Siouxsie Sioux

Siouxsie Sioux

Siouxsie performing in 1980
Background information
Birth name Susan Janet Ballion
Born 27 May 1957 (1957-05-27) (age 54)
London, England
Genres Punk rock, post-punk, New Wave, gothic rock, alternative rock
Occupations Musician, songwriter, singer, producer
Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, percussion
Years active 1976–present
Labels Polydor, Geffen, Sioux, W14
Associated acts Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Creatures
Website www.siouxsie.com

Siouxsie Sioux (/ˈsuːziː suː/ born Susan Janet Ballion; 27 May 1957) is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the critically acclaimed rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996) and of its splinter group The Creatures (1981–2005). The Banshees produced eleven studio albums and a string of hit singles including "Hong Kong Garden", "Happy House", "Peek-a-Boo" and "Kiss Them for Me". With The Creatures, Siouxsie recorded four studio albums and the hit single "Right Now".

She has also sung with artists such as Morrissey[1] and John Cale.[2] In the mid 2000s, she began a solo career and released MantaRay in 2007.

Siouxsie is considered to be "one of the most influential British singers of the rock era".[3] Her songs have been covered by Jeff Buckley,[4] Tricky,[5] Massive Attack,[6] and LCD Soundsystem.[7] Her records have also been praised by a wide range of other artists including PJ Harvey[8] and TV on the Radio.[9]

In 2011, she was awarded for Outstanding Contribution To Music at the Q Awards.[10]

Contents

Biography

Early life (1957–76)

Siouxsie was born Susan Janet Ballion on 27 May 1957 at Guy's Hospital in Southwark, south east London, England.[11] She was the youngest of three children; ten years separate her from her elder brother and sister. Her two elder siblings were born while the family was based in the Belgian Congo.[11] Her parents met in that colony and stayed working there for a few years. Her mother, Betty, was a bilingual English secretary and her father was a Belgian Walloon bacteriologist who milked venom from snakes. In the late 1950s, before Siouxsie's birth, the family transferred to England. The Ballions resided in Chislehurst, a suburb located twelve miles outside of London. Her father died prematurely due to cirrhosis of the liver when Siouxsie was 14 years old. This had an adverse effect on her health. She survived a life-threatening bout of ulcerative colitis, which she would later say "completely demystified the body" for her.[12]

During her adolescence, she was a self-described "loner,"[13] who enjoyed listening to the music of male outsiders: David Bowie, Lou Reed, Marc Bolan, Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music and Iggy Pop of The Stooges. She went out with other young people who were interested in the same kind of music and glam fashion.

At 17, she left school. It was during this period that she began frequenting the local gay discos where most of her sister's friends used to go.[14] She introduced her own friends to that scene. In November 1975, a new young group called the Sex Pistols performed at the local art college in Chislehurst. Siouxsie didn't attend, but one of her friends told her how their singer threatened the string of students present at that gig. He added that they sounded like the Stooges. In February 1976, Siouxsie and her friend Steven Severin went to see the Pistols play in the capital. After chatting with members of the band, Siouxsie and Steven decided to follow them regularly.[15] In the following months, journalist Caroline Coon coined the term "Bromley Contingent" to describe this group of eccentric teenagers devoted to the Sex Pistols.[16]

Siouxsie became well known in the London club scene for her glam, fetish and bondage attire, which were later notable of punk fashion[13] She would also later epitomise goth style with her signature cat-eye makeup, deep red lipstick, spiky dyed-black hair, and black clothing.[13]

In early September 1976, the Bromley Contingent followed the Pistols to France, where Siouxsie was beaten up for wearing a black armband with a swastika on it. She claimed her intent was to shock the bourgeoisie, not to make a political statement.[17] She would later write the songs "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)" (in memory of the anti-Nazi artist John Heartfield) and the single "Israel".[18]

Following the adage of DIY and the idea that the people in the audience could be the people on stage, Siouxsie and Severin decided to form a band. When a support slot for the 100 Club Punk Festival organised by Malcolm McLaren opened up, they decided to try their chance, although at that time they did not know how to play any songs. On 20 September 1976, they improvised music as Siouxsie recited poems and prayers she had memorised. The performance lasted twenty minutes.

