I still think of The Creatures as relatively recent, but in October it will be twenty two years since Siouxsie and Budgie released their fourth and final album, Hái!
October will also mark twenty seven years since the release of 2nd Floor, the lead single and opening track of third album, Anima Animus.
A remix of the song popped up on my random shuffle and a subsequent YT search unearthed the promo video, which I'd never seen before. Monochrome (mostly), make up and manic moves make for a compelling four and a half minutes. Then again, I need little motivation to watch a performance by Siouxsie Sioux, she is superb.
The promo 12" and CD single came with an extended version, labelled the 'Album Mix', by Siouxsie, Budgie and album co-producer Warne Livesey. Ultimately this was ditched in favour of the single version, so it remains a relative obscurity.
The flip side of the promo featured 2nd Floor (Siouxsie, Budgie And Warne's Club Mix). I've not been able to track down the original 9:43 version, but I have found a 5:24 edit by Erasercuts, synched with the promo video.
...whilst the regular single release featured a 2nd, very similar Girl Eats Boy remix.
In 1999, The Creatures released Hybrids, a compilation of previously released and newly commissioned remixes. One of the latter was a fresh take on 2nd Floor by the mysteriously named Vito Bonito.
This one happened very quickly. PJ Harvey's song came up on a shuffle and suddenly I was following a thread from one song to the other. A dozen songs later, a Dubhed selection was born.
The less obvious connection between all of these choices is that I haven't listened to the source albums in quite a while, the various EPs even more so, a timely reminder that I need to dig them out for the full experience.
Swansway is a gentler version of Siouxsie's debut solo single Into A Swan from 2007 and it's stunning. Likewise, the Tanya Donelly and Kristin Hersh songs, which subsequently appeared on the Lovesongs For Underdogs and Sky Motel albums respectively but which I only own due to the versions appearing on EP releases.
The Deep Field by Joan As Police Woman was lent to me by a friend and every listen reminds me what a great album it. As is i don’t know who needs to hear this..., the debut album from Sarah Tomberlin, a chance discovery when she supported Angel Olsen on tour a couple of years ago.
Rita Lynch has been a staple of the Bristol live music scene for decades and her albums have continued to capture her on-stage fire and lyrical bite, as evidenced by her eighth (I think) in 2022, Mrs. Lynch. Smile is taken from her 2010 album, What Am I?
Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen collaborated on a one-off single, the 80s power ballad-infused Like I Used To, so their pairing here seemed an obvious choice. I have pretty much everything that Angel has recorded; conversely relatively little by Sharon, which I need to address.
On a similar note, there were slim pickings in my collection for Julia Holter and Phoebe Bridgers. Both of these choices came from music magazine cover-mounted CDs and I've yet to buy the source albums in either case. Another reminder that I just don't have the time or money to keep up with all of the music that I'd like to explore more....
Lisa Germano first came to my attention via the Inconsiderate Bitch EP on 4AD, label boss Ivo Watts-Russell taking her debut album Happiness (at the time only released in the USA) and remixing several tracks to stunning effect before releasing it to a wider audience. Puppet is a prime example of this, the versions on the 4AD EP and album proving to be standout tracks on both releases. I got the original album many years later, which if nothing else proves that Puppet was a great song to begin with. So, what better way to wrap up this selection?
1) Big Exit (Album Version): PJ Harvey (2000)
2) Les Jeux To You: Julia Holter (2018)
3) Swansway: Siouxsie (2007)
4) Smile: Rita Lynch (2010)
5) Chinese Satellite: Phoebe Bridgers (2020)
6) Nervous: Joan As Police Woman (2011)
7) Swoon: Tanya Donelly (1996)
8) collect caller: Tomberlin (2022)
9) Echo (Single Version): Kristin Hersh (1999)
10) You Shadow: Sharon Van Etten (2019)
11) Intern: Angel Olsen (2016)
12) Puppet (US Album Version): Lisa Germano (1993)
1993: Happiness (USA): 12
1996: Sliding And Diving EP: 7
1999: Echo EP: 9
2000: Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea: 1
I was seven years old at the time and I didn't get on board until 4th album Juju in 1981 but coming back to The Scream as as adult, it was a remarkable first album which continues to unsettle after many years and repeated listens.
