111-600: Mo-dettes were an English all-female post-punk band, formed in 1979 by guitarist Kate Korris, an original member of the Slits and brief member of the Raincoats , and bassist Jane Crockford, a former member of Bank of Dresden. Ramona Carlier (vocals) and June Miles-Kingston (drums) completed the line-up. Mo-dettes' best-known song is "White Mice", written by Jane Crockford, which was self-released as their first single in mid-1979 on Mode records, with "Masochistic Opposite" on
222-511: A Mojo compilation. The Edge was the presenter of an award given to Siouxsie at the Mojo ceremony in 2005. In December 1981, Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode named the Banshees as one of his three favourite bands along with Sparks and Roxy Music. Gahan later hailed the single " Candyman " at its release, saying, "She always sounds exciting. She sings with a lot of sex - that's what I like. This
333-428: A new wave revival. Their music ranged from the atonal tracks of bands like Liars to the melodic pop songs of groups like The Sounds . They shared an emphasis on energetic live performance and used aesthetics (in hair and clothes) closely aligned with their fans, often drawing on fashion of the 1950s and 1960s, with "skinny ties, white belts [and] shag haircuts". There was an emphasis on "rock authenticity" that
444-457: A dense (and often playful) style of criticism that drew on philosophy, radical politics and an eclectic variety of other sources. In 1978, UK magazine Sounds celebrated albums such as Siouxsie and the Banshees' The Scream , Wire's Chairs Missing , and American band Pere Ubu 's Dub Housing . In 1979, NME championed records such as PiL's Metal Box , Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures , Gang of Four's Entertainment! , Wire's 154 ,
555-399: A fuller sound, Mo-dettes asked guitarist Melissa Ritter to join. She played her first show as a Mo-dette just four days after joining the band. In February 1982, Carlier left and Crockford sang for a couple of months. In May 1982, Sue Slack replaced Ramona on vocals, before Mo-dettes disbanded permanently on 11 November 1982. Bassist Jane Crockford was married in 1980 to Daniel Woodgate of
666-438: A genre of music than a space of possibility", suggesting that "what unites all this activity is a set of open-ended imperatives: innovation; willful oddness; the willful jettisoning of all things precedented or 'rock'n'roll ' ". AllMusic employs "post-punk" to denote "a more adventurous and arty form of punk". Reynolds asserted that the post-punk period produced significant innovations and music on its own. Reynolds described
777-584: A hub for this scene and provide it with its namesake. A pioneering punk scene in Australia during the mid-1970s also fostered influential post-punk acts like The Birthday Party , who eventually relocated to the UK to join its burgeoning music scene. As these scenes began to develop, British music publications such as NME and Sounds developed an influential part in the nascent post-punk culture, with writers like Savage, Paul Morley and Ian Penman developing
888-534: A landmark performance". Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris was influenced by the Banshees Mk1 from their 1977's John Peel session because their "first drummer Kenny Morris played mostly toms" and "the sound of cymbals was forbidden". He added, "The Banshees had that ... foreboding sound, sketching out the future from the dark of the past". Joy Division producer Martin Hannett saw a difference between
999-738: A large output of music. By 1980–1981, many British acts, including Maximum Joy , Magazine, Essential Logic, Killing Joke , the Sound , 23 Skidoo , Alternative TV , the Teardrop Explodes , the Psychedelic Furs , Echo & the Bunnymen and the Membranes also became part of these fledgling post-punk scenes, which centered on cities such as London and Manchester. However, during this period, major figures and artists in
1110-543: A mainstream hit in the US in 1991 with the single " Kiss Them for Me ". 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, with Siouxsie and Budgie continuing to record music as the Creatures , a second band they had formed in the early 1980s. In 2004, Siouxsie began
1221-457: A major tour to promote the album. A few dates into the tour in September, Morris and McKay left an in-store signing after an argument and quit the band. In need of replacements to fulfil tour dates, the Banshees' manager called drummer Budgie, formerly with the Slits , and asked him to audition. Budgie was hired, but Siouxsie and Severin had no success auditioning guitarists. Robert Smith of
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#17327904767261332-511: A member of Magazine . Their third album, Kaleidoscope , released in 1980, saw the Banshees exploring new musical territories with the use of other instruments like synthesizers, sitars and drum machines. The group initially had a concept of making each song sound completely different, without regard to whether or not the material could be performed in concert. Melody Maker described the result as "a kaleidoscope of sound and imagery, new forms, and content, flashing before our eyes". Kaleidoscope