For critic Jon Savage, Siouxsie was "unlike any female singer before or since, commanding yet aloof, entirely modern."[19] She opened a new era for women in music as Viv Albertine from The Slits would later comment:

"Siouxsie just appeared fully made, fully in control, utterly confident. It totally blew me away. There she was doing something that I dared to dream but she took it and did it and it wiped the rest of the festival for me, that was it. I can't even remember everything else about it except that one performance."[20]

One of Siouxsie's first public appearances was with the Sex Pistols on Bill Grundy's television show, on Thames Television in December 1976. Standing next to the band, Siouxsie made fun of the presenter when he asked her how she was doing. She responded : "I've always wanted to meet you, Bill". Grundy who was drunk, suggested a meeting after the show. That directly provoked an reaction of Pistols guitarist Steve Jones who pronounced a series of rude words never heard before on access prime time television.[21] This episode created a media furore with front covers of several tabloids, including the Daily Mirror with the title: "Siouxsie's A Punk Shocker". This event had a major impact on the Pistols' subsequent career and within a week, they became a household name.

Not liking the clichés put forward by the press, Siouxsie distanced herself from that scene and stopped seeing the Pistols. She decided to focus all her energy on her own band: The Banshees.[22]

Siouxsie and the Banshees (1977–96)

In 1977, Siouxsie began touring in England with Severin on bass guitar as Siouxsie and the Banshees. One year later, their first single, "Hong Kong Garden," reached the top 10 in the UK.[23] With its oriental-inflected xylophone motif, it was depicted by critics 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 heard in a long, long time."[24]

Their first album, 1978's The Scream, was described by Nick Kent in the NME in the following terms:[25] "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." The Scream was later hailed by the NME as one of the best debut albums of all time with Patti Smith's Horses.[26] Join Hands followed in 1979.

The 1980 album Kaleidoscope marked a change of musical direction with the arrival of John McGeoch, considered "one of the most innovative and influential guitarists of the past thirty years".[27] The hit single "Happy House" was qualified as "great pop" with "liquid guitar"[28] and other songs like "Red Light" were layered with electronic sounds. Kaleidoscope widened Siouxsie's audience, reaching the top 5 in the UK charts. Juju followed in 1981, reaching number 7; the singles "Spellbound" and "Arabian Knights" were described as "pop marvels" by the Guardian.[29] During recording sessions for Juju, Siouxsie and drummer Budgie formed a percussion-oriented side project called The Creatures, inspired by the stripped-down sound of vocal and drum tracks. The first record from the duo was the EP Wild Things.

In 1982, the British press greeted the Siouxsie and the Banshees' album A Kiss in the Dreamhouse enthusiastically.[30] Richard Cook in the NME finished his review with "I promise. This music will take your breath away." [31]

In 1983, Siouxsie went to Hawaii to record The Creatures' first album Feast, which included the hit-single "Miss the Girl". During the summer, Siouxsie and Budgie hit again the charts with "Right Now", a song of the Mel Tormé's repertoire : the Creatures re-orchestrated it with brass arrangements.[32] Then with the Banshees and guitarist Robert Smith of The Cure, she covered The Beatles' "Dear Prudence", reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart.[33] Two albums followed with Smith: Nocturne, recorded live in London and Hyæna in 1984. 1986's Tinderbox and the 1987 covers album Through the Looking Glass both reached the top 15 in the UK.[34]

In 1988, the single "Peek-a-Boo" marked a musical departure from her previous work: it anticipated hip hop-inspired rock with the use of samples. The song was praised by the NME as "oriental marching band hip hop with farting horns and catchy accordion"[35] and hailed by the Melody Maker as "a brightly unexpected mixture of black steel and pop disturbance."[36] The Peepshow album was considered by critics to be the Banshees' most successful album in years.[37]

Siouxsie then temporarily reformed the Creatures with Budgie and went to Spain to record Boomerang. In his review, Simon Reynolds said that it was her "most inventive and invigorated music since A Kiss in the Dreamhouse.".[38]

In 1991 with the dance-oriented "Kiss Them for Me" single, she used South Asian instrumentation which had become popular in the UK club scene with the growth of bhangra.[39][40] Indian Tabla player Talvin Singh (who would later be Björk's percussionist on her 1993's Debut album) took part in the session and provided vocals for the bridge. With Kiss Them for Me, the singer scored a hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number 23.[41] After the release of Superstition that received enthusiastic reviews,[42] she co-headlined the first Lollapalooza tour, further increasing her American following. In 1992, the Banshees recorded the single "Face to Face" and began a hiatus of a few years. The last Banshees studio album, The Rapture, was released in 1995. After the accompanying tour, the Banshees announced their split during a press conference called "20 minutes into 20 years".[43]

The Creatures and collaborations (1993–2003)

In the mid-1990s, Siouxsie started to make one-off collaborations with other artists.