Is it punk? Is it post-punk? I'd struggle to categorise it even now but there's something about the collision of on-point bass, frequently martial beats, squalling guitar and Siouxsie's at-times primal expulsions of words and sound that set it apart from their contemporaries and still sounds like a rage that's relevant to the times we're living through. Far from their most accessible album, it can be a difficult listen yet it's little surprise that it broke the Top 20 in the UK album charts.
Technically just the one single with Metal Postcard (Mittageisen) released as a double A-Side with Love In A Void, although a re-recorded version of Overground appeared on The Thorn EP in 1984.
Here's a selection of performances from The Scream, beginning with the opening and closing songs, Pure and Switch, bridged by a few lines from The Lord's Prayer which itself appeared on their second album Join Hands the following year.
Steve Severin and John McKay either side of the stage, static yet relentless, Kenny Morris inevitably the next most animated performer. But all eyes on Siouxsie, white jeans, scarf and waistcoat, making full use of the stage space and a mesmerising stage presence.
Next up, one of two performances from Swiss TV show Lucarne Ovale
broadcast 8th June 1979 a few months before the release of Join Hands.
Jigsaw Feeling was the first of a 5-song set comprising Placebo Effect,
Hong Kong Garden, Switch and - following up in this post - Suburban Relapse. Again,
the band look and sound fantastic, Siouxsie and McKay almost pre-New
Romantic in their respective wardrobe.
Back to Blighty for this performance of Overground from the Oxford Road Show, recorded on 3rd December 1982 and broadcast on BBC2. McKay and Morris were gone by now, replaced by Robert Smith and Budgie respectively. The look and sound has also evolved: Siouxsie with proto-Goth Cruella De Ville hair and dress, Severin in blousy shirt and bleached hair; the band backed by a couple of violinists, at first plucked then urgent, sweeping strings adding a grandeur and menace to the song.
Metal Postcard (Mittageisen) was showcased on The Old Grey Whistle Test (BBC2 again) along with Jigsaw Feeling on 11th July 1978. With it's marching, motorik rhythm (later used to stunning effect by Massive Attack on on their song Superpredators) it's long been one of my favourite Banshees songs. Do I need to say Siouxsie provides yet another example of why she is a superlative front person?
Closing this sample - and the TV show itself, as the end credits roll - with a return to Lucarne Ovale from June 1979 and the penultimate song from The Scream, Suburban Relapse. Siouxsie wanders up to the camera, turning it's attention to a prepared 'dressing room' set opposite the stage. Siouxsie finds a conveniently placed brick and casually lobs it at a mirror, risking seven years' bad luck.
The broken mirror has the phrase "Il y a quelque chose de pourri..." scrawled across it in lipstick which, according to my D in French O Level roughly translates as "There is something rotten..." Again, another attention-grabbing show from the band, including John McKay who by now has turned his back on the main audience and seems to be playing directly to a small group of immobile men side of stage. And who is the mysterious figure at stage rear in the banana yellow polo neck and Mick Ronson-circa-72 coiffure?
None of this detracts from Siouxsie of course, who builds the audience up and leads to a literal collapse at the song's climax. The credits have rolled and the backdrop screen proclaims, "C'est Fini".
No, not my final ever post, you may be relieved or dismayed (or indifferent) to hear, but a nod to The Prisoner, a TV series that ended over half a century ago yet continues to intrigue, confound and inspire.
Likewise, the Welsh village of Portmeirion, the location of The Village in the series, has also been a go-to for music video shoots. I've included a selection here, including a couple filmed for legendary music show The Tube, produced by Channel 4 in the 1980s, which was also where I watched - and fell in love with - The Prisoner for the first time.