1443-531: A more commercial new wave sound (such as Gang of Four), while others were fixtures on American college radio and became early examples of alternative rock , such as R.E.M. One band to emerge from post-punk was U2 , which infused elements of religious imagery and political commentary into its often anthemic music. Online database AllMusic noted that late '80s bands such as Big Flame , World Domination Enterprises , and Minimal Compact appeared to be extensions of post-punk. Some notable bands that recalled
1554-504: A new song "Metal Postcard", introducing a " motorik austerity" in the drums patterns, with "the space in the sound" and "the 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 band sold out venues in London in early 1978, but still had problems getting
1665-493: A performer. Radiohead cited McGeoch-era Siouxsie records when mentioning the recording of the song " There There ", and rehearsed Banshees' material prior to their 2008 tour. Jeff Buckley , who took inspiration from several female vocalists, covered "Killing Time" (from the Boomerang album) on various occasions. Buckley also owned all the Banshees' albums. When asked what were his influences, Buckley replied: "I grew up for
1776-436: A recording studio as the Creatures. Their fourth and final studio album, Hái! , came out a few months later. On 4 March 2004, McGeoch died in his sleep after an epileptic seizure, at the age of 48. Siouxsie and Budgie had talked about inviting him to guest with them on stage, before hearing the news. In November of the same year, Downside Up , a box set that collected all of the Banshees' B-sides and The Thorn EP,
1887-609: A single prior to their longest tour of the UK. Tinderbox was released in April 1986. Sounds magazine said: " Tinderbox is a refreshing slant on the Banshees' disturbing perspective and restores their vivid shades to pop's pale palette". Due to the length of time spent working on Tinderbox , the group desired spontaneity and decided to record an album of cover songs, Through the Looking Glass , in 1987. Mojo magazine later praised their version of " Strange Fruit ". After
1998-471: A solo career. 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
2109-400: Is ... a pop song that they put out in the middle of their career ... to me it sounded like the most current but most futuristic bit of guitar-pop music I've heard". A Perfect Circle 's Billy Howerdel said that the Banshees were "top three favorite bands for me". The Weeknd sampled different parts of "Happy House" for his song " House of Balloons ", and also used the chorus of
2220-485: Is a broad genre of music that emerged in 1977 in the wake of punk rock . Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experimental approach that encompassed a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-rock influences. Inspired by punk's energy and do it yourself ethic but determined to break from rock cliches , artists experimented with styles like funk , electronic music , jazz , and dance music ;
2331-617: Is a great Banshees record ..., I like their sound. I used to see them quite a lot when I was younger." Commenting on the original Banshees line-up and how they were different from other groups, Gahan said: "Siouxsie And The Banshees, whom I adored, sang much more abstract, artistic about frustration. Colder and darker". Jim Reid of the Jesus and Mary Chain selected "Jigsaw Feeling" from The Scream as being among his favourite songs. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth cited "Hong Kong Garden" in his top 25 all-time favourite songs, saying "it
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#17327904767262442-515: Is also considered a new wave act. They were also one of the first alternative bands; music historian Peter Buckley pointed out that they were at "the very front of the alternative-rock scene". In 1988, "Peek-a-Boo" was the first track to top the US Modern Rock chart after Billboard launched this chart in the first week of September to list the most played songs on alternative and college radio stations. Simon Goddard wrote that
2553-504: Is not with what Reynolds left out of Rip It Up ..., but, paradoxically, that too much was left in". Ogg suggested that post-punk pertains to a set of artistic sensibilities and approaches rather than any unifying style, and disputed the accuracy of the term's chronological prefix "post", as various groups commonly labelled "post-punk" predate the punk rock movement. Reynolds defined the post-punk era as occurring roughly between 1978 and 1984. He advocated that post-punk be conceived as "less
2664-432: Is so exciting to watch, so full of energy and human raw quality", and selected Siouxsie's album Anima Animus in her top 10 albums of 1999. The band had a strong effect on two important trip hop acts. Tricky covered " Tattoo " to open his second album, Nearly God ; the original 1983 proto-trip-hop version of that song aided Tricky in the creation of his style. Massive Attack heavily sampled " Metal Postcard " on
2775-628: The Billboard Hot 100 , allowing them to reach a new audience. The album Superstition followed shortly afterwards, and the group toured the US as second headliners of the inaugural Lollapalooza tour. The following year, the Banshees were asked to compose " Face to Face " as a single for the film Batman Returns , at director Tim Burton 's request. In 1993, the Banshees recorded new songs based on string arrangements, and then played them in festivals abroad. On their return home, they hired former Velvet Underground member John Cale to produce