Suede invited her at a benefit concert for Red Hot Organization. She delivered with guitarist Bernard Butler a version of Lou Reed's "Carolyne Says" : Spin reviewed it as "hauntly and stately".[44]

Morrissey, ex-leader of The Smiths, recorded a duet with Siouxsie in 1994. They both sang on the single "Interlude", a track that was initially performed by Timi Yuro, a female torch singer of the 1960s. "Interlude" was released under the banner of "Morrissey and Siouxsie".

In 1995, she released the song "The Lighthouse" on the French producer Hector Zazou's album Chansons des mers froides which translates to Songs from the Cold Seas. Siouxsie and Zazou adapted the poem "Flannan Isle" by English poet Wilfred Wilson Gibson.

In February 1998, former Velvet Underground member John Cale invited her at a festival called "With a Little Help From My Friends" that took place at the Paradiso in Amsterdam. The concert was shown on Dutch national television and featured an unreleased composition of Sioux, "Murdering Mouth" sung in duet with Cale.[45] The collaboration between the two artists worked so well that they decided to tour the USA during the summer, performing "Murdering Mouth" and Cale's "Gun" together.

The following year, Siouxsie and Budgie released the first Creatures album since the split of the Banshees. Anima Animus was described by The Times as "hypnotic and inventive".[46] Also in 1999, the Creatures collaborated with Marc Almond on the track "Threat Of Love."

In 2002, she was rated the number seven female rock artist by Q magazine in 2002.[47] Universal put out shortly after The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees as the first re-issue of her back catalogue.

In 2003, Siouxsie was featured on the track "Cish Cash" by Basement Jaxx. The album Kish Kash won Best Electronic/Dance Album at the Grammy Awards.[48] Siouxsie then released the last Creatures album, Hai! which was in part recorded in Japan. Peter Wratts wrote in Time Out: "Her voice is the dominant instrument here, snaking and curling around the bouncing drumming backdrop, elegiac and inhuman as she chants, purrs and whispers her way around the album." He termed the record a "spine-tingling achievement."[49]

Solo career (2004–present)

In 2004, she toured for the first time as a solo act combining Banshees and Creatures songs. A live DVD called Dreamshow recorded the last concert, in London, September 2004, performed with the Millennia Ensemble. Released in August 2005, this DVD reached the number one position in the UK music DVD charts.[50]

Her first solo album MantaRay was released in September 2007. Pitchfork Media wrote "She really is pop" before finishing the review by declaring "It's a success."[51] Mojo magazine stated "a thirst for sonic adventure radiates from each track".[52]

In 2008, Siouxsie performed vocals for the track "Careless Love" on the The Edge of Love soundtrack by composer Angelo Badalamenti, frequent collaborator with director David Lynch. She sang on the title "Careless Love". She later performed another Badalamenti number "Who Will Take My Dreams Away" at the annual edition of the World Soundtrack Awards.[53]

After a year of touring, the singer played the last show of her tour in London in September. A live DVD of this performance called Finale: The Last Mantaray And More Show was released in 2009.

In October 2011, Siouxsie announced that there was "plenty more new material to come",[10] including a new album.[54]

Influence on other artists

Her voice is, in its own right, the common thread through all of it. There is no one who sings like that. And I think there are a lot of people who were influenced by it, but even if you try and sing like her, you can’t do that. You can’t throw your voice like that. You can’t throw harmony like that. That is a very distinct voice. Her technique is a thread between the really far-out stuff and opera and pop music. It’s distinct. It’s all her own.
 

Siouxsie's influence on modern music has been considerable.[13][3]

Siouxsie had a strong impact on two trip-hop acts. Tricky covered the 1983's proto trip-hop "Tattoo" to open his second album Nearly God[56] and Massive Attack sampled "Metal Postcard" on their song "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)" for the soundtrack to the film The Jackal.[57]

Other acts also covered Siouxsie's songs. Jeff Buckley, who took inspiration in various female singers, performed live "Killing Time", composed by Siouxsie and Budgie in 1989 for the Creatures album Boomerang: Buckley first sang it in 1992 for radio WFMU.[58][59] LCD Soundsystem recorded a cover of "Slowdive" for the B-side of "Disco Infiltrator": their version was also released on Introns.[60] Santigold based one of her tracks on the music of "Red Light" : "'My Superman' is an interpolation of a Siouxsie Sioux song, 'Red Light'".[61] In 2003, The Beta Band sampled "Painted Bird" and changed the title in "Liquid Bird" on their Heroes to Zeros album.[62] Red Hot Chili Peppers performed "Christine" at the V2001 festival and introduced it to their British audience as "your national anthem".[63] Lo-fi songwriter Jeremy Jay revisited "Lunar Camel" on his debut Airwalker EP. Indie folk group DeVotchKa covered the ballad "The Last Beat of My Heart" on the suggestion of Arcade Fire singer, Win Butler; it was released on the Curse Your Little Heart EP.[64]

