Siouxsie Sioux. – And where would the 80s be without her?
Siouxsie And The Banshees this afternoon – recorded at Sartory Säle in Cologne on July 19, 1981 by West German Radio.
Finding good sounding (i.e. soundboard) recordings of almost any period of Siouxsie and The Banshees concerts is difficult at best. Since we don’t run audience recordings owing to uniformly poor quality and inevitable missing vocals, or vocals buried so far as to make them unlistenable under any circumstances. Searching high and low for decent sound has been a mission, these past twelve or so years.
This afternoon we’re lucky to find an unearthed concert recording from a relatively early period in the band’s career. So of course, we’re thrilled.
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 album The Scream was released to widespread critical acclaim in 1978. 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.
Crank this one up and enjoy.
