Peek-a-Boo (song)

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"Peek-a-Boo"

Single by Siouxsie & the Banshees
from the album Peepshow
B-side(s)	"False Face", "Catwalk"
Released	July 11, 1988
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	1988
Genre	Gothic rock / Alternative rock
Label	Polydor (UK) Geffen (U.S.)
Writer(s)	Siouxsie & the Banshees Harry Warren Johnny Mercer
Producer(s)	Siouxsie & the Banshees
Chart positions
#16 (UK) #53 (U.S.)
Siouxsie & the Banshees singles chronology
"Song from the Edge of the World" (1987)	"Peek-a-Boo" (1988)	"The Killing Jar" (1988)

"Peek-a-Boo" is a song written, produced and recorded by English rock band Siouxsie & the Banshees. It was released in 1988 as the first single from the band's ninth studio album Peepshow.

The song's unique instrumentation (mostly percussion and an accordion) is a result of the entire track being backmasked. The Banshees learned to play the song backwards and then, once recorded, the track was played back in reverse and Sioux sang her lyrics over it. "Peek-a-Boo" has become one of Siouxsie & the Banshees' most recognizable and popular singles and it also was the first time the band entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song was very popular on alternative rock radio and received heavy play on MTV.

"Peek-a-Boo" became Siouxsie & the Banshees' fifth top-twenty UK hit, peaking at number sixteen in the UK singles chart. In September 1988, Billboard magazine premiered a new Modern Rock Tracks chart which measures radio airplay on U.S. modern rock stations. "Peek-a-Boo" was the chart's first number-one song.

A minor controversy ensued after the single's release as the lines to the chorus ("...Golly jeepers / Where'd you get those peepers? / Peepshow, creepshow / Where did you get those eyes?...") were found to be too similar to the lyrics in the 1938 song "Jeepers Creepers". To remedy the situation and to avoid legal action, Siouxsie & the Banshees gave co-songwriting credit on "Peek-a-Boo" to Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer, the creators of "Jeepers Creepers".

[edit] Charts

Chart (1988)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	16
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	53
U.S. Modern Rock Tracks	1
U.S. Hot Dance Club Play	14

Preceded by n/a	List of number-one U.S. Modern Rock hits September 10, 1989	Succeeded by "Just Play Music!" by Big Audio Dynamite

Siouxsie & the Banshees
Siouxsie Sioux \| Steven Severin \| Budgie Knox Chandler \| John Valentine Carruthers \| Peter Fenton \| Jon Klein \| Martin McCarrick \| John McGeoch \| John McKay \| Kenny Morris \| Marco Pirroni \| Robert Smith \| Sid Vicious
Siouxsie & the Banshees discography
Studio albums and extended plays: The Scream \| Join Hands \| Kaleidoscope \| Juju \| A Kiss in the Dreamhouse \| Hyæna \| The Thorn EP \| Tinderbox \| Through the Looking Glass \| Peepshow \| Superstition \| The Rapture
Compilations: Once Upon a Time: The Singles \| Twice Upon a Time: The Singles \| The Best of Siouxsie & the Banshees \| Downside Up
Live Albums: Nocturne \| Seven Year Itch
Peel Sessions: Voices on the Air: The Peel Sessions
Singles: Hong Kong Garden \| The Staircase (Mystery) \| Playground Twist \| Mittageisen / Love in a Void \| Happy House \| Christine \| Israel \| Spellbound \| Arabian Knights \| Fireworks \| Slowdive \| Melt! \| Dear Prudence \| Swimming Horses \| Dazzle \| Overground \| Cities in Dust \| Candyman \| This Wheel's on Fire \| The Passenger \| Song from the Edge of the World \| Peek-a-Boo \| The Killing Jar \| The Last Beat of My Heart \| Kiss Them for Me \| Shadowtime \| Fear (of the Unknown) \| Face to Face \| O Baby \| Stargazer
Related articles
The Creatures \| The Glove \| Bromley Contingent