Category: Siouxsie & The Banshees

I bought a second-hand CD a long time ago, specifically for the purposes of having a bit of fun on the blog, and I’ve decided to use the normally quiet festive period, when the traffic and number of visitors drops quite dramatically, to go with it.

The CD was issued in 1996.  It is called Beat On The Brass, and it was recorded by The Nutley Brass, the brains of whom belong to New York musician Sam Elwitt.

The concept behind the album is simple. Take one bona-fide punk/post-punk/new wave classic and give it the easy listening treatment.

There are 18 tracks on the CD all told.  Some have to be heard to be believed.

Strap yourselves in.

mp3: The Nutley Brass – Hong Kong Garden

And, just so you can appreciate the magnificence (or otherwise) of the renditions, you’ll also be able to listen to the original versions as we make our way through the CD in random order.

mp3: Siouxsie and The Banshees – Hong Kong Garden

The debut single, from August 1978.

JC

I’m going to all academic on you today by lifting loads of words from Masterclass dot com .  I’m not a subscriber, but this article was available to read online, seemingly free of charge.  I’ll likely get into trouble for it.

“Post-punk music is an offshoot of punk rock that embraces greater ambition in terms of harmony, melody, rhythm, and lyrical content while retaining punk energy and urgency. Prominent post-punk bands such as Gang of Four, Wire, Joy Division, The Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen, Sonic Youth, and Fugazi helped set the stage for the alternative rock explosion of the 1990s.

The post-punk movement closely overlaps with new wave music. While the new wave genre is more closely linked to popular bands like Talking Heads, New Order, Depeche Mode, and Duran Duran, it shared many musicians with the post-punk scene. For instance, Joy Division is often referred to as post-punk, but following the death of singer Ian Curtis, the remaining musicians carried on as New Order, which is widely considered a new wave group. Due to the close relationship between genres, post-punk is sometimes referred to as “no wave” music.

The post-punk scene arose from punk rock. Many post-punk musicians grew up as fans of bands like the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, New York Dolls, and Minor Threat. In some cases, they were actual members of these bands, such as Public Image Ltd frontman John Lydon, who is perhaps better known as Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols.

* Post-punk spread: Post-punk music spread throughout the English-speaking world between the late ’70s and the mid ’90s. Major geographic hubs included New York, Washington, Boston, and Chicago, and the English cities of London, Manchester, and Leeds.

* Slight shift from punk: Some post-punks made only a slight departure from the raucous sounds of punk rock. Art rock-influenced groups like The Slits, Pere Ubu, and The Raincoats often sounded on the brink of collapse. Similar groups like The Birthday Party and The Stooges also brought a heaviness, courtesy of respective singers Nick Cave and Iggy Pop.

* Modernization: Other post-punk groups modernized for the 1980s, incorporating new technology, atmospheric layering, and pop hooks. Such groups included synth-pop acts like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, and New Order.

* Adding rhythm: Yet another branch of post-punk made rhythm a core part of their identity. Bands influenced by dub and reggae included The Police and the Talking Heads, as well as electronic music pioneers in the Krautrock scene, such as Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, and Neu!

* A sophisticated sound: The post-punk era continued well into the 1990s and beyond, as groups like Fugazi, Girls Against Boys, Superchunk, Sonic Youth, The Fall, and many more combined punk’s DIY spirit with increased musical sophistication and a subtle knack for pop hooks.

Post-punk is an expansive genre, and different branches contain idiomatic characteristics.

1. Direct punk influence: Many post-punk groups retain the vast majority of the punk ethos and raw power. Groups like Killing Joke, Mission of Burma, and The Birthday Party can sound as intense as standard punk bands.

2. Appreciation for art rock: A large number of post-punks came of age via the psychedelic and avant-garde flirtations of 1970s acts like The Velvet Underground, Throbbing Gristle, David Bowie, and Brian Eno. Pere Ubu, Devo, Bauhaus, and The Raincoats carried on the experimental spirit of these musicians.

3. Embrace of synthesizers: Some post-punk hinges entirely around guitars. Other post-punk acts readily incorporated synthesizer technology, including Depeche Mode and goth rockers The Cure.

4. Jangly guitars: Post-punks who resisted synthesizers were likely to embrace trebly guitars that produced a Byrds-style “jangle.” Such groups included R.E.M., Orange Juice, and The dB’s.

5. Pop hooks: In many cases, punk rockers resisted commercial success at every turn. Many post-punks were far more open to such success and even actively chased it. The pop hooks of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Buzzcocks, R.E.M., Pixies, and Talking Heads differed from the traditional punk era.