First up is The Times with I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape from 1982. Edward Ball wrote and first recorded the song as a single in 1980 as Teenage Filmstars. The Times' video was directed by Nick Morris and a recreation of The Prisoner, including what many may argue is a more satisfying ending that the TV series' controversial final episode.
In 1987, The Tube had a special episode, titled "The Laughing Prisoner", filmed in Portmeirion. Jools Holland was the titular character and the opening of this clip features Jools and Stephen Fry, the latter performing possibly the worst umbrella lob committed to video.
The main feature is Siouxsie & The Banshees' cover version of The Passenger. I was (and still am) a huge fan of the band and their music so it was always a thrill to see them on TV. I'm not sure I'd heard Iggy Pop's original and frankly unbeatable version at the time. Either way, the Banshees' version may have been deemed worthy of a single but it's not their finest moment. The band look super cool though.
I'm not sure I've even seen the 1982 promo for See Those Eyes by Altered Images before. If I did, I completely forgot that like The Times, this was also directed inspired by The Prisoner. Much as I enjoy seeing Ed Ball in action, I didn't have a crush on him as a pre-teen, so Clare Grogan is going to win every time, no contest.
Fast forward to 1995 and Supergrass won me over with their cheeky chappy song and video, Alright. As impressive as the lads racing around Portmeirion on Chopper bicycles is, nothing can top Gaz Coombes' mutton chops, the likes of which I'd not seen since Amos Brearly was pulling pints in The Woolpack on Emmerdale Farm.
Back to 1987 and The Tube who, prior to "The Laughing Prisoner" special, filmed XTC performing a couple of songs in Portmeirion. The Meeting Place has Colin Moulding on lead vocals and full McGoohan garb, bar his hairstyle. I think Billy Ray Cyrus was paying close attention to the latter.
I'll confess that I've never heard of Ulysses before "researching" today's post. Even more galling to discover that they're from Bath, a reasonably short jaunt from Casa K. Situation Man was a released as a single from 2019 album On Safari (sadly, not a tribute to another classic TV show and presenter, as far as I can tell). If you like what you hear, you can find the album and other Ulysses releases on Bandcamp.
Ironically, this chap released a single in May 1989 called The Prisoner and even named the 12" version "The Portmeirion Mix". Was it enough to get him a free pass to Portmeirion? Hell no.
Thirty five (35!) years ago this week, Siouxsie & The Banshees peaked at #59 in the UK singles chart with Song From The Edge Of The World, a standalone single that bridged the albums Tinderbox (1986) and Peepshow (1988). The single was also notable for debuting two new members, Martin McCarrick and Bristol's own Jon Klein.
The single entered the charts on 25th July at #69, by 1st August it climbed ten places, before falling to #63 the following week and disappearing altogether the week after that.
The week that Song From The Edge Of The World peaked, Los Lobos spent the first of two weeks at #1 with La Bamba. In fact, the chart was littered with cover versions: Under The Boardwalk by Bruce Willis (#6), Jive Talkin' by Boogie Box High (#7), Just Don't Want to Be Lonely by Freddie McGregor (#9) and A Little Boogie Woogie (In The Back Of My Mind) by Shakin' effing Stevens (covering Gary effing Glitter, of all people) (#12). In such esteemed company, perhaps little wonder that Siouxsie & The Banshees didn't chart higher.
I've read that the band, Siouxsie in particular, weren't happy with the finished record and it's consequently not a favourite. Whilst it's not in my Top 10, it's a good song and, commercially, deserved a better fate as a single. Fortunately, Peek-A-Boo would redress the balance twelve months later...
I don't think I've ever seen the video for Song From The Edge Of The World, so it was a delight to discover it on YouTube. Siouxsie has a dramatic new look that is a big step away from the Goth overtones that remained with Tinderbox and foreshadows her Peepshow style. She looks amazing, of course, even when she's swimming around the bottom of a swimming pool for the on-the-nose visualisation of the 'diving for pearls' lyric.
