May 1994
This single-part FAQ-simile siouxpercedes the
previous multi-part edition.
CONTENTS:
0) Introduction
0.5) New Album Coming
1) In the Beginning
2) Interviews
3) Miscellany
4) Media (incl. Grundy)
5) Songs & Lyrics
6) 'ographies
COPYLEFT:
1) Permission is hereby granted to give away free copies, in
whole or in part. You may distribute, transfer or spread
this information. You may not pretend that you wrote it.
This may not be sold for profit or incorporated into any
commercial documents.
2) I claim no compilation copyright. As far as I'm concerned
anyone can reproduce a message for any purpose. Individual
authors may retain rights to their messages although I will
not knowingly post anything that does not permit unlimited
distribution in any form.
DISCOGRAPHY: There is one making the rounds.
It has been posted to the newsgroup several
times. If you want a copy, ask the group
and someone will send you a copy.
THE NET: To be added to the Siouxsie and
the Banshees newsgroup, send a message to
siouxsie-request@nine.org. Note that this
addresses a real, live human being with a
pulse, namely Kelly Derek Deyoe, and not a
listserver. To make a posting to the group,
send to siouxsie@nine.org. Kelly asks that
we do NOT post monster files (pictures, etc)
to the newsgroup. And, as far as we know,
Siouxsie et al. do NOT listen in, and may
not even know the newsgroup exists !
Lots of stuff in this pseudo-FAQ is
conversational, and NOT DEFINITIVE.
If you can fill in the blanks, or have
corrections, please post to the group.
Especially song lyrics !
This document is siouxtable for all those held
spellbound within Her siouxperbly, siouxpremely
siouxpernatural, siouxdorific siouxzerainty.
And I still maintain that the Dream Duet would
have been Siouxsie/Zappa. The (dis)harmonies
would have been MOST siouxthing.
/fred
Fred Baube /fan since Kaleidoscope/
baube@optiplan.fi (or if that barfs,
c/o baube@creighton.edu)
..when you think your Toys you hear Laughter
have gone Berserk cracking through the Walls
it's an illUsion you're sent Spinning
you Cannot Shirk you Have No Choice
-- Sioux proverb
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 21:09:44 -0500 (EST)
From: Kelly Derek Deyoe <ari!kdeyoe+@cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Us
Excerpts from internet.siouxsie: 7-Jan-93 Us by F.Baube x554@flb.optipla
> and for curiosity's sake, how many countries are subscribers in ?
Ok, well, I went through the list of subscribers quickly and made a
count based on top-level domains. This is by no means scientific, and
probably slightly off in many places. The number of subscribers is
currently a little low because I've not included people who have asked
to be taken off the list for awhile because it's their winter break &
they can't receive mail (this number is about 5 people) or people who
I've taken off the list because mail keeps bouncing to them (usually cuz
they're on a dozen mailing lists & they're on winter break & their disk
quota is exceeded), but that accounts for about another 10 people. .
.blah blah blah. . .
Subscribers from:
United States 64
United Kingdom 4
Canada 3
Australia 2
Finland 2
New Zealand 1
-------------------
Total 76
===================================================
0.5) NEW ALBUM COMING
===================================================
The latest intelligence is that the new album
is slated for release on August 31.
Date: Thu, 12 May 1994 19:39:37 -0400 (EDT)
From: Samuel Ernest Bradford <BRADFORD@UTKVX.UTCC.UTK.EDU>
Subject: new album
who knows when the next album will come out. mtv had reported a may
realease date, as had alternative press, but geffen is saying in the fall.
i saw the banshees at the grand in august [1993] (a warm-up gig for reading
and a small european tour), and i can say that the 6 new songs they played
were a lot heavier and darker thank superstition or even peepshow. hyanea
is a good compariosn, but would i be stretching it by comparing it to juju?
in any case, jon klein's guitar shined through, even on the previously
released songs. he was whackin the strings, and every song sounded new and
refreshing. but, i don't know if the album had been recorded at thtat
point, and i fear that geffen or polydor or the producer might have
scrapped the heaviness and resorted to keys. this is just my paranoia.
i have no reason to justifiably supposse this.
benazir
Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 14:40 GMT
From: BRENDAN_M%VULCAN@mentec.ie
Subject: RE: RE: new album
Hi,
Just a few thoughts on the Banshees new album.
I was at both the Grand gig and the Reading Festival gig last
August [1993], and would say the new songs they played were
far superior to the material from Superstition. Back to the
classic Banshees formula !!!. I also feel the new stuff had
"JuJu/Dreamhouse"ish feel to it, with a bit of PEEPSHOW
thrown in.
(Let's hope Jon Klein's guitar work can match John
McGeogh's excellent guitar work on JuJu & Dreamhouse [IMO])
Fingers crossed the Banshees keep this rougher edge on the
album, and don't let Polydor bully them into watering it
down to follow the main stream success that Superstition
had in the US.
Also let's hope they do a complete tour to promote the
album this time, with loads of gigs in Ireland & Britain!!!
It's been NINE years since they came to Ireland (when they
played three amazing sell-out shows to promote Tinderbox)
and they haven't done a decent tour of Britain in about six
years. Go on Sioux & Co., Your Public Awaits !!!!.
BTW, is the Release date for Polydor & Geffen the same, or
might the album be released in Europe earlier?