Siouxsie has also been hailed by other critically acclaimed groups. Morrissey, previously of The Smiths said that "Siouxsie and the Banshees were excellent. They were one of the great groups of the late 70s, early 80s".[65] He also stated of modern groups in 1994: "None of them are as good as Siouxsie and the Banshees at full pelt. That's not dusty nostalgia, that's fact." [66] Another ex-member of The Smiths, Johnny Marr mentioned that he rated very high guitarist John McGeoch for his work on Siouxsie's single "Spellbound". Marr qualified it as "clever" with "really good picky thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll."[67] Radiohead also cited McGeoch-era Siouxsie records when mentioning the recording of "There There".[68]

Siouxsie has influenced other bands ranging from contemporaries U2 and The Cure to later acts like Jane's Addiction and TV on the Radio. U2 Frontman Bono named her as model in the band's 2006 autobiography U2 by U2. He was inspired by her way of singing.[69] With his band, he selected "Christine" for a compilation made for Mojo's readers.[70] U2 guitarist The Edge also was the presenter of an award given to Siouxsie at a Mojo ceremony in 2005.[71][72] The Cure's Robert Smith declared in 2003: "Siouxsie and The Banshees and Wire were the two bands I really admired. They meant something."[73] He also pinpointed what the 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."[74] For his record The Head on the Door in 1985, he stated : "It reminds me of the Kaleidoscope album, the idea of having lots of different sounding things, different colors".[75] Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction once made 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 & the Banshees."[76] From a younger generation, Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio mentioned the poppiest songs of Siouxsie for the arrangements: "I've always tried to make a song that begins like "Kiss Them for Me". I think songs like "I Was a Lover" or "Wash the Day away" came from that element of surprise mode where all of a sudden this giant drum comes in and you're like, what the fuck?! That record was the first one where I was like, okay, even my friends're going to fall for this. I feel like that transition into that record was a relief for me. Really beautiful music was always considered too weird by the normal kids and that was the first example where I thought, we've got them, they're hooked! I watched people dance to that song, people who had never heard of any of the music that I listened to, they heard that music in a club and went crazy.[77]

Siouxsie has also been hailed by female singers. PJ Harvey selected Anima Animus album by Siouxsie's second band The Creatures, in her top ten favourite albums of the year 1999.[78] Garbage's singer, Shirley Manson cited her as an influence : "I learned how to sing listening to The Scream and Kaleidoscope."[79] The singer of Garbage also mentioned that Siouxsie embodied everything she wanted to be as a young woman.[80] Gossip cited her as one of their influences for their 2009's Music For Men.[81] Ana Matronic of Scissor Sisters named Sioux as a source of inspiration and the Banshees as her favourite band.[82]

Electronica singer Santigold has said :

I keep a Rolodex of the women that vocally inspire me. There aren't that many, but she's definitely one of them. I remember one of the first times I heard "Red Light" it was at a party, and I remember going up to the DJ and being like, "Who's this?". It was that good. I kind of stopped and was like... wow. There's not a tremendous amount of women who are bold and forward thinking as artists. I feel like her music, at the time especially, was pretty unique in the way that it sort of matched her style. The freedom of experimenting with this dark place that doesn't have a place often in modern music.[61]

Musical genre

Garbage's singer Shirley Manson said:

(In 1981), the press began to describe them as a goth band. I never thought of them as goth. Goth has never been particularly angry, just a little dismayed. It had a weak, submissive side to it. Siouxsie & The Banshees always had a real edge to what they did. There was so much articulated spite, humour, politics with a small 'p' there that I never felt they went down that simple, gloomy path. People try to pass them off as a goth band because they find them dangerous and don't understand them. Today, I can see and hear the Banshees' influence all over the place.
 
— Garbage's singer, Shirley Manson, [83]

Personal life

Sioux married Budgie in May 1991. The following year, they moved to the southwest of France.[84]

In an interview with The Sunday Times in August 2007, she announced that she and Budgie had divorced.[85] In an interview with The Independent, she said, "I've never particularly said I'm hetero or I'm a lesbian. I know there are people who are definitely one way, but not really me. I suppose if I am attracted to men then they usually have more feminine qualities."[86]

Discography

For her works with Siouxsie and the Banshees, see Siouxsie and the Banshees discography.