6. “Angular” sounds: Post-punk groups like Wire, Gang of Four, and Fugazi were described as “angular.” This appears to refer to their treble-focused guitar amps with minimal reverb, and their choice of guitar riffs and chord progressions that steered clear of the folk music that defined much of early rock ‘n’ roll. This aural sensation would carry on to more contemporary post-punk bands, like Interpol and The Knife.

7. Strong support from music journalists: Unlike other 1980s genres, such as dance pop and hair metal, post-punk received steady praise from music critics. Outlets supported post-punk records like Wire’s 154, PiL’s Metal Box, Gang of Four’s Entertainment!, and Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures. Groups like the new wave Talking Heads, the gothic rock combo The Cure, and iconoclasts Fugazi were also commended.

It’s clearly written from an American perspective, and I’m guessing by someone quite young who is looking back at things without having lived through the era.  There are some interesting points made along the way, but some of the examples highlighted to support the conclusions seem baffling.

For instance, Siouxsie and the Banshees get a mention late on under the section on pop hooks, which I can understand if you focus solely on the later-era, but it fails to acknowledge and recognise that one of their earliest songs, as included on The Scream (1978) is, in this music fan’s opinion, the definitive post-punk song of them all:-

mp3: Siouxsie and the Banshees – Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)

I always forget that this was re-recorded with German lyrics and released as a double-A sided single, along with Love In A Void, in September 1979, probably because I don’t own a copy of that particular 7″.  But as you know, not owning things doesn’t stop activities at TVV:-

mp3: Siouxsie and the Banshees – Mittageisen (Metal Postcard)

Let’s complete things with the faster-paced Peel Session version, first broadcast on 5 December 1977:-

mp3: Siouxsie and the Banshees – Metal Postcard (Peel Session)

JC

The traffic to the blog slows up over the Festive period, and it’s therefore something of an opportunity to take a bit of a breather.

Over a period of 26 days, I’ll be posting a single never previously featured on its own before – it might have sneaked in as part of an ICA or within a piece looking at various tracks – with the idea of an edited cut’n’paste from somewhere (most likely wiki) and then all the songs from either the vinyl or CD.

K is for Kiss Them For Me released by Siouxsie & The Banshees as a single in May 1991.

This is another of those occasions when I look at the date of the release and think to myself that I can’t possibly be that old a song.

Kiss Them for Me was the lead single from the band’s 10th studio album, Superstition, which would be released about a month later. It was something of a shock to hear a fairly substantial shift in direction, more dance/groove orientated than normal, with a very clear and distinct bhangra, as well as baggy, influence. The promo video turned out to be all Siouxsie with little of the Banshees, focussing on her looks as she swayed, moaned and sighed her way through what was bound to be a sure-fire hit single.

mp3: Siouxsie & The Banshees – Kiss Them For Me

It didn’t completely stiff, but at #32, it was along the lines of most of the band’s 45s. It as their 25th single release in the UK, of which only five had made it inside the Top 20.

Released on 7″, 12″ CD and cassette, many of the b-sides were remixes, but there were some other otherwise unavailable tracks:-

mp3: Siouxsie & The Banshees – Return
mp3: Siouxsie & The Banshees – Staring Back
mp3: Siouxsie & The Banshees – Kiss Them For Me (Snapper Mix)
mp3: Siouxsie & The Banshees – Kiss Them For Me (Kathak Mix)
mp3: Siouxsie & The Banshees – Kiss Them For Me (Loveappella Mix)

What I didn’t know until doing a bit of background research for today’s post is that Siouxsie’s cryptic lyrics are a tribute to Jayne Mansfield. It seems her catchword was ‘divoon’, a slang word used in the lyric, while there are also references to heart-shaped swimming pools, a love of champagne and parties, and also the horrific car crash which killed the actress in 1967. And neither was I aware that Kiss Them for Me was also the name of a 1957 film in which Jayne Mansfield had starred with Cary Grant.

JC

A GUEST POSTING by MIDDLE AGED MAN

1. Pure

Your first single is a top 10 hit, which song will you choose to be the opening track on your first album? Well this is 1978 and you are a punk band, so obviously it’s not going to be the hit single, no it’s a short slow wordless mournful piece that has very little in common with the rest of the album, but does a great job of establishing that the album ‘The Scream’ was not going to be an easy listen and provides the perfect opener for this ICA.