Bye for now
Bren
===================================================
1) IN THE BEGINNING
===================================================
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 93 09:09:50 EST
From: Chris Conlon <ari!conlonc@mail.tva.com>
To: siouxsie+@andrew.cmu.edu
Subject: re: In the beginning (postcard found)
I found the "100 Club Punk Special" postcard. The text goes roughly like this:
------------------
"Anarchy in the U.K." - across the top in big letters
"Sex Pistols" - lower left in medium size type
"PUNK special" - right center in med. size type
---- the following text is in a box in the lower right corner of the poster
100 CLUB
100 oxford st.
Monday September 20
SEX PISTOLS
CLASH
Sub Way Sect
Suzie and the Banshees
and from France
STINKY TOYS
open 7pm late bar
admission L1.50
(L1.00 NUS Etc.)
------------------
All this text is over a picture of four people peering out from *something*,
it looks kinda like prison bars. The picture's probably famous (in the punk
world) but I don't recognize it. Sorry!
Also the 'L' before the prices is 'cause I don't have a pound sign key.
And what does 'NUS' stand for, assuming i read it correctly?
Fred wants me to...
> Scan it ! Post it ! We'll uudecode and toast it !
I'd love to, but I have a couple roadblocks:
1. no scanner (i can probably borrow one though)
2. no uuencode (but i think i've got the .c somewhere...)
3. it's really not much to look at; "Suzie and.." is in really
small type. (No I'm not kidding about the spelling)
on the plus side, it's got lotsa black and should compress well...
anyway i'll see what i can do about these tech problems.
see ya,
--cc
From: ari!flb!flb (F.Baube[tm])
Subject: In de Beginnin' ..
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 93 23:26:33 EET
from Entranced: The Siouxsie & the Banshees story
Chapter 1: The Approaching Disease
Born Janet Susan Ballion. I've seen "Dallion" in her
own handwriting. This book says that Dallion is wrong,
it's Ballion. I've also read her say she tries that
her mum doesn't get bombarded with phone calls.
So maybe she wiley-ly invented "Dallion".
Born 27 May 1957 in Guy's Hospital, London
(am proud to say I am a contemporary).
First concert: Cliff Richard.
"I used to go out of my way to have very attractive
hairstyles, very short, geometrically very ugly,
cropped and very frightening to the opposite sex."
Chapter 2: Exposure
photo: on stage at a gig in August 1976: Sioux in cupless
black bra, fishnets, one hip-length boot, swastika armband.
punk siren from Hell.
"It was meant to be our 15 minutes of fame, but we managed to
sustain it for 10 years, which only goes to show how addictive
dressing up and making noise for a living can be." - S, 1986
The gig: the 100 Club's "Punk Rock Festival",
two nights in July (1976?).
The original idea was to play three of their most-hated
songs: the Bay City Rollers' "Money Honey", the theme from
Goldfinger, and the 'grossly overutilised' "Louie Louie".
Billy Idol was sposta teach a modicum of guitar to Steve.
He backed out a week before the gig. So, the planned "set"
went out the window.
Twenty-four hours before show time they finally got together
to practice at the Clash's rehearsal room in Camden.
The gig itself:
"They carried out their planned improvisation based around
'The Lord's Prayer', though the performance didn't go quite
to plan: 'The intention was to play one number until they
threw us off the stage,' said Sioux, 'but they never did ..
We got bored before them.' It was more likely a mistaken
gesture from Marco [Pirroni] to Steve that ended the set."
photo: At London's 100 Club, Sid (Vicious), Steve, and Sioux.
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 1994 19:18:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: John Itchon <fyd@tiamat.umd.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: wow...
well marco pirroni of adam & the ants fame was their guitarist
at their first show along with with sid vicious on drums, steve
severin(then steve havoc) on bass and of course siouxsie on vox(then suzie)
billy idol didnt play with them live cause he was in chelsea and didnt
want to jeoprodize his future in that band.
jay
"how do you expect me to see in the dark,
It's hard enough to see in the light"
ALLroy on irc
fyd@tiamat.umd.umich.edu
fyd@cw-f1.umd.umich.edu
From: svox@aol.com
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 94 14:25:32 EDT
Subject: Re: once/twice upon a time
Hello Chris!
Yep! Siouxsie was the one who caused the host to make a nasty come on
which sent one of the Pistols into a fit of vulgarity! I have not SEEN
the visual, but I have it on tape a number of times. It is the "Rotter"
interview! I think the host was Bill Grundy or something like that.
Sioux was a real Pistol head. She, Sid Vicious and Billy Idol were all a
part of a group called the "Bromely <sp> Contingent" and they followed the
PIstols around. Siouxsie was the one who used to bleach Billy Idol' s hair
white. One of the first shows Sioux did was getting onstage with Sid Vicious
on drums and doing the Lords Prayer at a Sex Pistols show, or so it has been
rumoured. It was proof that anyone can do it..but you see the Sex Pistols
are no longer (just a great memory and a legend..) and Siouxsie is still
going strong. (Despite the last recording which IMHO could have been less
commercially viable). Anxiously awaiting the new release..even hounding my
local record store to let me know when it will be out. And whoever it was
who has "A few bootlegs.." gee! I wish I had just one! I do have a video
of them at a Lollapalooza show...not great quality but good enough! ha ha!
S. Vox.
===================================================
2) INTERVIEWS
===================================================
From: ari!flb!flb (F.Baube x554)
Subject: Interview
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 93 21:42:45 EET
The Guardian Weekend, 21 November 1992
(insert to Saturday edition of the Guardian)
p.62: "The Questionnaire", a regular
column, by Rosanna Greenstreet
SIOUXSIE SIOUX
Siouxsie Sioux, 35, was born Susan Dallion in south London.
