Siouxsie and the Banshees | |
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Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1979, left to right: Kenny Morris, Siouxsie Sioux, John McKay and Steven Severin
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Background information | |
Also known as | Janet and the Icebergs |
Origin | London, England |
Genres | |
Years active | 1976–96, 2002 |
Labels | |
Associated acts | |
Website | siouxsieandthebanshees |
Past members |
Siouxsie Sioux Steven Severin Marco Pirroni Sid Vicious Kenny Morris Peter Fenton John McKay Budgie Robert Smith John McGeoch John Valentine Carruthers Martin McCarrick Jon Klein Knox Chandler |
Siouxsie and the Banshees were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Initially associated with the English punk rock scene, the band rapidly evolved to create "a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation".The Times cited Siouxsie and the Banshees as "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".
With the release of Juju in 1981, the group also became an important influence on the emerging gothic rock scene. They disbanded in 1996, with Siouxsie and drummer Budgie continuing to record music as the Creatures, a second band they had formed in the early 1980s. In 2004, Siouxsie began a solo career.
Siouxsie and the Banshees' work places highly in both musicians' polls and music papers' lists. In 2006, Mojo rated guitarist John McGeoch in their list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" for his work on "Spellbound".
Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin met at a Roxy Music concert in September 1975, at a time when glam rock had faded and there was nothing new coming through with which they could identify. From February 1976, Siouxsie, Severin and some friends began to follow an unsigned band, the Sex Pistols. Journalist Caroline Coon dubbed them the "Bromley Contingent", as most of them came from the Bromley region of South London, a label Severin came to despise. "There was no such thing, it was just a bunch of people drawn together by the way they felt and they looked". They were all inspired by the Sex Pistols and their uncompromising attitude. When they learned that one of the bands scheduled to play the 100 Club Punk Festival, organised by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, were pulling out from the bill at the last minute, Siouxsie suggested that she and Severin play, even though they had no band name or additional members. Two days later, the pair appeared at the festival held in London on 20 September 1976. With two borrowed musicians at their side, Marco Pirroni on guitar and John Simon Ritchie (already commonly known as Sid Vicious) on drums, their set consisted of a 20-minute improvisation based on "The Lord's Prayer".