For her works with The Creatures, see The Creatures discography.

Solo album

Year Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[87]
FRA
[88]
2007 MantaRay 39 132

Solo singles

Year Single Peak positions Album
UK
[89]
2007 "Into a Swan" 59 MantaRay
"Here Comes That Day" 103
2008 "About to Happen" 154

Featured singles

Year Single Artist Peak positions Album
UK
[90]
1994 "Interlude" Morrissey & Siouxsie 25 Non-album song

DVD

Collaborations with other artists

Sioux also performed with Suede a cover of "Carolyne Says" by Lou Reed, on 30 July 1993 at a "Red Hot & AIDS Benefit" concert.[91]

Film appearances of songs include The Punk Rock Movie (Don Letts, 1977); Jubilee (Derek Jarman, 1977); Out of Bounds (Richard Tuggle, 1986); Batman Returns (Tim Burton,1992); Showgirls (Paul Verhoeven, 1995); The Craft (Andrew Fleming, 1996); Grosse Pointe Blank (George Armitage, 1997); The Filth and the Fury (Julien Temple, 2000); 24 Hour Party People (Michael Winterbottom, 2002); Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006); Monster House (Gil Kenan, 2006); Notes on a Scandal (Richard Eyre, 2006); Doomsday (Neil Marshall, 2008)