She attended Mottingham Secondary Modern School for Girls
in Kent and went on to work as a waitress. Siouxsie and
the Banshees had their first hit in the autumn of 1978
and have just released a compilation album, Twice Upon
a Time. Siouxsie is married and lives in France.
What is your idea of perfect happiness ?
It is only momentary, unless you live your life
in a protected bubble, oblivious to pain, disgust,
disillusionment, restlessness, loss.
What is your greatest fear ?
To be sustained on a life support machine without
hope of recovery.
With which historical figure do you most identify ?
Luis Bunuel, for his humour and conviction.
I like the story of him taking rocks to
the preview of Un Chien Andalou, to pelt
the critics when they showed disapproval.
To his surprise they applauded.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself ?
I am a worrier maybe because I am a perfectionist.
What is the trait you most deplore in others ?
Smugness.
What is your greatest extravagance ?
Giving a 20-pound note to a toilet attendant
six years ago. The person before me was a pig
and should have been hosed down on her way out.
What makes you depressed ?
Depression: it's a vicious circle.
What do you most dislike about your appearance ?
The space (lack of it) between my top lip and nose.
What is your favorite journey ?
A car trip to the Dead Sea from Tel Aviv, then back
via Jerusalem and the Wailing Wall, to do a show.
We nearly didn't make it !
What or who is the greatest love in your life ?
My husband for who and anything feline for what.
Which living person do you most despise ?
Anyone who is desperate to fit in with the pack mentality.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue ?
Obedience.
On what occasions do you lie ?
To save a friend's feelings.
Which words or phrases do you most over-use ?
Maybe I guess, fuck it, bollocks, never, are we there yet ?
What is your greatest regret ?
Not being able to quiz my father, when I was older.
He died when I was 14.
What single thing would most improve te quality of your life ?
Being bilingual.
Which talent would you most like to have ?
To put into practice with ease my musical ideas on
guitar and piano. It's really frustrating with my
limited ability and reliance on a band member to act
as interpreter.
What would your motto be ?
Something isn't better than nothing.
What keeps you awake at night ?
Mentally going over lists I've made of things to do
the next day.
How would you like to die ?
By spontaneous combustion.
How would you like to be remembered ?
As a thorn in the side of mediocrity.
[at least they got her last name right, unlike a number of books]
From: ari!flb!flb (F.Baube x554)
Subject: Interview
Date: Sat, 16 Jan 93 16:17:41 EET
from "Ray Stevenson's Siouxsie and the Banshees Photo Book",
pub. 1986, Omnibus Press, div. of Book Sales Ltd., ISN 0-7119-0301-8
each member of the band (S, Budgie, Steve Severin,
John McGeoch) filled out a questionnaire, date unknown
Name: SIOUXSIE
1. What was your most embarrassing moment on stage ?
A new strapless garment I had never worn before
on stage falling down !
2. What does your favorite T-shirt say ?
the only t-shirts I've had or have use symbols -
cocks, tits or star of david
3. What do you miss most about your childhood ?
being hairless in parts
4. What new thing(s) do you look forward to trying ?
Anything that no one else has done
5. How long could you go without a mirror ?
for as long as my dreams last whilst unconscious
6. What happens when you fall in love ?
I go blind & walk into walls
7. What is your idea of living happily ever after ?
Not having to ask myself if I'm happy
8. What are your hobbies ?
Gradually whittling down all the hobbies I started off with,
like collecting toe nails. But there was one that there
isn't the opportunity to do anymore & that was hiding
outside a hospital for nervous complaints & jumping
out at the patients.
9. What inspired you to join a band ?
being in a band that was an accident
10. Do you have a close friend ?
Yes / No
11. What was your first ambition ?
to be a surgeon (brain)
12. What's your favorite T.V. show ?
S.O.A.P. or one of the many horror series like
Tales of Mystery & Imagination or Night Gallery
13. Been to any recent movies ?
No
14. If you were a cartoon character, which one would you most likely be ?
Cruella Deville or Snow White
15. Which foreign country is your favorite ?
MARS
16. If you could change your name, what would you call yourself ?
"S"
17. Who were you the most excited about to meet ?
I haven't met anyone whilst still excited by them.
18. Your favorite present ever given to you ? By whom ?
My first shoes with heels by my big sister
19. Your last good concert attended.
Iggy Pop in Paris '77 in a big circus tent.
20. Worst live band you've seen.
The T-Shirts
21. What makes you mad ?
Numbness
22. Ten things you can't live without:
1. Water
2. Vodka
3. Orange juice or tonic
4. Milk
5. Soap
6. Soft toilet paper
7. make-up
8. Mirror
9. Comb
10. sight sound & touch
From: ari!flb!flb (F.Baube x554)
Subject: Interviews
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 93 17:53:31 EET
Chris Conlon <ari!conlonc@mail.tva.com>
> Finally, does anyone know of any good S&B interviews on
> these topics? (I was media-fasting when the movie came out.)
Check the December '92 VOX, there's an insert magazine
"Record Hunter" w/ cover article on S&Bs. Cover quote:
"Robert Smith and I fell out. There were a few scenes
where I kicked him in the goolies."
pp.8-9 an article "Runaround Sioux" with
a "guided tour" of Twice Upon a Time.
A couple of quotes:
Kiss Them For Me:
"I'm very dissatisfied with the Superstition album.
Stephen Hague's production was too technical and
methodical .."
Face to Face:
"I grew up trying out Catwoman kicks on people --
she and Emma Peel were my mentors when I was young.
As soon as Warners, who owned the Batman soundtrack,
got involved, 'Face to Face' became the worst experi-
ence I've ever had. I wouldn't piss on them if they
were on fire."