2. Hong Kong Garden

The ‘Pop Song’ as Siouxsie described it during the ‘Join Hands’ tour, was my first and most people’s exposure to the band. At the time, unless you were a John Peel listener and at that time I was too young to stay awake during school nights, Top of the Pops was the way to hear and see new bands and it was on this show that I first heard and saw the band, compared to what was to follow it was ‘poppy’ but in comparison to the rest of the tv show weird and aggressive, according to Wiki it reached number 7 in the chart, only bettered by their cover of Dear Prudence some 5 years later, so Siouxsie was right to call it ‘Pop Song’

3. Playground Twist

Their 3rd single, manages to make children playing/playgrounds a sinister experience. I remember at the time John Lydon ( billed as Johnny Rotten) was appearing on Juke Box Jury and Playground Twist was one of the singles reviewed and he ducked it by saying the audience should decide whether it was a hit or miss. I found the show on Youtube last week and it is from a different world, alongside Rotten were Alan Freeman (fair enough), Elaine Paige (West End musical singer) and Joan Collins (who at the time was starring in soft porn movies like The Stud) reviewing the latest new singles, the most shocking aspect is seeing both Rotten and Freeman smoking on screen, it is well worth a watch.

4. Night Shift

A track from their 4th Album JuJu which is probably my overall favourite and for me this is the standout track. John McGeoch’s guitar playing is perfection combining a lovely riff with intricate note playing. He was a perfect replacement for the Banshees, managing to maintain their aggressive guitar led sound whilst adding a new layer of delicacy, subsequent guitarists never quite managed to achieve this balance,

5. Skin

From their 3rd album, recorded following the abrupt department of John McKay (guitar) and Kenny Morris (drums) during the Join Hands tour, and features guitar on this song from non-other than Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), although to be honest you wouldn’t know it from the playing. Siouxsie’s vocal is a vicious condemnation of the use of animal fur for clothing opening with ‘Mink, seal and ermine smother fat women’

6. Painted Bird

From A Kiss In A Dreamhouse and the album where, for me, were the guitars become less dominant and Siouxsie starts to sound like a regular singer. I always thought the song was about Siouxsie herself, but apparently it’s about The Painted Bird  – a 1965 novel by Jerzy Kosiński which doesn’t sound too pleasant a read.

7. Helter Skelter

A great example of a band taking a song and making it their own, it fits seamlessly into the Banshees sound and closes the first side of The Scream. I didn’t know it was a cover until I read the songwriting credits (from the days when you would pore over every detail of a record and its sleeve) and to be honest I have never heard the original to this day and don’t want to, in my mind it will always be a Banshees song.

8. Israel

A constant reminder that Budgie is probably the most powerful drummer I have experienced live, I can still feel the vibrations through the wooden floor of the De Montford Hall in Leicester as he pounded away.

9. Paradise Place

A scathing commentary upon plastic surgery from the late 70’s when it wasn’t the norm or accepted in the way it is today and shows that Siouxsie when angry could write lyrics that are as good as any from the era …

Do you notice my eyes, are they in the right place?
There’s a Mantovani backdrop to pucker up a tummy tuck
A voice soft as lint mashed up with shades of pink
Hide your genetics under drastic cosmetics

10. Icon

The most Siouxsie and the Banshees of Siouxsie and the Banshee songs. Starting with a slow guitar riff, no notes just chords, with thunderous drums and vocals that are not quite singing as we know it but are full of aggression and leave you in no doubt that there isn’t a chance of compromise.

Bonus Track

Exterminating Angel

After the Banshees split up, The Creatures appeared with just Siouxsie and Budgie as members. This is the most Banshee song they recorded and is magnificent and is the only song I know on this subject matter and one that Siouxsie attacks with pure vengeance.

MIDDLE AGED MAN

Today’s featured 7” piece of vinyl was seemingly named as ‘Single of the Week’ in August 1978 within the pages of all four of the main UK music papers – Melody Maker, NME, Record Mirror and Sounds, something I find hard to believe given that the papers projected themselves towards slightly different audiences and it was incredibly rare for all of them to simultaneously champion one band or singer.

But such was the fate of this:-

mp3 : Siouxsie and The Banshees – Hong Kong Garden

In an era when many a new band sounded fresh and exciting, particularly to my teenage ears, there was something about Hong Kong Garden that made it stand out even more so, that, of course being the Oriental sounding opening. The reviews in the music papers, to their credit, did nail things very well, offering the sort of soundbites that could be added to a poster if it was being used to attract further custom:-

“a bright, vivid narrative, power charged by the most original, intoxicating guitar playing heard in a long, long time”.

“strident and powerful with tantalising oriental guitar riffs”.

“ catchy, original….coupled with an irresistible sing-along chorus”.

“I love every second”.

