Hong Kong Garden (song)
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| "Hong Kong Garden" | ||
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| Single by Siouxsie & the Banshees | ||
| from the album Once Upon a Time: The Singles and The Scream (reissue) | ||
| Released | August 18, 1978 | |
| Format | 7" single | |
| Recorded | 1978 | |
| Genre | Punk rock | |
| Length | 02:52 | |
| Label | Polydor | |
| Writer(s) | Sioux / Severin / McKay / Morris | |
| Producer(s) | Nils Stevesson Steve Lillywhite |
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| Chart positions | ||
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| Siouxsie & the Banshees singles chronology | ||
| — | "Hong Kong Garden" (1978) |
"The Staircase (Mystery)" (1979) |
"Hong Kong Garden" was the debut single released by English band Siouxsie & the Banshees. Issued in the UK by Polydor Records in 1978, the track was written by Banshees members Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, John McKay and Kenny Morris and produced by Nils Stevesson and Steve Lillywhite.
Musically the song is punk rock in style, with Eastern Asian influences. At the time, the lyrics fueled speculation that Sioux and members of the band were racist (a rumour the band has consistently denied) due to lines such as "Slanted eyes meet a new sunrise / A race of bodies small in size / Chicken Chow Mein and Chop Suey / Hong Kong garden takeaway". During the Banshees' early history Sioux had also raised much controversy due to her clothing, including wearing swastikas and other fetish gear. It can be said, however, that "Hong Kong Garden" could be interpreted as an ode to Chinese food restaurateurs whose culture is or was regarded with contempt by some non-Chinese in Britain.
The song was named after the Hong Kong Garden Chinese takeaway in Chislehurst High Street. Siouxsie is quoted as explaining the lyrics with reference to the racist activities of skinheads visiting the takeaway:
| “ | "I’ll never forget, there was a Chinese restaurant in Chislehurst called 'The Hong Kong Garden'. Me and my friend were really upset that we used to go there and like, occasionally when the skinheads would turn up it would really turn really ugly. These gits were just go in en masse and just terrorise these Chinese people who were working there. We’d try and say ‘Leave them alone’, you know. It was a kind of tribute." Source: Punk Top Ten Interview, 08/06/01. | ” |
| “ | "I remember wishing that I could be like Emma Peel from The Avengers and kick all the skinheads' heads in, because they used to mercilessly torment these people for being foreigners. It made me feel so helpless, hopeless and ill." Source: Uncut, 01/05 [1]. | ” |
The song was released as a stand-alone single and hit number seven in the UK singles chart. When the Banshees' debut album The Scream was released later in the year, "Hong Kong Garden" was not included. It later surfaced on the singles compilation album Once Upon a Time: The Singles. When The Scream was re-mastered and re-issued in 2005 with bonus material, "Hong Kong Garden" was included in the package.
In March 2005, Q magazine placed the song at number 90 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. It was also included on the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's 2006 film Marie Antoinette. The version on the soundtrack features an orchestral string intro.
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