Subject: The Interview
Date: Sat, 8 May 93 18:08:17 BST
Siouxsie Interview
------------------
Article is taken from Melody Maker, yet another music paper.
One thing, the article says that 'Fear Of The Unknown' hasn't been released as
a single in this country (UK), hmmm, I'm sure I've seen it as such, or else as
a B side (doesn't that count?).
==============================================================================
"Twice Upon A Time" is SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES' second singles compilation,
the sister volume to 1982's "Once..." It's a testament to a band who came out
of punk with more vision than their contemporaries, and retained their sense of
dignity and wonder long after most of 1977's upstarts had burned out of faded
away. CATHI UNSWORTH takes a journey through the past with Sioux and Severin.
"We're single-minded," says the beautiful Sioux. "it's not worth doing
unless you've got certain values and certain standards, and you stick with
them. It doesn't make you the most popular person always --- but that's never
bothered me."
"And you can't ever try to be fashionable," adds Steve Severin, who's
watched many incarnations of the Banshees spark, splinter and re-generate
since he, Siouxsie and Sid Vicious first raised hell in The 100 Club in 1976.
"Or you'll just get caught up in the industry wheels."
This time around, we rejoin their story in 1982, when Duran Duran were
Number One, and Siouxsie wore fishnets and inspired a further 10 years of
emulation from her Goth admirers. Her "rivals", Toyah and Hazel O'Conner,
wouldn't last the year out...
'FIREWORKS'
(Originally released May 1982, single only)
"We did a 'Top Of The Pops' appearance for this, and they had this horrible
flashing neon sign going 'SIOUXISE! SIOUXSIE!' and then they were going to
have fireworks..." recalls Sioux, with faint distaste. "We said, `NO! NO!
NO!' --- so they got the hump. They really do take it personally if you
object to anything they do. The video we did was cut short cos the guy who
was in charge of pyrotechnics blew his face off!"
"We were in an island in the middle of a lake," recalls Severin, "with a
glass tunnel that went all the way to the shore and up to this little
platform..."
"And what happened," rejoins Sioux, "was that suddenly we heard an almighty
bang and he was going, 'AAARRRGH! AAARGH!' He ended up in hospital with three
layers of skin missing."
"And about a year later," Steven recalls, "he looked 10 years younger."
"A great face peeler," enthuses Sioux. "So, any old bags out there who
want to look younger should blow a flare off in their face. I think Michael
Jackson has, but it didn't work too well..."
'SLOWDIVE'
(Originally release October 1982, and appeared on the "A Kiss In The
Dreamhouse" LP)
"It was just a drunken evening..." recalls Severin.
"And I remember I wanted the string players to slow down and get tired, "
says Sioux. "So the 'Oh my God!' in the middle of the song is one of the
string players' wrists falling off! And the video was this boy's first dance
routine! It took months of rehearsal, and getting him to wear false
eyelashes."
Severin smiles ruefully.
'MELT'
(Originally released November 1982, also from "...Dreamhouse")
"We'd just come back from our first tour of Japan, and it made a real
impression on us all," remembers Sioux. "Lots of people gave us Japanese
clothes and artwork and cards. They were incredibly generous, it was almost
embarrassing to be treated like that. But the impression of being in Tokyo in
the spring, and all the blossom, going on the bullet train for the first time,
drinking saki in copious amounts with gold leaves spinning in it...it's the
most different place you can ever go."
'DEAR PRUDENCE'
(Originally released September 1983, single only.)
"We recorded that in Sweden, and the idea came from touring round Scandinavia,
listening to The Beatles' 'White Album'," says Severin. "That album has
always been an influence on the way we work. One of the main reasons we chose
it was that John Lennon's version sounds a bit unfinished. There's also the
background behind why he wrote it, that was supposedly to do with an attempted
rap on Mia Farrow's sister, by the Maharishi (The Beatles' guru at the time).
It's the same as why we do 'Helter Skelter' (again from 'The White Album'),
because there's a context to it. (Charles Manson said he used it, and the
accompanying 'Piggies', as inspiration for the Sharon Tate murder).
"There are always misinterpretations. Songs like that are more than just
pop music."
'SWIMMING HORSES'
(Originally released March 1984. Appeared on the "Hyena" album)
"This is based on a programme I saw about a female version of Amnesty, called
'Les Sentinelle'," reveals Siouxsie. "They rescue women who are trapped in
certain religious climates in the Middle East, religions that view any kind of
pre-martial sexual aspersions as punishable by death --- either by the hand of
the eldest brother in the family, or by public stoning.
"And there was this instance of a woman whose daughter had developed a
tumour, and, of course, gossip abounded that she was pregnant. The doctor who
removed the tumour allowed her to take it back to the village to prove that,
no, it wasn't a baby --- but they wouldn't believe her. The woman knew her
daughter would have to be stoned to death so she poisoned her, out of
kindness, to save her from a worse fate.
"Now this organisation has all these escape routes for women like her,
mainly through the elder brother who pretends to have killed them. But, once
they've been saved, they can never go back.
"So the song starts, 'Kinder than with poison...' I also used the imagery
of, 'He gives birth to swimming horses', from the fact that male sea horses
give birth to the children, so they're the only species that have a maternal
feel for the young. It was, I suppose, an abstract way of linking it all
together without being sensationalist. I remember just being really moved by
that programme, and wanting to get the sorrow out of me."