Notes

  1. ^ Morrissey & Siouxsie released the single "Interlude" on August 1994 on EMI Records in Europe.
  2. ^ Siouxsie and John Cale in duet. "Murdering Mouth". Amsterdam, Paradiso (With the Metropole Orchestra). 25 February 1998. "Murdering Mouth" is an unreleased Sioux song.
  3. ^ a b Stone, Doug. "Siouxsie'biography" Allmusicguide.com. "One of the most influential British females in rock"
  4. ^ Untiedundone.com archives Jeff Buckley covered "Killing Time" at the radio WFMU Studios, East Orange, NJ, 10.11.92. "Killing Time" is a Siouxsie song from The Creatures' Boomerang album
  5. ^ "Moon-palace.de" Tricky Web Site. Tricky covered Siouxsie's "Tattoo" ; it's the opening track of his second album Nearly God
  6. ^ "Inflightdata.com" Massive Attack site Massive Attack sampled & covered "Metal Postcard" (from 1978's The Scream album) in 1997 on the film soundtrack The Jackal
  7. ^ "Introns 2006" jacksonfreepress.com. LCD Soundsystem covered Slowdive" (from 1982's A Kiss In The Dreamhouse) on this Introns cd
  8. ^ "7th January 2000 PJ selects her Top 10 Albums of 1999". Pjharvey.net. 7 January 2000. PJ Harvey cited Anima Animus of Siouxsie/The Creatures amongst her favourite albums of 1999 - Artist / Album Title : Bonnie Prince Billy I See a Darkness, Yat-Kha Dalai Beldiri, Tricky with DJ Muggs & Grease Juxtapose, The Rachel’s Selenography, Various Book of Life Soundtrack, The Creatures Anima Animus, Guided By Voices Do The Collapse, The Black Heart Procession Eponymous, Billy Bragg & Wilco Mermaid Avenue, The Kamkars Kani Sepi
  9. ^ "Icon: Siouxsie", The Fader Magazine, The Icon Issue 67, April/May 2010. Page 71: Dave Sitek (David Andrew Sitek) TV on the Radio. "I've always tried to make a song that begins like "Kiss Them for Me". I think songs like "I Was a Lover" or "Wash the Day away" came from that element of surprise mode where all of a sudden this giant drum comes in and you're like, what the fuck?! That record was the first one where I was like, okay, even my friends who don't know who The Cure or Sonic Youth are, they're going to fall for this. I feel like that transition into that record was a relief for me. Really beautiful music was always considered too weird by the normal kids and that was the first example where I thought, we've got them, they're hooked! I watched people dance to that song, people who had never heard of any of the music that I listened to, they heard that music in a club and went crazy.
  10. ^ a b Siouxsie Sioux: 'There plenty more new material to come from me'. Qthemusic.com". 25.10.11. Retrieved 2-11-11.
  11. ^ a b Johns, Brian. P.8
  12. ^ Paytress, Mark
  13. ^ a b c d William Show. "In at the Deep End". Word (September 2005). 
  14. ^ Paytress, Mark. P.23
  15. ^ Paytress, Mark. P.30
  16. ^ Paytress, Mark. P.42
  17. ^ Paytress, p. 32
  18. ^ Paytress, p. 104
  19. ^ Savage, Jon. Spin. June 1986. Page 66
  20. ^ Queens of British Pop. BBC One. Air Date : 1 April 2009.
  21. ^ "Sex Pistols on Bill Grundy's 'Today' show most requested clip". NME.com. 28 July 2008. http://www.nme.com/news/sex-pistols/38482. Retrieved 2008-08-02. 
  22. ^ Paytress, Mark. pp 47-48
  23. ^ Johns, Brian. p. 94
  24. ^ Rambali, Paul. "Hong Kong Garden" review. NME. 19 August 1978.
  25. ^ Kent, Nick. "Bansheed! What's in an image?". NME. 26 August 1978.
  26. ^ Watson, Don. "Siouxsie's Sombrero Bolero". NME. 15 December 1984. "After Patti Smith's ‘Horses’, ‘The Scream’ is the best debut LP of all time. Was it 1978 or ten years on? From the underwater claustrophobia of its cover, through the fractured monochrome scenarios to the morbid fascination of ‘Switch’s’ final flickers, its poetry in sound and splinters."
  27. ^ Simpson, Dave (12 March 2004). Obituary - John McGeoch: Innovative and influential guitarist of the post-punk era. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2004/mar/12/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries. 
  28. ^ Hewitt, Paulo. "Siouxsie’s sketches" [Kaleidoscope review]. Melody Maker. 26 July 1980
  29. ^ Petridis, Alexis. "The Guardian, 1000 albums to hear before you die". Guardian.co.uk.21 November 2007. "Perennial masters of brooding suspense, the Banshees honed their trademark aloof art-rock to its hardest and darkest pitch on Juju. With their musical alchemy at its peak and Siouxie at her most imperious, pop marvels such as Spellbound and Arabian Knights were poised, peerless exercises in magic realism that you could dance to."
  30. ^ Sutherland, Steve. "Awakening Dreams" [A Kiss in the Dreamhouse review]. Melody Maker. 6 November 1982. "The Banshees achieve an awesome, effective new pop without so much as a theory or qualm." "Dreamhouse" is an intoxicating achievement."
  31. ^ Cook, Richard. "A Kiss in the Dreamhouse"review. NME. 6 November 1982.
  32. ^ "Right Now" was remastered in 1997 for The Bestiary of the Creatures
  33. ^ Paytress, pp 137, 143
  34. ^ Johns, Brian. p. 95
  35. ^ Quantick, David. "Peek-A-Boo" review. NME. 23 July 1988.
  36. ^ Mathur, Paul. "Born Again Savages". Melody Maker. 9 July 1988.