2886-720: The B-side . The single was produced by David Cunningham and distributed by Rough Trade and was a hit on the indie charts. Mo-dettes got further exposure on BBC Radio 1 , DJ John Peel 's show on 28 January 1980, broadcasting versions of "Norman (He's No Rebel)", "Dark Park Creeping", "Kray Twins" and "Bitter Truth". Further sessions followed on 26 August 1980 and 11 July 1981. The band signed to Decca Records subsidiary Deram and released one album, The Story So Far , ( Deram Records SML-1120) in November 1980. The album chiefly consisted of pop-punk originals, as well as covers of
2997-518: The Bromley area in 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 ,
3108-489: 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 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
3219-510: The production techniques of dub and disco ; and ideas from art and politics, including critical theory , modernist art , cinema and literature . These communities produced independent record labels , visual art, multimedia performances and fanzines . The early post-punk vanguard was represented by groups including Siouxsie and the Banshees , Wire , Public Image Ltd , the Pop Group , Magazine , Joy Division , Talking Heads ,
3330-614: The ska band Madness ; the marriage lasted for 15 years. June Miles-Kingston first returned to the studio when she played drums and sang backing vocals on Fun Boy Three 's " Our Lips Are Sealed ", and in the late 1980s as the drummer for the Communards . During this period, she also worked with Thompson Twins , and Everything but the Girl . Miles-Kingston is the sister of the former Tenpole Tudor guitarist Bob Kingston. Post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick )
3441-469: The "Banshees - Mk II would become one of the biggest alternative pop groups of the 1980s". Spin described them as "alternative rockers" in 1991 when referring to their presence in the top 40 chart. Noting the band's participation in the first Lollapalooza festival, journalist Jim Gerr saw them as one of the "elements of the alternative rock community". Mojo retrospectively presented them as one of "alternative rock's iconic groups". When commenting on
Mo-dettes - Misplaced Pages Continue
3552-716: The 1960s, early 1970s, 1980s, so I observed Joni Mitchell , I observed the Smiths and Siouxsie and the Banshees. That turns me on completely". Suede singer Brett Anderson named Juju as one of his favourite records. Red Hot Chili Peppers performed " Christine " in concert, and their guitarist John Frusciante cited the Banshees in interviews. Garbage singer Shirley Manson stated, "I learned how to sing listening to The Scream and Kaleidoscope ". Siouxsie has also been praised by other female singers including PJ Harvey and Courtney Love . PJ Harvey has stated, "It's hard to beat Siouxsie Sioux, in terms of live performance. She
3663-462: The Art of Noise , would attempt to bring sampled and electronic sounds to the pop mainstream. Post-punk artists such as Scritti Politti's Green Gartside and Josef K 's Paul Haig , previously engaged in avant-garde practices, turned away from these approaches and pursued mainstream styles and commercial success. These new developments, in which post-punk artists attempted to bring subversive ideas into
3774-504: The Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees ( / ˈ s u z i æ n d ð ə ˈ b æ n ʃ i z / , SU -zi-and-the- BAN -shees ) were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin . They were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later acts. The Times called the group "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of
3885-461: The Banshees and Wire were experimenting with sounds, lyrics, and aesthetics that differed significantly from their punk contemporaries. Savage described some of these early developments as exploring "harsh urban scrapings", "controlled white noise " and "massively accented drumming". In November 1977 Siouxsie and the Banshees' first John Peel Session for BBC radio 1 marked the transition to post-punk when they premiered "Metal Postcard" with space in
3996-512: The Banshees mk 1. But mk 2 were even better". Marr mentioned his liking for John McGeoch and his contribution to the single "Spellbound". Marr qualified it as "clever" with a "really good picky thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll". Smiths' historian Goddard wrote that Marr "praise[d] the McGeoch-era Banshees as a significant inspiration". U2 cited Siouxsie and the Banshees as a major influence and selected "Christine" for
4107-474: The Banshees then reworked four numbers from their repertoire, augmented by a string section, for The Thorn EP. NME praised the project: "The power of a classical orchestra is the perfect foil for the band's grindingly insistent sounds". The new Banshees line-up spent much of 1985 working on a new record, Tinderbox . The group finished the song " Cities in Dust " before the album, so they rushed its release as
4218-404: The Banshees were post-punk pioneers. They have been described as developing "a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation". The Times wrote that "The Banshees stand proudly [... as] one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era". With some of their darkest material, the band also helped spawn the gothic scene. The band