'DAZZLE'
(Originally released May 1984, also from "Hyena")
"I wrote the strings for this on a toy piano!" remembers Sioux, fondly. "The
sentiment behind it is of lying on the gutter but still looking up at the
stars. I'd seen 'Marathon Man', and I was really intrigued by the guy
swallowing diamonds to keep them, and then realising it was like swallowing
glass --- that they would pass through his system and tear him apart. So
that's the line --- 'Swallowing diamonds, cutting throats'.
"Quite a lot of this, and 'Swimming Horses', came from visiting Israel for
the first time. 'The sea of fluid mercury', in the lyric, is the Dead Sea.
We did this crazy thing and hired a car to go to the Dead Sea, Robert (Smith,
their then guitarist) had to be the chauffeur, he was the only one who could
drive. But, when we got there, it was like 'The Hills Have Eyes' --- all
barbed wire and tanks and flags with skull and crossbones on them!
"We also went to Tel Aviv, where most of the audience were on acid ---
which was available after the show, so we took it as well! We ended up on the
beach, having a party until sunrise, and, of course, we ended up swimming.
The sea was very clear, but there were all these little fish flying out of it.
It wasn't the drugs, honest!"
'OVERGROUND'
(Originally released October 1985, from the "The Thorn" EP, but the track
first appeared on the debut Banshees album, "The Scream")
"On the tour after 'Dreamhouse', we went out with a string section," explains
Sioux, "and we incorporated 'Overground' into the set. We got so many
enquiries as to whether we would release it like that, we went ahead."
"It was early 1978 when we wrote it," says Severin, "and everyone else was
going twice as fast and..."
"To be in a punk band was to be in a thrash band," finishes La Sioux.
"Like everything, it all gets very cliched, and people just get
one-dimensional."
'CITIES IN DUST'
(Originally released October 1985. From the "Tinderbox" LP)
"This was our first trip to Pompeii, another amazing experience," Siouxsie
enthuses. "Seeing a whole civilisation petrified in lava was like putting
yourself in the place at the time, and imagining how it must have been to be
there when it happened. I find it really easy to do that, to get ghost images
of life continuing as it was. I often wonder if that's what real hauntings
are --- your imagination and your senses bringing things back to life. That's
why you'd never be able to capture it on film."
'CANDY MAN'
(Originally released February 1986, also from "Tinderbox")
"'Candy Man' was trying to put across the unspeakability of child abuse, and
again, trying no to sensationalise it, just coming up with a very strong
picture of a character that was sickly sweet and oozing repulsiveness,"
Siouxsie explains. "The amount of people who've been abused is incredible,
and it's only lately that the subject's been brought out into the open. The
whole thing's such a power trip, and you realise the victims must have been so
in fear of saying anything --- cos they've been told by the perpetrator that
they'll go to hell or something. I suppose religion is very guilty of funding
that as well," she muses. "Organised religion is all about separating and
dividing, it's not what it should be about. And repressing. And making sure
that no one tells the truth. They use the fear of God to keep people down and
obedient."
'THIS WHEEL'S ON FIRE'
(Originally released January 1987, from the "Through The Looking Glass" LP)
"I had the hots for Julie Driscoll!" Sioux laughs. "I can't remember when
this originally came out, but I'd have been about 11, and I was besotted by
her, by the way she looked, by her voice. It was very different to watching
Lulu on 'Top Of The Pops', this woman with a shaven head and huge black eyes.
I though she was incredibly beautiful, very spiky and strong and tough --- not
as all cute and cuddly and feminine. And I loved the song. It conjured up
all sorts of fantastic stories to me."
"It wasn't until I dug it out of my record collection that I realised it
was written by Bob Dylan," add Severin.
"And I nearly said, 'Let's not do it'," admits Siouxsie. "I hate him!"
'THE PASSENGER'
(Originally released March 1987, also from "Through The Looking Glass")
"Iggy Pop's someone we've admired for a long time," reveals Sioux, "and the
first time we played France, our gig was cancelled without anyone telling is.
But we found out that he was playing on the same night, so we all bundled into
a cab and, a we got there, in the distance, you could hear 'The Passenger'.
The song is very much a journey in itself."
'PEEK-A-BOO'
(Originally released July 1988, from the "Peepshow" LP)
"I really like the violence of the sound," says Sioux, "and I was really
surprised that it got played on the radio. I just thought that the subject
matter and the sound of it would scare too many people away. We were
incredibly un-hip at the time, too, and we really confused people. They just
didn't know what to make of us then."
'THE KILLING JAR'
(Originally released September 1988, also from "Peepshow")
"From here on, we were a CD band, and we were always asked to do remixes,"
smiles Severin, ruefully. "This one worked really well. Mike Hedges did the
remix, but he called himself Roland Death --- as in roll on death..."
"It was really playful at the time, the idea of f***ing around with
something, rather than doing it because you had to," Sioux recalls.
"Now you have to do it," Severin grimaces. "it should be done because
it's interesting to do, not because the record company needs it for the
clubs!"
'THE LAST BEAT OF MY HEART'
(Originally released November 1988, again from "Peepshow". This version was
recorded live at Lollapalooza, August 1991.)
"We thought this would work at Christmas," sighs Siouxsie, "but it didn't!
Still, I really like the song, and this version's from the last gig of
Lollapalooza in Seattle, so it's quite emotional. It was raining as well ---
bit of a damper, that day. It wasn't quite as good a farewell as it should
have been. But I think farewells are always a soggy let-down."
'KISS THEM FOR ME'
(Originally released May 1991. From the "Superstition" LP)
"It'll be remember as one of the key songs of Lollapalooza, along with Nine
Inch Nails' 'Head Like A Hole'," says Severin.