  37. ^ Cooper, Mark. "Peepshow" review. Q Magazine. September 1988. "Peepshow takes place in some distorted fairground of the mind where weird and wonderful shapes loom."
  38. ^ Reynolds, Simon. "Boomerang" review. Melody Maker. 11 November 1989.
  39. ^ Ken Hunt. "Bhangra and Giddha". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/explore/essay/bhangra-and-giddha-t633. Retrieved 2 December 2011. 
  40. ^ John Bush. "Talvin Singh". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/talvin-singh-p125628/biography. Retrieved 2 December 2011. 
  41. ^ "Billboard page with the Siouxsie and the Banshees us singles chart positions" Allmusicguide.com
  42. ^ Southwell, Tim. "Superstition" review. NME, 15 June 1991. "With the delicious 'Kiss Them for Me' gracing the Gallup Top 40 with a touch of real class, the release of Siouxsie and the Banshees' 10th studio LP could not have come at a better time. 'Superstition' is a giant of a record, casting a sinister shadow over the listener in true Banshee style."
  43. ^ "Split In The Dreamhouse". Melody Maker. 13 April 1996.
  44. ^ Craven, Art. "Suede The Grand London 12 July 1993". Spin. October 1993.
  45. ^ Siouxsie and John Cale. "Murdering Mouth". Amsterdam, Paradiso (With the Metropole Orchestra). 25 February 1998
  46. ^ "Anima Animus" review. The Times. 2 February 1999.
  47. ^ "100 Women Who Rock The World" Q magazine. January 2002
  48. ^ "47th Annual Grammy Awards Winners". Billboard. 13 February 2005. Best Electronic/Dance Album: "Kish Kash," Basement Jaxx (XL Recordings/Astralwerks
  49. ^ Wratts, Peter. "Hai!" review. Time Out. "Her voice is the dominant instrument here, snaking and curling around the bouncing drumming backdrop, elegiac and inhuman as she chants, purrs and whispers her way around the album. The centrepiece is the tense, sensual, whirl of 'Tourniquet', a spellbinding nine minutes around which the rest of the album hangs, awed but not unbowed but it is presence. 'Landlocked/ wind and bind/you grind and grind', growls Siouxsie with a seductive sneer. It's a virile, sultry salute to lust and bondage, and will cure anybody of their hangover. A spine-tingling achievement."
  50. ^ "Siouxsie Number One in UK Music DVD chart". The Creatures Web Site. 30 August 2005. "Dreamshow" Siouxsie Number One in UK Music DVD Chart
  51. ^ Abebe, Nitsuh. "Mantaray" review Pitchforkmedia. 4 September 2007.
  52. ^ "Mantaray" review. Mojo. September 2007, p. 102
  53. ^ Siouxsie Sioux and Angelo Badalamenti. "Who will take my dreams away" Gent, the World Soundtrack Awards 2008
  54. ^ "PLUS!: In The Studio with". Mojo. January 2012. Issue 218.
  55. ^ "Icon: Siouxsie", The Fader Magazine, The Icon Issue 67, April/May 2010. Page 66
  56. ^ "moon-palace.de" Tricky web Site. Tricky covered "Tattoo" for the opening track of his second album Nearly God in 1996
  57. ^ "Inflightdata.com" Massive Attack sampled & covered "Metal Postcard" in 1997 on the film soundtrack The Jackal
  58. ^ "Untiedundone.com" archives Buckley's version of "Killing Time" performed at the radio WFMU Studios, East Orange, NJ, 10.11.92 "Killing Time" is a Siouxsie/The Creatures song from the Creatures's Boomerang album
  59. ^ "JeffBuckley-fr.net" list of songs covered by Jeff Buckley including "Killing Time" composed by Siouxsie for The Creatures.
  60. ^ "jacksonfreepress.com" LCD Soundsystem covered Slowdive on this Itrons CD
  61. ^ a b "Icon: Siouxsie", The Fader Magazine, The Icon Issue 67, April/May 2010. Page 73
  62. ^ Lapatine, Scott. "Earlash". April 2004. "EL: On previous albums you’ve used some left-field samples as a jumping off point to do something new and original. JM: Yeah, we’ve got Siouxsie and the Banshees on this record. It was Robin’s idea." "Liquid Bird" featured a sample of Siouxsie and the Banshees's "Painted Bird" from the album A Kiss in the Dreamhouse.
  63. ^ "Saunalahti.fi" (Red Hot Chilli Peppers'site). setlist of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers' concert performing "Christine" at the V2001 festival
  64. ^ "DeVotchka". laphil.com. April 2007. http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/artist-detail.cfm?id=3144. Retrieved 1 December 2011. "The Curse Your Little Heart EP showcases the band's versatility, reinterpreting tracks by the Velvet Underground, Frank Sinatra, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and others, in addition to taking on one of their own older songs. Could the band itself even have predicted what would transpire from the Arcade Fire's Win Butler's suggestion to the band that they take on 'Last Beat of My Heart?' The end result is the center-piece of the EP, a grand and soaring take on the song; a testament to the band's true unique ability to transform nearly anything via a sound only DeVotchka can create, and perhaps a look at the epic nature of where the band's own recordings may move in the future." 
  65. ^ Blade, Richard. "KROQ interview" Morrissey-solo. air date: 6 July 1997.
