Siouxsie And The Banshees

Origins

Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin met at a Roxy Music concert in September 1975. On 20 September 1976 a band dropped out of the 100 Club Punk Festival at the last minute, and Siouxsie suggested that she and Severin take the slot. They had no name and no other members, so they played a 20-minute improvisation based on the Lord's Prayer. They were asked to play again, and recruited drummer Kenny Morris and guitarist Peter Fenton. John McKay replaced Fenton in July 1977.

A John Peel session in November 1977 premiered Metal Postcard, and the band described their sound as "cold, machine-like and passionate at the same time." Polydor, which offered complete artistic control, signed them in June 1978. The first single, Hong Kong Garden, was named after a takeaway in Chislehurst. It was re-recorded in two days with Steve Lillywhite after the band disliked a first attempt at Olympic Studios, and it reached number 7 when it came out on 18 August 1978.

The Scream

The Scream was recorded in one week in August 1978 at RAK Studios in London and mixed over three weeks, with Lillywhite co-producing alongside the band. He had Morris record the bass drum and snare first, and the cymbals and toms afterwards. Polydor released it on 13 November 1978. It reached number 12 in the UK, and no singles were taken from it.

Sounds named it the best debut album of the year. Peter Hook of Joy Division called it "one of my favourite ever records", and Shirley Manson of Garbage said that if she had to pick one record that most influenced her music, it would be this one.

Kaleidoscope and Juju

In September 1979, a few dates into the tour for Join Hands, Morris and McKay left. Budgie joined on drums, and Robert Smith of the Cure, whose band was supporting, played guitar until the tour ended. The first record with Budgie and the guitarist John McGeoch was Happy House, released on 7 March 1980, which reached number 17. Kaleidoscope followed on 1 August 1980, reached number 5, and used synthesizers and drum machines for the first time.

Juju came out on 19 June 1981, recorded at Surrey Sound in Leatherhead with Nigel Gray as co-producer. Severin said it became their first concept album, drawing on darker elements without being planned that way. It reached number 7. Its singles Spellbound and Arabian Knights reached 22 and 32. The Guardian later said the band had taken its art-rock to its "hardest and darkest pitch" on the record.

Dreamhouse to Peepshow

A Kiss in the Dreamhouse arrived on 5 November 1982. The band produced it with engineer Mike Hedges and used real strings for the first time, which Siouxsie and Severin insisted on rather than a machine. It reached number 11. McGeoch's time in the band ended in 1982, and Smith rejoined in November.

In September 1983 a cover of the Beatles' Dear Prudence, recorded in Stockholm and London that July, reached number 3. It was their biggest UK hit, kept from the top by Culture Club's Karma Chameleon. Smith left shortly before Hyaena was released in May 1984, and John Valentine Carruthers replaced him.

Martin McCarrick and Jon Klein joined to make a quintet, and Peepshow came out on 5 September 1988, produced by Hedges with cello and accordion among its instruments. It reached number 20 in the UK and 68 on the Billboard 200, and Peek-a-Boo reached number one on Billboard's alternative chart.

The end and after

In 1991 Kiss Them for Me, produced by Stephen Hague with tabla from Talvin Singh, reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, their biggest US hit. The band toured the US as second headliners on the first Lollapalooza. John Cale produced the rest of The Rapture (1995). A few weeks after its release Polydor dropped the band, and in April 1996 the Banshees disbanded after 20 years.

Joy Division, the Cure, U2 and Radiohead are among the bands who have cited them. Robert Smith said in 2003 that they and Wire were the two bands he really admired, and Thom Yorke said that seeing Siouxsie on stage in 1985 inspired him to perform at the centre of the stage. All eleven studio albums were reissued on vinyl from 2018.