"It was fun," adds Sioux. "It was originally going to be called 'Let's
Get Smashed'."
"And it had Budgie rapping on it," Severin laughs. "But not while Sioux
was singing!"
'SHADOWTIME'
(Originally released July 1991, also from "Superstition")
"This wasn't intended as a single," Severin reveals. "It's a Roxy Music 'For
Your Pleasure' tribute for all you trainspotters out there!"
'FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN'
(Not previously released in this country as a single, again taken from
"Superstition")
"That was a case of a really good remix totally changing the song,"
says Severin.
"We were in Amsterdam, ordering the remixes down the phone to Junior
Vasquez," laughs Siouxsie.
"And the worst thing was, he sent 17 of them back!" says Severin. "We had
to listen to them all on a coach in America. It was like, 'Okay, which
torture shall we have today?'"
"But I did get to live out my Emma Peel fantasy in the video," Siouxsie
enthuses. "Lots of catsuits and karate kicks!"
'FACE TO FACE'
(Originally released July 1992, from the "Batman Returns" soundtrack)
"Now I can spit and scream!" roars Siouxsie.
"This is the biggest up and down I can remember in our career," says
Severin. "The excitement and adrenalin of doing it so fast was just
brilliant. We hadn't felt like that in years. And then, as soon as we'd
finished recording it, there began the worst nightmare I've ever had."
"Basically because it was Warners who put it out," Sioux explains, "and
they procrastinated about when they were gonna release it for months, so then
Geffen said *they* were gonna release it. And, as soon as that happened,
Warners did release it, but in such a way that it's probably the world's
best-kept secret. The best thing about it was that we did a really great
song, we did our own really great video, and we got to meet Tim Burton --- who
I really admire."
"It was the first time that we've had a taste of what it's like to not be
in control," shudders Severin, "and it's really horrible."
"Warners are such scumbags!" Siouxsie spits. "I'd like to go on record as
saying that. I hope someone there dies really soon, or they all fall down a
big hole on the golf course and never come back! That sounds bad, but I enjoy
bitching about a good baddie."
'Twice Upon A Time' is out now on Polydor
-END OF INTERVIEW-
-- :: Ryan L. Watkins ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::: rwatkins@cmcvx1.claremont.edu :::::::: "people need to be shocked" dan :: :::: vamp@eskimo.com ::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "lord in a bucket" melissa :: :::: aka VampLestat@fajita.engr.ucdavis.edu 3000 :::::::::::: "woosh!" nina ::===================================================
3) MISCELLANY
===================================================
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1993 09:13 MDT From: Christopher Hanks <ari!HANKS@deans.med.utah.edu> Subject: Siouxsie Fan File
When I saw Siouxsie in concert last year, the t-shirt and program vendors were were handing out small leaflets advertising the revamped S&B FILE (which must be some sort of fan club).
Anyway, for anyone intrested; send a SAE to:
THE SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES FILE P.O. BOX 1984 LONDON W11 ENGLAND
Christo' hanks@deans.med.utah.edu
Subject: RE: Siouxsie Fan File Date: Fri, 15 Jan 93 08:46:21 -1100 From: ari!roger@northstar.otago.ac.nz
>> Anyway, for anyone intrested; send a SAE to: >> >> THE SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES FILE >> P.O. BOX 1984 >> LONDON W11 >> ENGLAND >> >> Christo' >> hanks@deans.med.utah.edu > >I tried it last year, and got nothing back. >Are they actually in "business" ?
I subscribed to the 'File' some years back when it was *supposed* to come out quarterly. Billy (Siouxsies the manager - don't know if he still is) was so slack you'd be lucky to get 1 or 2 issues a year. So it doesn't surprize me that you've got nothing back. Besides, the infor in the 'File' usually appeared in the press before the issue arrived so I didn't gain much from it. There was the chance of getting limited edition singles through them though. The last time I subscribed a few years back the fee was 6 Pounds which I found a complete waste of cash (IMHO).
Rog.
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 17:36:03 GMT From: Gavin Inglis <ari!aigdi@aisb.edinburgh.ac.uk> Subject: RE: Us
> roger@northstar.otago.ac.nz (Roger No-Last-Name) writes: > > S&Bs blossomed from an early punk career and ARE British! Sheesh! Mind you,
Hmm. Well, as
a) one of those vital 4 UK subscribers b) a Scot, ensuring Scotland is over-represented (it has approximately an eighth of the population of the UK)
I think that the Banshees sort of lost their credibility in the UK somewhere between the "Tinderbox" album and the "...Looking Glass" one. Their devoted fans over here have always been the typically British alternative, punky, and goth types. (Do you get them in the States so much?) They had commercial success with "Peek-a-boo" and "Peepshow", mainly because of the new audience the single appealed to. But then they went and alienated a lot of old fans with "Superstition". The more dancey stuff, with endless CD remixes, just doesn't cut it with the same crowd over here.
They haven't toured here since 1988 and Peepshow. Shame, because the Edinburgh date was a really good gig, one of the best I've seen.
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 93 11:49:11 EST From: Chris Conlon <ari!conlonc@mail.tva.com> Subject: S+B: Us, population, nationalism
aigdi@aisb.edinburgh.ac.uk writes:
>I think that the Banshees sort of lost their credibility in the UK >somewhere between the "Tinderbox" album and the "...Looking Glass" one. >Their devoted fans over here have always been the typically British >alternative, punky, and goth types. (Do you get them in the States so >much?) They had commercial success with "Peek-a-boo" and "Peepshow", >mainly because of the new audience the single appealed to. But then they >went and alienated a lot of old fans with "Superstition". The more >dancey stuff, with endless CD remixes, just doesn't cut it with the same >crowd over here.
