Here’s what a few other folk have said at different times about this rather splendid single:-
“The band almost invented a new sound with this single: It was Banshees – phase two” : SIOUXSIE -INTERVIEW ON GERMAN TV, 1999
“It is sarcastic. In a way, like television, all the media, it is like adverts, the perfect family whereas it is more common that husbands beat their wives. There are mental families really, but the projection is everyone smiling, blond hair, sunshine, eating butter without being fat and everyone perfect” : SIOUXSIE – INTERVIEW ON DUTCH TV, 1983
“With Slits drummer Budgie giving the band a new rhythmic groove and Magazine guitarist John McGeoch providing greater musicality, the Banshees tore up their plans and reinvented themselves. In came pianos, drum machines and reggae polyrhythms, as they began a gradual shift to twisted pop, Happy House finds Siouxsie poking macabre fun at the mirage of happiness of the family unit in a consumer society. By the time the group took it on to Top of the Pops, Kohl-eyelinered Siouxsie clones were a feature of many British high streets. As she transformed the role of a female frontwoman into something powerful, mysterious and dominant, teenage fans were painting their bedroom walls black, and acquiring the singer’s deeply-held interest in the supernatural. Yup, the Banshees had invented goth.” : GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER – OCTOBER 2014
With the single “Happy House,” it felt like Siouxsie and The Banshees had opened up the curtains and let in the light. It was still very dark (the song is about a madhouse), but compared to the earlier “Mittageisen” and the epic takedown of “Drop Dead/Celebration,” it was walking on freaking sunshine” : PROGROGRAHY.COM – OCTOBER 2019
Siouxsie has a very distinct, unique voice and this song layers her vocals, as well as echoes, to create an eerie auditory atmosphere. Her voice, combined with the loud and haunting instrumentation, creates lots of texture for a relatively simple song. Even if you are unfamiliar with the original, the guitar riff has been sampled repeatedly by popular artists, including Mindless Self Indulgence and The Weeknd. The hypnotic instrumental is arguably more iconic than the song as a whole. : ELLI BATCHELOR, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON BLOG, APRIL 2023
“Despite this having long been one of my favourite 45s by the band, it has never before featured on the blog, so let’s give thanks to the 7” lucky dip series. It spent eight weeks in the UK singles chart between March and May 1980, peaking at #17 in early April. : JC , THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN BLOG, OCTOBER 2025
mp3: Siouxsie & The Banshees – Happy House
The b-side, as mentioned above, has a frighteningly dark lyric and tune to match. Really surprised that it hasn’t yet been picked up by the darker elements of the TikTok generation
mp3: Siouxsie & The Banshees – Drop Dead/Celebration
You’re unlikely to experience as an intense four minutes and twenty-two seconds of time elsewhere today.
JC
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
The sound of a world waking up to something different. My memory is that this was a summer release. If not, it’s how I prefer to recall it.
Flimflamfan