Thirty-three years ago today, I saw Siouxsie & The Banshees live in concert for the first and only time at the Colston Hall in Bristol. I referenced this briefly back in March 2021, in a related post over at The Vinyl Villain about seeing Pete Shelley's Zip supporting Erasure at the same venue. This was part of a frequent 'gig swap' with friends, where I would go along to see a band I didn't have a lot of interest in at the time (Erasure), so that I could get to see a band I really wanted to see (Siouxsie & The Banshees). I went to both gigs with my college friend Paul, who was mainly into hip hop and rap (and James Brown), and was also a fan of Erasure. I'm pretty sure he had little or no idea who Siouxsie & The Banshees were, but was game for a laugh...although they were likely to be in short supply where we were going.
16th September 1988 was a Friday night. I'd dropped out of college and been in full-time work for a few months, so it's a fair guess that we may have skipped the support act to down a few pints at local pub The Bunch Of Goths before going into the venue. Either way, I have no recollection of the support band that night and a search on the web hasn't helped much. Suicide was the opening act at Liverpool's Royal Court Theatre on 12th December 1988. if Suicide was also there that night in Bristol, I either missed it or completely forgot something possibly quite special. As referenced in my previous post on The Vinyl Villain, I've clearly been affected by False Memory Syndrome (or alcohol amnesia), as most of the night is a blur three decades on.
Once more, some kind soul has uploaded the night's setlist to the, er, Setlist website, so I have been able to recreate what Siouxsie & The Banshees played that night. Unsurprisingly, given that it was released a couple of weeks previously and gave the tour it's name, their ninth studio album Peepshow was highlighted. However, I was surprised to find that the entire album was played over the course of the night, accounting for half of the setlist. I hadn't bought Peepshow prior to the concert - and in fact I didn't buy it until the expanded CD reissue in 2014 - so I was as unfamiliar as Paul was with most of the songs. They did play lots of favourites of mine, including Cities In Dust, which was the first Siouxsie & The Banshees single I bought, way back in 1985 on 12" vinyl.
I recall being completely mesmerised by Siouxsie Sioux. I also thought that Steve Severin and Budgie were pretty cool and, of their newly expanded 5-piece line up, I'd also heard of Martin McCarrick because of his involement with This Mortal Coil. To my retrospective shame, I had no idea who Jon Klein was, other than the Banshees seemed to favour guitarists called John. Worse still, given that Jon Klein was born in Bristol, also my birthspace. Where's the loyalty and support for local artists?! I've since been educated...
Juju was the first Siouxsie & The Banshees album I bought (in fact, one of the first albums I bought, full stop), originally on cassette and one which I played and played to death. So, it was a thrill to hear Night Shift half way through. The other two selections from that album - Arabian Knights and Spellbound - were held back for the inevitable finale.
Reviews of the tour appeared to be lukewarm. I clearly don't remember a lot about the night, other than I personally thought they were great. I think Paul was less impressed and that was probably the last gig swap that we did. Listening to the recreated setlist, although the Peepshow songs aren't always on a par with the others, I'm struck by the wonderful sequencing of 'hits', early album tracks, a few unexpected B-sides, some enduring favourites and three encores. The setlist neatly divides into two sides of a C90 cassette, if you're so inclined - links below for your listening pleasure. Jeepers Creepers!
Part One (45:11)
1) The Last Beat Of My Heart (Album Version) (1988)
2) Turn To Stone (1988)
3) The Killing Jar (Lepidopteristic Mix - Full Length) (1988)
4) I Promise (1984)
5) Ornaments Of Gold (1988)
6) Christine (1980)
7) This Wheel's On Fire (Full Length Version) (Cover of Bob Dylan & The Band) (1987)*
8) Something Blue (1987)
9) Scarecrow (1988)
10) Rawhead And Bloody Bones (1988)
* This version appeared on 2002's The Best Of Siouxsie & The Banshees and is approx. 30 seconds longer than the original album version, with an extended outro.