Well, this is from a small sample, but most people I know who liked the early Banshees still like them, even after _Superstition_. (Although _Through_The_Looking_Glass_ was straining things a bit...) Sure, the new music *is* very unlike the old, and I do know 1 or 2 "punky, goth types" who don't like newer S&B's, but my overall impression is one of continued faithfulness.
>They haven't toured here since 1988 and Peepshow. Shame, because the >Edinburgh date was a really good gig, one of the best I've seen.
I'd be upset too, if I had to wait that long for a tour. Guess I'm spoiled.
Non Punky-Goth, Chris
Date: Mon, 2 May 94 13:47:11 +0200 From: Daniel.Halber@imag.fr (Daniel Halber) Subject: Measurement
A friend of mine who's the singer of a london based group, has often been told that she was looking and singing like Siouxsie Sioux.
In order to know how far this comparison could be led, she'd like to know Siouxsie's measurement! (height, weight, shoe size, chest measurement, hip measurement, ...)
Daniel
Date: Sun, 28 Feb 93 11:53:05 CST From: ari!jaffray@math.uchicago.edu (Alan Jaffray) Subject: Re: Just to spark some conversation...
"England's Dreaming", a history of punk rock, has some info on the Banshees. It's now out in paperback and reputedly quite good, but I haven't got the time for it now... (it's *huge*.) Worth scanning in the bookstore for bands you know, even if you don't feel like shelling out the $17, though... :-)
No promises for accuracy, but I do seem to recall from my bookstore glances about Siouxsie, along with other band-people, getting into wild orgies, she'd wear clothing covering all but the most frequently covered areas (a negative-bikini of sorts, I'd guess). The quote was lovely. "Everyone was fucking one another... the stains on the carpet, *really*." (don't remember who said it.)
I found this on soc.bi, list-members may find it amusing:
=====
Newsgroups: soc.bi >From: kay@dcs.warwick.ac.uk (Kay Dekker) Subject: Re: Rasberry waif-muffin's sordid tale <sneef> Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1993 18:36:20 GMT
In article <C2zFxB.JFv@acsu.buffalo.edu> camurphy@acsu.buffalo.edu (Cynthia) writes: >waif@netcom.com (Violet Bramble) writes: >>Which reminds me- does anyone here know Siouxsie Sioux personally? >>Just curious >no, but i've been in semi-close proximity (oh, alright, 5th row >ctr) for nice long periods of time. *sigh*....makes me wish >i'd pursued that tech-theater degree and could be her personal >volunteer roadie, eh?
I can go one better than that.
The BBC Community Programme Unit did a thing back in the early 80s called "Something Else" - basically, they'd pick a place in the UK, find 5 or 6 interesting young people, and facilitate their making a TV programme.
My friend Dollar and I got to do a 5 minute slot on the Coventry programme on being young and gay. Was excellent fun!
The SS relevance was, it being a "yoof" prog, we had the obligatory two music slots. We had to pick a nationally-known band and a local one. After dreaming about inviting the Floyd or Led Zep... we settled for Siouxie and the Banshees :) The local band was "God's Toys", of whom you've never heard, and rightly so.
Siouxsie had a bit of a cold when we recorded, so her voice was even huskier (yummmm!) than usual. Best of all was the after- recording party.
YEH! I ROLLED SPLIFFS FOR THE BANSHEES!
AND I GOT A HUG FROM SIOUXSIE!
AND I GOT A LONG DEEP KISS FROM HER CUTE BLOND DRUMMER!!!
Oh, those were the days...
Kay
-- Kay Dekker - the Vestigial Virgin of soc.bi=====
-- Alan
Date: Thu, 14 Apr 1994 17:27:16 -0400 (EDT) From: "Philip S. Kightlinger" <pskightl@mailbox.syr.edu> Subject: Re: (fwd) Re: Siouxsie dead?! (fwd)
> alt.gothic may be an interesting forum, but nevertheless, frivolous. > > Andrew
I am inclined to agree. alt.gothic tends to lack any amount of substance but in away that is what makes it interesting to read. I tend to check it out to lighten my mood. where else can you find cool qoutes like: "if blood was green, green would be my favorite color" it's pure entertainment, but good entertainment.and just so you know I just put up the siouxsie dead post for it's humor value. for now Mr. Moonlight
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 1994 12:22 GMT From: BRENDAN_M%VULCAN@mentec.ie Subject: SIOUXSIE INFO
Andrew,
[..]
Another thing, anyone ever heard of ZOR GABOR. They feature John McKay, one of the Banshees "Black Heads" and his girlfriend Linda Clarke (I think that's her name), that infamous girl who convinced Morris & McKay to leave, all those years ago. (She said the Banshees would be nothing without them, what a laugh!!) They released at least one sigle in the UK , which is very much in the early Siouxsie mode, even though the single wasn't released til '87. It's well worth checking out though, if you can find a copy.
cheers
Bren
Date: Fri, 20 May 1994 14:48 GMT From: BRENDAN_M%VULCAN@mentec.ie
Wild asked "By the way, what ever happened to John McGeogh anyway?"
Well, after getting kicked out of the Banshees, John McGeogh went off to form "The Armoury Show" with Richard Jobsen, the ex-Skids frontman. In '85, they brought out a couple of singles (one of which was "Castles in Spain") and an album. Neither singles nor Album were a commercial success, and the band broke up about '86. John went on to play guitar with John Lydon's "Public Image Limited" , and is still playing with them, as far as I know. I still think his best guitar playing was in his Magazine & Banshees days (and was one of the banshees most talented guitarists the Banshees had - just my opinion). If anyone's interested, you should check out that early Magazine material - it's great stuff.
