Siouxsie and the Banshees - Spellbound: The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees (50th Anniversary 1976-2026) (3CD) (2026) Plus (31 CDs)

K's HALLOWEEN SPECIAL (34 x CDs)

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Spellbound: The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees (50th Anniversary 1976-2026) (3CD) (2026) Plus (31 CDs)

In celebration of 50 years since Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin first took to the stage at the 100 Club Punk Festival on 20 September 1976,

here is my personal compilation of their very best work for this year’s Halloween special music presentation.

Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin. The Times called them "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".

Initially associated with the punk scene, the band - including guitarist John McKay and drummer Kenny Morris - rapidly evolved to create "a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation". Their debut single "Hong Kong Garden" (1978) became a high-charting release peaking at number seven in the UK Singles chart. Their debut album The Scream released soon after was met with widespread critical acclaim. Following membership changes, including the addition of guitarist John McGeoch and drummer Budgie, they changed their musical direction and became one of the most successful alternative pop groups of the 1980s. Their third album Kaleidoscope (1980) peaked at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart. With Juju (1981) which also reached the top 10, they became an influence on the emerging gothic scene.

The band made a breakthrough in North America with the multifaceted album Peepshow (1988), which received critical praise. With substantial support from alternative rock radio stations, they achieved a mainstream hit in the US in 1991 with the pop single "Kiss Them for Me". Siouxsie and the Banshees's other best-known songs include "Happy House" (1980), "Spellbound" (1981), "Cities in Dust" (1985) and "Peek-a-Boo" (1988). During their career, Siouxsie and the Banshees released 11 studio albums and 30 singles. The band experienced several line-up changes, with Siouxsie and Severin being the only constant members. They disbanded in 1996.

The band were post-punk pioneers. They have been cited as an influence by bands such as Joy Division, the Cure, U2 and Radiohead, Tricky and Jeff Buckley.

Formation (1976-1977)

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 area of south-east 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, was 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 Sid Vicious on drums, their set consisted of a 20-minute improvisation based on "The Lord's Prayer".

The band intended to split up after the gig, but they were asked to play again. Over the next few months, Siouxsie and Severin recruited drummer Kenny Morris and guitarist Peter Fenton. After playing several gigs in early 1977, they realised that Fenton did not fit in because he was "a real rock guitarist"; he was fired on stage in mid-May. John McKay took his place in July. Their first live appearance on television took place in November on Granada Television (based in Manchester), on Tony Wilson's TV show So It Goes. In that month they also recorded their first John Peel session for BBC radio, in which they premiered a new song, "Metal Postcard"; this introduced a "motorik austerity" in the drum patterns, along with "space in the sound" and "serrated guitars". The band described their music as "cold, machine-like and passionate at the same time". When they appeared on the cover of Sounds magazine, Vivien Goldman wrote: "they sound like a 21st-century industrial plant".

The albums featured in this 50th anniversary special presentation are as follows:

01 Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Scream (2005 Deluxe Edition) (2CD) (1978)

02 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Join Hands (2006 Remastered Expanded Edition) (1979)

03 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Kaleidoscope (2006 Remastered Expanded Edition) (1980)

04 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Juju (2006 Remastered Expanded Edition) (1981)

05 Siouxsie and the Banshees - A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (2009 Remastered Expanded Edition) (1982)

06 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Nocturne (2009 Remastered Edition) (1983)

07 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Hyaena (2009 Remastered Expanded Edition) (1984)

08 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Tinderbox (2009 Remastered Expanded Edition) (1986)

09 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Through the Looking Glass (2014 Remastered Expanded Edition) (1987)

10 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peepshow (2014 Remastered Expanded Edition) (1988)

11 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Superstition (2014 Remastered Expanded Edition) (1991)

12 Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Rapture (2014 Remastered Expanded Edition) (1995)

13 Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Seven Year Itch (2003)

14 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Downside Up (4CD) (2004)

15 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Voices on the Air - The Peel Sessions (2006)

16 Siouxsie and the Banshees - At the BBC (3CD) (2009)

17 Siouxsie and the Banshees - All Souls (2022)

18 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Spellbound: The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees (50th Anniversary 1976-2026) (3CD) (2026)

19 The Creatures - Feast (1983)

20 The Creatures - Boomerang (1989)

21 The Creatures - A Bestiary of The Creatures (1997)

22 The Creatures - Anima Animus (1999)

23 The Creatures - Hái! (2003)

24 The Glove - Blue Sunshine (2006 Deluxe Edition) (2CD) (1983)

25 Siouxsie - Mantaray (2007)

Plus a fascinating and informative selection of Siouxsie and the Banshees magazines (1979-2026)

Trick or Treat?! 👻🎃

K.

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OR

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Track lists

CAN BE FOUND HERE:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/80501-Siouxsie-The-Banshees

https://www.discogs.com/artist/29644-The-Creatures

https://www.discogs.com/artist/136501-The-Glove

https://www.discogs.com/master/114395-Siouxsie-Mantaray

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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