4329-492: The Banshees' first main line-up and the other bands of 1977: "Any harmonies you got were stark, to say the least, except for the odd exception, like Siouxsie. They were interesting". The Cure's leader, Robert Smith, declared in 2003: "Siouxsie and the Banshees and Wire were the two bands I really admired. They meant something." He also pinpointed what the 1979 Join Hands tour brought him musically. "On stage that first night with
4440-608: The Banshees, I was blown away by how powerful I felt playing that kind of music. It was so different to what we were doing with the Cure. Before that, I'd wanted us to be like the Buzzcocks or Elvis Costello , the punk Beatles. Being a Banshee really changed my attitude to what I was doing". Killing Joke cited the band in their influences: guitarist Geordie Walker praised "the Banshees on The Scream " for bringing "chord structures that I found very refreshing". The two songwriters of
4551-668: The Banshees, so the group released a cover version of the Beatles ' " Dear Prudence " in September 1983. It became their biggest UK hit, reaching number 3 on the Singles Chart . They also released a live album, Nocturne , and completed their sixth studio album, Hyæna . Shortly before its release in May 1984, Smith left the group, citing health issues due to an overloaded schedule, being in two bands at once. With ex- Clock DVA guitarist John Valentine Carruthers replacing Smith,
Mo-dettes - Misplaced Pages Continue
4662-528: The Blacks , and Lizzy Mercier Descloux pursued a formula described by Lucy Sante as "anything at all + disco bottom". Other no wave-indebted artists such as Swans , Rhys Chatham , Glenn Branca , Lydia Lunch , the Lounge Lizards , Bush Tetras , and Sonic Youth instead continued exploring the early scene's forays into noise music 's abrasive territory. The original post-punk movement ended as
4773-581: The British post-punk scene in the late 1970s. The genre later flourished into a more widespread and international movement of artists who applied the spirit of psychedelic rock to new sounds and techniques. Other styles such as avant-funk and industrial dub also emerged around 1979. Midwestern groups such as Pere Ubu and Devo drew inspiration from the region's derelict industrial environments , employing conceptual art techniques, musique concrète and unconventional verbal styles that would presage
4884-566: The CD Voices on the Air: The Peel Sessions . AllMusic described the first session as "a fiery statement of intent" and qualified the other performances as "excellent". Eleven years after the split of the Banshees, Siouxsie released her debut solo album Mantaray in 2007. The second batch of the remasters, concerning the band's 1982–1986 era, was issued in April 2009. It included four other reissues (including A Kiss in
4995-518: The Creatures and releasing their most critically acclaimed album, Boomerang , and Severin and McCarrick working on material together. In 1991, Siouxsie and the Banshees returned with the single " Kiss Them for Me ", mixing strings over a dance rhythm laced with exotica . The group collaborated with the then unknown Indian tabla player Talvin Singh , who also sang during the bridge. The single received glowing reviews and later peaked at number 23 on
5106-590: The Creatures. In 1999, they released the album Anima Animus . In 2002, Universal Music kicked off the band's remastered back catalogue by releasing The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees . In April, Siouxsie, Severin, Budgie and Chandler reunited briefly for the Seven Year Itch tour, which spawned The Seven Year Itch live album and DVD in 2003. The day after their last concert in Tokyo, Japan, Siouxsie and Budgie stayed in town on their own and entered
5217-428: The Cure offered his services in case they could not find a guitarist (his group were already the support band on the tour), so the band held him to it after seeing too many "rock virtuosos". The tour resumed in September and after the last concert, Smith returned to the Cure. Budgie became a permanent member, and the band entered the studios to record the single " Happy House " with guitarist John McGeoch , then still
5328-498: The Cure , the Smiths , Depeche Mode , PJ Harvey , Radiohead , Jeff Buckley , Tricky and LCD Soundsystem . Joy Division's Peter Hook , who saw the group in concert in Manchester in 1977, said: "Siouxsie and the Banshees were one of our big influences ... The Banshees first LP was one of my favourite ever records, the way the guitarist and the drummer played was a really unusual way of playing and this album showcases
5439-460: The Dreamhouse . The record, featuring strings on several numbers, was an intentional contrast to their previous work, with Severin later describing it as a "sexy album". The British press greeted it enthusiastically. Richard Cook finished his NME review with this sentence: "I promise...this music will take your breath away". At that time, McGeoch was struggling with alcohol problems, and
5550-551: The Dreamhouse from 1982). The At the BBC box set, containing a DVD with all of the band's UK live television performances and three CDs with in-concert recordings, was also released in June of the same year. In April 2014, their debut single "Hong Kong Garden" was reissued on double 7-inch vinyl. It was announced that this would be part of a three-year plan with Universal. In late October, their last four studio albums (1987's Through
