Hong Kong Garden

Hong Kong Garden was the band's first single, released by Polydor on 18 August 1978, with Voices on the B-side. It reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart and was not included on The Scream. It began as a song by guitarist John McKay called People Phobia, and the band first heard it on a tour bus. It is named after the Hong Kong Garden takeaway in Chislehurst, where Siouxsie said she was upset by the local skinheads who hung out there.

Polydor first booked Olympic Studios in July 1978 with the American producer Bruce Albertine, and the band disliked the result. Manager Nils Stevenson called in Steve Lillywhite, who re-recorded the song in two days in the Fallout Shelter, a studio in the basement of Island Records. It was Lillywhite's first hit record as a producer. The earlier BBC version played the hook on a pixiphone, and the single used a xylophone.

Paul Rambali of NME called it a bright, vivid narrative. The Independent later said it was arguably the most important of the early post-punk hits. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth named it among his all-time favourite songs, and Uffie covered it on her debut album. A reworked version with an orchestral string introduction by Brian Reitzell appeared on the 2006 soundtrack to Marie Antoinette.