Siouxsie Sioux, in terms of live performance. She is so exciting to watch, so full of energy and human raw quality",<ref name=la>Template:Cite news</ref> and selected Siouxsie's album Anima Animus in her top 10 albums of 1999.<ref name=pj/> The band had a strong effect on two important trip hop acts.<ref name=rock>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Tricky Allmusic">Template:Cite web</ref> Tricky covered "Tattoo" to open his second album, Nearly God;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the original 1983 proto-trip-hop version of that song aided Tricky in the creation of his style.<ref name=rock /> Massive Attack heavily sampled "Metal Postcard" on the song "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)", recorded prior to their Mezzanine album.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Air's Jean-Benoît Dunckel cited the group as one of his three main influences.<ref>Template:Cite web
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Template:Cite news</ref> Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins cited the Banshees as an important influence on his music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Faith No More covered "Switch" in concert<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and cited The Scream as one of their influences.<ref name="revolver">Template:Cite web</ref>

The Banshees continue to influence younger musicians. Singer James Murphy was marked by certain Banshees albums during his childhood.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His band LCD Soundsystem covered "Slowdive" as a B-side to the single "Disco Infiltrator". The Beta Band sampled "Painted Bird" on their track "Liquid Bird" from the Heroes to Zeros album.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> TV on the Radio said that they have always tried to make a song that begins like "Kiss Them for Me" where all of a sudden, there's an "element of surprise" with "a giant drum coming in".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Santigold based one of her songs around the music of "Red Light". "'My Superman' is an interpolation of 'Red Light'".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Indie folk group DeVotchKa covered the ballad "The Last Beat of My Heart" at the suggestion of Arcade Fire singer Win Butler; it was released on the Curse Your Little Heart EP.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Gossip named the Banshees as one of their major influences during the promotion of their single "Heavy Cross".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> British indie band Bloc Party took inspiration from "Peek-a-Boo" and their singer Kele Okereke stated about that Banshees' single: "it sounded like nothing else on this planet. This isTemplate:Nbsp... a pop song that they put out in the middle of their careerTemplate:Nbsp... to me it sounded like the most current but most futuristic bit of guitar-pop music I've heard".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A Perfect Circle's Billy Howerdel said that the Banshees were "top three favorite bands for me".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Weeknd sampled different parts of "Happy House" for his song "House of Balloons", and also used the chorus of the initial version.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2022, guitarists John Frusciante, Johnny Marr, and Ed O'Brien gave interviews for a book about John McGeoch, particularly his work with the Banshees. The Light Pours Out Of Me: The Authorised Biography Of John McGeoch was released in April on Omnibus Press. It also included new interviews with Siouxsie and Severin.

Discography

Studio albums

• 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)

References

Sources

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Further reading

• Template:Cite book (featuring new original interviews of Siouxsie and Severin).
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• Template:Cite book With exclusive interviews of Siouxsie and Severin.
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External links

• Official website
• Siouxsie and the Banshees' VEVO videos
• Siouxsie and the Banshees' DailyMotion official channel