  66. ^ Maconie, Stuart. "Hello Cruel World". Q Magazine. April 1994. "Weren't The Smiths supposed to be the reaction of beauty and charm after the snarling negativity of punk? Yes, they were beauty and charm but if you listen to songs like Sweet And Tender Hooligan... well, I don't like The Smiths being categorised as folk music. It wasn't like that. The appearances were extremely, expressively violent. And I wouldn't have had it any other way. But if you study modern groups, those who gain press coverage and chart action, most of them aren't actually as good as The Angelic Upstarts, aren't as exciting as Sham 69. None of them are as good as Siouxsie And The Banshees at full pelt. That's not dusty nostalgia, that's fact. Most modern groups as far as I can see are Creedence Clearwater Revival."
  67. ^ Mitchell, Pete. "Spellbound : the story of John McGeoch" BBC2. February 2008. About McGeoch's contribution of the single "Spellbound", Marr states: "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.
  68. ^ "Radiohead Official Biography - Capitol Canada". MuchMusic.com. Colin Greenwood remembers: "The first single we're releasing is actually the longest song on the record. ("There There"). It was all recorded live in Oxford. We all got excited at the end because Nigel was trying to get Jonny to play like John McGeoch in Siouxsie And The Banshees. All the old farts in the band were in seventh heaven."
  69. ^ McCormick, Neil (ed), (2006). U2 by U2. HarperCollins Publishers, pp. 56, 58 and 96
  70. ^ U2 Wanderer U2'Compilation for Mojo featuring "Christine"
  71. ^ Mojo Awards 2005 Mojo Icon Award 2005 : Siouxsie Sioux presented by The Edge
  72. ^ The Creatures - Siouxsie Sioux Official Website. Archived News: Mojo Icon Award 17.06.05. Last night Siouxsie lifted the Icon Award and the Mojo Honours Awards. The award was given to her by U2's The Edge who cited Siouxsie as a big influence on Bono and U2 before handing over the Award. Retrieved 17 May 2007
  73. ^ Paytress, (interview of Robert Smith by Alexis Petridis), p. 95
  74. ^ Paytress, (Interview of Robert Smith by Alexis Petridis), p. 96
  75. ^ Sutherland, Steve. "A Suitable Case for Treatment". Melody Maker. 17 August 1985.
  76. ^ Paytress, p. 199
  77. ^ "Icon: Siouxsie", The Fader Magazine, The Icon Issue 67, April/May 2010. Page 74
  78. ^ "7th January 2000 PJ selects her Top 10 Albums of 1999" Pjharvey.net. 7 January 2000. Artist Album Title : Bonnie Prince Billy I See a Darkness, Yat-Kha Dalai Beldiri, Tricky with DJ Muggs & Grease Juxtapose, The Rachel’s Selenography, Various Book of Life Soundtrack, The Creatures Anima Animus, Guided By Voices Do The Collapse, The Black Heart Procession Eponymous, Billy Bragg & Wilco Mermaid Avenue, The Kamkars Kani Sepi
  79. ^ Paytress, (foreword by Shirley Manson), p. 9
  80. ^ Simpson, Dave. "Rebellious Jukebox". "Garbage's Shirley Manson reveals what rings her bell". Melody Maker. 28 March 1998. 2 Siouxsie & the Banshees "The Scream". Primal Howl from the psychotic darklands of seventies punk. "Siouxsie embodied everything I wanted to be when I was a freaky adolescent. She was really articulate and string; there's so much power in songs like 'Jigsaw Feeling'. Siouxsie was my first schoolgirl crush. I always wanted black hair and black eyebrows but I couldn't have been further from that whole look because I was ginger! I still listen to 'The Scream' to this day and it's amazing."
  81. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry. "Gossip Q&A" Spin.com. 28 April 2009. "What bands influenced the new album's sound? Everything from the Birthday Party to house music and Siouxsie and the Banshees."
  82. ^ Ellis, James. "Ana Matronic". Metro.co.uk. Monday, February 2, 2004. Ana Matronic from Scissor Sisters talked about her favourite band Siouxsie & the Banshees. "My big inspiration as far as music was concerned has always been rather scary women: Annie Lennox, Siouxsie Sioux - The Banshees were probably my favourite band ever - Debbie Harry, Lydia Lunch, Patti Smith. I dig the women who scare people."
  83. ^ Paytress, Mark. (Foreword by Manson, Shirley). "the Siouxsie & The Banshees the authorised Biography. Sanctuary 2003, p. 9
  84. ^ Paytress, Mark. Siouxsie & the banshees, The Authorized Biography. Sancturary 2003, p. 207
  85. ^ Cairns, Dan.Siouxsie Sioux is back in bloom. The Sunday Times. 26 August 2007
  86. ^ Eyre, Hermione. "The Punk Icon". The Independent. Retrieved 1 September 2007.
  87. ^ "Chart Stats - Siouxsie". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=11378. Retrieved 28 December 2010. 
  88. ^ "lescharts.com - French charts portal". Hung Medien. http://www.lescharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Siouxsie. Retrieved 28 December 2010. 
  89. ^ "Chart Log UK: DJ S - The System of Life". The Official Charts Company. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_S.HTM. Retrieved 28 December 2010. 
  90. ^ "Chart Stats - Morrissey and Siouxsie". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=7163. Retrieved 28 December 2010. 
  91. ^ "Carolyne Says" London July 1993 Siouxsie with Bernard Butler from Suede introduced by Brett Anderson

References

External links