![]() Facing the prospect of a UK tour as a two-piece, Sioux and Severin drafted The Slits’ drummer Budgie and Robert Smith of The Cure (the support band on the tour) stepped in on guitar. Join Hands proved a false dawn, however, as two members quit the band on the day of release. Nonetheless, the record and its follow-up, September 1979’s Join Hands, established Siouxsie & The Banshees as a dark force to be reckoned with. A hit single, “Hong Kong Garden,” eventually followed in Summer 1978, an icy bright pop marvel that didn’t feature on their debut album The Scream. It totally blew me away.”Īfter the performance, word spread, and before long Siouxsie & The Banshees became a going concern. But while they’d only intended to shock and annoy, it was apparent to those present that Sioux was a magnetic presence on stage, as Viv Albertine of The Slits later recalled, “Siouxsie just appeared fully made, fully in control, utterly confident. Sioux told Sounds a year later, “The first time we went onstage at the 100 Club the idea was to annoy and bore people so much they’d chuck us off.” That set saw Marco Pirroni (later of Adam & The Ants) and Sid Vicious accompany the pair on a noisy and unruly near 25-minute improvisation around “The Lord’s Prayer.” The four-piece split after the gig. On learning that a slot was available at the 100 Club Festival, the punk showcase organized by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McClaren, Sioux suggested that she and Severin (both members of “The Bromley Contingent,” the Pistols’ entourage) play a set. Sioux and Severin formed the group back in 1976 as a bit of a joke. Siouxsie & The Banshees had come a long way in a few years. Listen to “Spellbound” by Siouxsie & The Banshees now.Ī short history of Siouxsie & The Banshees With music fans rediscovering the track through a key placement in the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, it’s worth looking back at the tune and its genesis. John McGeoch’s innovative and emotive guitar playing on the track, meanwhile, would also go on to influence generations of musicians – The Smiths, Radiohead, and U2 have all acknowledged their debt. “Spellbound” reached No 22 in the UK charts and is one of the group’s most beloved songs. Juju’s opening track, “Spellbound,” was not only a heady and thrilling distillation of all that made them great, it also achieved that feat within the constraints of a three-minute (ish) pop song. And, of course, in Siouxsie, they had a charismatic and intense frontwoman writing increasingly daring and uncompromising lyrics. Their classic line-up of Siouxsie Sioux (vocals), Steven Severin (bass), John McGeoch (guitar), and Budgie (drums) had developed a musical language of their own, combining disparate elements of punk, psychedelia, glam, and Krautrock. By their 1981 album, Juju, Siouxsie & The Banshees were at the peak of their powers. ![]()
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