BTW, one gig that never happened would have seen the Banshees & McGeogh grace the same stage. The Banshees were scheduled to headline a festival in Plymouth (UK) in June '86, where bands like New Order, P.I.L, the Damned were due to play, among others.. That would have been some show. However, there were some contractual problems, and the Banshees pulled out and all the other top bands followed suit. (Pity, 'cos I had a bloody ticket!!!!!)
Anyway, 'til next time
cheers Bren
Date: Sat, 21 May 1994 08:58:38 -0400 From: ag869@freenet.buffalo.edu (David R. Wild) Subject: Thanks
My thanks to Bren for the response to my question re John McGeoch (not McKeogh or McGeoph, as I myself have mispelled it). You are becoming an invaluable source of info. Thanks again.
I agree that McGeoch was probably the most inventive guitarist the Banshees ever had. The whole sound of the band seemed to mature dramatically, starting with the tracks he did on Kaliedescope, when he got involved. Of course, Kaliedescope was a major leap forward from Join Hands anyway, and some of that I'm sure was due to the addition of Budgie.
By the way, I think Budgie is one of the most inventive, interesting and underrated drummers ever. Don't you agree?
NOTE: Siouxsie's birthday May 27!!!!
-wild, in the Happy House
===================================================
4) MEDIA
===================================================
== TV & GRUNDY ==
From: Michael Graham <graham@ug.cs.dal.ca> Subject: grundy Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1993 14:30:09 -0300
THe Grundy incident occurred on live tv (BBC) in late '76 I believe. It was a popular interview show with this very conservative old fart hosting. I think that Queen were supposed to be on, but cancelled, and so the Pistols were put on.
They mocked the interviewer who was intent on making them do something stupid. He ended up doing this by propositioning Siouxsie (who was sort of standing behind the Pistols). This led to Steve Jones calling the guy a diry old man, a fucking wanker, (Grundy prodded for more), a dirty fucking bastard and "what a fucking rotter"!
It was great!! Grundy got the sack after that one I think - or at least a few weeks off.
The only thing that Siouxsie said was:
Grundy: What about you are you in it for the money or are you just having a good time? Siouxsie:I'm having a good time.
Grundy: I'll bet you are...
Sioux: I've always wanted to meet you...
Grundy: We'll meet afterwards shall we?
and then the infamous swearing starts. Great stuff. :^)
mike
Subject: Re: Sioux on Rock Schiouxl ? Date: Mon, 12 Apr 93 12:41:53 MDT From: Robert Earl <ari!chupchup@oinker.ucsb.edu>
In message <199304121438.AA03916@flb.optiplan.fi> you write: | I think "Rock School" was the title of the series, | and I recall seeing Siouxsie listed as a guest once | to talk guitar playing. | | does anyone else remember this ? | did anyone else see this ?
She and the entire group were featured on this series, but only in a video clip from the "Old Grey Whistle Test" British TV show, from their Kaleidescope days, playing "Happy House". The topic was drums and so the host mainly focused on Budgie's drumming technique.
== MOVIES ==
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1993 17:36:52 -0500 From: ari!jcongson@ultrix.ramapo.edu (Depeche Mode) Subject: Re: Movies
Siouxsie did a cameo in the Sex Pistols Dead or Alive Documentry.
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 1994 12:22 GMT From: BRENDAN_M%VULCAN@mentec.ie Subject: SIOUXSIE INFO
Andrew,
[..]
1. The Banshees distanced themselves from the Derek Jarman movie, "Jubilee" altogether. (Probably not a bad thing, because the career of everyone who appeared in it, was VERY shortlived ie where are Adam Ant and Toyah now ??, has-been musicians & actors ) The Banshees are credited on the titles but refused to allow any material to be used in the film or on the soundtrack. (I think they do appear on a television in the background, for a few seconds)
2. The punk movie was released in the UK as "The Original Punk Movie" and was directed by Don Letts ( ex B.A.D.) who was DJ at the ROXY, where most of it was finished. I can't remember what they played but I think they did "Captain Scarlet". I don't think it ever made it to video though. Too much problems with copyright & performance rights and too many bands not happy with the quality of the sound ( or more probably their performance, I think). Pity!
3. The Banshees also did a cameo appearance in the movie "Out of Bounds", where they performed "Cities in Dust" in some club in CA.
4. They are included in the German Video "Women In Rock" where they perform live in Berlin (about 1980), with John McGeogh and Budgie. They played three songs with with an interview inbetween. Again, I can't remember off hand what they played, but I think "Carcass" and "Overground" were included. Also included on the video are Nina Hagen, the Slits and Girls School.
[..]
How about putting together a list of Rare Siouxsie & the Banshees Material that people on the NET have. ie Rare songs/recordings , TV & Radio performances, interviews, live videos/audios, compilations they're included on etc).
[..]
cheers
Bren
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1993 09:05 MDT From: Christopher Hanks <ari!HANKS@deans.med.utah.edu> Subject: RE: Out of Bounds
Didn't Siouxsie and the Banshees also appear briefly in the movie
== END OF PART 1 OF 2 ==
-- * Fred Baube ..when you think your Toys you hear Laughter * GU/MSFS/88 * have gone Berserk cracking through the Walls * baube@optiplan.fi * it's an illUsion you're sent Spinning * #include * you Cannot Shirk you Have No Choice * <disclaimer.h> * -- Sioux proverb