A Salute to Siouxsie Sioux

The late 70s ! Ahh what a time to be young and reckless. And indeed I was. I believe that the class of 78 might have been one of the factors that contributed to our school district having a meeting about whether open campus was a wise Idea. I was already in my late teens and I already had my first car from a summer job I had. And my friend Les had to drive seeings I was not a licensed driver yet.

And among the many memories I had was growing up on a diet of Deep Purple , Rush, Aerosmith , Kiss , Peter Frampton and Ted Nugent and of course Led Zeppelin whom I was lucky enough to see live at the Great Western Forum. The end of my somewhat spotty academic career in high school was coming to and end. And in my Junior year of 1977 there was a new scene emerging on the musical landscape. This new scene was emerging in the area of lower Manhattan. And it was being introduced by a confluence of bands with names like , Television, Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, Talking Heads , Blondie and some obscure band called " The Ramones ". From what I understand they made quite the splash on the music scene. And just as New York was exploding with this exciting new art form across the pond in England the scene is starting to unfold. And we are introduced to one of the most infamous and short lived but legendary bands of all time " The Sex Pistols ". As well as The Jam , Generation X with some guy named Billy Idol fronting them and some band called " The Clash ". Also in this collection of misfits there was a gem that had caught my attention a ragtag bunch that had a dark somewhat macabre and menacing look about them. They were fronted by a gal who had kinda a vampire look to her with her makeup. I was to understand that this was called Gothic. And from that point forward I really dug the goths ! And her band was called " Siouxsee and the Banshees " and their front woman was named Siouxsie Sioux. I was smitten !

Siouxsie Sioux of course is not her real name. She was born Susan Janet Dallion on May 27th of 1957 in southeast London. And I guess one reason why I dig her work so much is because she has virtually the same taste in music that I do. Roxy Music , Iggy and the Stooges , The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed and the musical genius David Bowie. Her taste in music much like her body of work were not mainstream. Her music was not her trademark early on. She was known for her fashion sense around London because of the funky bondage and glam style that was to be one of the trademarks of the punk style. A true pioneer ! And I like people who challenge convention. Art is not supposed to be predictable. And the modern music business could stand to learn that lesson. Because like the film industry and other media these days it is no longer art, it is product. And music and film have both become painfully predictable. She did her first gig in 1976 under the direction of the recently departed Malcolm Mclaren the man who created " The Sex Pistols ". She was also I am sure by no coincidence a part of a band of groupies called " The Broomley Contingent " that followed the Sex Pistols around. She had become the fashionista of the mid to late 70s. And a small but fiecely loyal cult following was starting to take shape.

Siouxsie formed the Banshees in 1976 with the collaboration of bassist Steven Severin who was to be her longtime bassist. However it took them two years before they actually put out their first album which was called " The Scream ". It did not make the splash that many of the initial punk rock bands did. But then again Siouxsie always had a small cult following and was never mainstream. But it was one of the best unheralded debut albums of the late 1970s. And by this time the punk rock era was already becoming a thing of the past and we were going into the " post punk " era. And Siouxsie and bands like " The Clash " as well as The Ska music movement were leading the way. The Banshees followed up " The Scream " with an album called " Join Hands " which was not quite as strong as her debut effort in 1978. But in 1980 as my junior college years were pretty much of a blur she came out with her album " Kaleidoscope ". And the neat thing about this album was it was so markedly different from the previous two efforts. Because Siouxsee and the Banshees were pretty rough around the edges when they first came on the scene but nonetheless quite unique. On " Kaleidoscope " that actually had a little polish to the production on their sound while not losing the edginess. They were getting sophisticated.

And their work throughout the 1980s also included the artsy cutting edge but stylish sound that was now their calling card. There was also a lot of collaborations with fellow goth legend Robert Smith from   " The Cure " another big 80s band. One of their collaborations was a cover of the Beatles tune " Dear Prudence " which did not make much of a splash out here stateside but was huge in England ! And they would continue to team up all through the 1980s , the second best era of music there ever was ! ( I still think the 60s was the revolutionary period )

I have never been one to follow the pack. Like many who hang here at Hubpages I kinda march to my own drummer ! And most of the music I listen too falls far off the beaten path as well. And Siouxsie and the Banshees definitely were a part of that departure from the conventional. They finally packed it in around 2003. The Rapture was their last album and that came out in 1995. But for me they definitely were a significant part of my young adult years and I will forever remain a fan ! I included a little track from " The Creatures as kinda a bonus track as well as one of their last music videos and I hope you enjoy them. Siouxsee I still gotta crush on you and feel free to comment and send me an email ! PLEEAASSEEE !