The introductory notes come courtesy of a xylophone. The song had originally been aired on the John Peel Show on Radio 1 some six months earlier, with a quite different sound courtesy of a toy glockenspiel. The drums were also quite different….

mp3 : Siouxsie and The Banshees – Hong Kong Garden (Peel Session)

Ah, the drums. The instrument that played a huge part in making Hong Kong Garden one of the earliest smash hits of the new wave era – it’s #7 placing made it one of the few to go Top Ten in those days. Polydor Records had hooked the band up with an American producer named Bruce Albertine and had hired the expensive Olympic Studios in London for the sessions. The band didn’t like the results and the decision was taken to work with a little-known producer in a tiny basement studio in London. The producer got it done and dusted in two days, concentrating on the drum sound, insisting that Kenny Morris play the bass and snares first of all and then cymbals and tom-toms later on. These were matched up, with a bit of echo added, thus giving the song a bigger, fuller and more ambitious sound, arguably making the first new-wave single that didn’t sound just one step up from a great, live sounding demo.

The producer’s name was Steve Lillywhite and Hong Kong Garden was his first hit in that role….the first of many hundreds.

You can get a real sense of the difference that Lillywhite made by flipping it over to the b-side:-

mp3 : Siouxsie and The Banshees – Voices

This was salvaged from the Olympic Sessions with Bruce Albertine. It is distinctly average……(feel free to differ!!!)

The band would return to the studio with Steve Lillywhite to record debut album The Scream. As it was a separate session, and in a different studio to where they had first worked on the single, the decision was taken to leave Hong Kong Garden off said debut album. An act of artistic merit, but something of a commercial folly.

JC

Here’s another quiz question I’d have got wrong.

Siouxsie and The Banshees released 30 singles between 1978 and 1995 – how many of then went Top 40?

The answer is 18……my guess would have been much higher than that, I’d likely have gone for 25 as I can’t recall too many flops.

Turns out that a number of the songs I had always assumed had been chart hits were nothing of the sort – Metal Postcard (Mittageisen), Israel, Slowdive and Melt! all stalled in the 40s as too did their admittedly limp version of The Passenger.

Possibly even more surprising is that just five of their singles have cracked the Top 20, of which two were cover versions, including what proved to be their biggest selling 45 back in 1983:-

mp3 : Siouxsie & The Banshees – Dear Prudence

This got to #3 and it was all over the music press that it was a cover of a song by The Beatles that had originally appeared on The White Album. I was glad to have been furnished with such info as, back in 83, I hadn’t heard the original. And here’s the thing…….36 years on, I still haven’t! This isn’t the time nor place to go into great detail as to why I have no great affection for the works of Harrison, Lennon, McCartney and Starr – the songs I do know of theirs tend to be the ones that got heavy rotation on the radio as I was growing up (i.e. the hit singles) and Dear Prudence, which wiki tells me was written for Prudence Farrow, the sister of the actress Mia Farrow, was an album track only.

The hit came when the Banshees were going through a difficult but extremely productive period. John McGeoch, whose guitar work was so important to their sound, had succumbed to the rigours of touring, and combined with the first signs of what would become full-blown alcoholism in later years, had suffered a nervous breakdown on stage in Madrid in late 82 which led to him being fired and Robert Smith being asked in as his replacement. He accepted but only on the basis that he could continue to perform with The Cure.

1983 was some year to try to keep up with everything that was happening.

Siouxsie and Budgie resurrected The Creatures two years after the hit debut EP and found themselves enjoying a Top 20 debut album in Feast.

Steve Severin and Robert Smith were the principal members of The Glove but their two singles and album from that year were relative flops.

The Cure enjoyed the fruits from the singles compilation Japanese Whispers with The Walk giving them their first Top 20 hit and its follow-up The Love Cats doing even better by reaching #7

The Banshees spent much of the year recording Hyaena, although it wouldn’t be released until May 1984; they kept their own profile up amidst all this activity with the release of Dear Prudence as a stand-alone 45 in September and Nocturne, a live album from two shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London performed on successive nights on 30 September and 1 October.

It’s no real surprise that Robert Smith, on the point of complete exhaustion, left the Banshees just before Hyaena was released and the extensive promotional work that was associated with it.

Looking back, there’s a case to be made for an ICA from that year, comprising the side projects, the live album and the one-off single. It would, by its nature, be a patchwork affair, but there would be more than enough to keep most satisfied. Instead, I’ll stick to just offering the two tracks from the 12” single:-

mp3 : Siouxsie & The Banshees – Tattoo
mp3 : Siouxsie & The Banshees – There’s A Planet In My Kitchen

The former is a paean to inky designs on the skin and is something of a grower…..the latter has a wonderful title – the ‘tune’ doesn’t quite match its majesty and it could well be the most out-there thing the band ever did!

All tracks were produced by Mike Hedges, who himself would have a busy year working with The Beat, The Undertones, Southern Death Cult as well as The Creatures and the Banshees, all the while basking in the glorious work he’d done the previous year on Sulk by Associates, an album which has a big influence on the three songs on Dear Prudence

JC