5661-751: The Jerks , Mars , DNA , Theoretical Girls , and Rhys Chatham instead experimented with noise, dissonance and atonality in addition to non-rock styles. The former four groups were included on the Eno-produced No New York compilation (1978), often considered the quintessential testament to the scene. The decadent parties and art installations of venues such as Club 57 and the Mudd Club would become cultural hubs for musicians and visual artists alike, with figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat , Keith Haring and Michael Holman frequenting
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#17327904767265772-483: The Looking Glass including " The Passenger ", was reissued on crystal clear vinyl with new artwork featuring a mirror effect sleeve, for National Album Day through several online retailers. A limited edition with an extra poster was also available via the band's website. Severin gave his first interview in years for a Record Collector Magazine Special Siouxsie and the Banshees , also out in October. Siouxsie and
5883-550: The Looking Glass , 1988's Peepshow , 1991's Superstition and 1995's The Rapture ) were reissued on CD in remastered versions with bonus tracks. Siouxsie and Severin curated a compilation CD called It's a Wonderfull Life for the monthly magazine Mojo , issued in September with Siouxsie on the front cover. On this CD, the pair honoured several composers of film and classical music that had inspired them. In 2015, after releasing another compilation called Spellbound: The Collection , which included singles, album tracks and B-sides,
5994-850: The Pop Group and the Slits had begun experimenting with dance music, dub production techniques and the avant-garde, while punk-indebted Manchester acts such as Joy Division, the Fall , the Durutti Column and A Certain Ratio developed unique styles that drew on a similarly disparate range of influences across music and modernist art. Bands such as Scritti Politti , Gang of Four , Essential Logic and This Heat incorporated leftist political philosophy and their own art school studies in their work. The unorthodox studio production techniques devised by producers such as Steve Lillywhite , Martin Hannett , and Dennis Bovell became important element of
6105-455: The Raincoats ' self-titled debut , and American group Talking Heads ' album Fear of Music . Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus and the Cure were examples of post-punk bands who shifted to dark overtones in their music, which would later spawn the gothic rock scene in the early 1980s. Members of Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Cure worked on records and toured together regularly until 1984. Neo-psychedelia grew out of
6216-413: The Raincoats , Gang of Four , the Cure , and the Fall . The movement was closely related to the development of ancillary genres such as gothic rock , neo-psychedelia , no wave , and industrial music . By the mid-1980s, post-punk had dissipated, but it provided a foundation for the new pop movement and the later alternative and independent genres. Post-punk is a diverse genre that emerged from
6327-491: The Rolling Stones ' " Paint It Black " and Édith Piaf 's " Milord ". Also in 1981, billed as Bomberettes, they provided backing vocals on the track "Fighter Pilot" on John Cale 's album Honi Soit . The band had a minor hit with "Paint It Black", just missing the top 40. The band's final record was "Tonight", released in June 1981 and a minor hit. Two months later, at the request of Decca Records, who wanted to hear
6438-481: The Smiths cited them; singer Morrissey said that "Siouxsie and the Banshees were excellent", and that "they were one of the great groups of the late 1970s, early 1980s". He also said in 1994, "If you study modern groups, those who gain press coverage and chart action, none of them are as good as Siouxsie and the Banshees at full pelt. That's not dusty nostalgia, that's fact". When asked "who do you regret not going to see live", guitarist Johnny Marr replied "Siouxsie and
6549-423: The UK albums chart and became one of their biggest sellers. McGeoch's guitar contributions on Juju were later praised by Johnny Marr of the Smiths . During the 1981 accompanying tour, Siouxsie and Budgie became a couple. At the same time, they also began a drum-and-voice duo called the Creatures , releasing their first EP , Wild Things . The Banshees followed in 1982 with the psychedelic A Kiss in
6660-524: The album's release, the band realised Carruthers was no longer fitting in and decided to work on new material as a trio. Following a lengthy break, the band recruited multi-instrumentalist Martin McCarrick and guitarist Jon Klein . The quintet recorded Peepshow in 1988, with non-traditional rock instrumentation including cello and accordion . Q magazine praised the album in its 5-star review: " Peepshow takes place in some distorted fairground of
6771-574: The art school tradition found in the work of artists such as Roxy Music and David Bowie . Reynolds noted a preoccupation among some post-punk artists with issues such as alienation , repression , and technocracy of Western modernity . Among major influences on a variety of post-punk artists were writers William S. Burroughs and J. G. Ballard , avant-garde political scenes such as Situationism and Dada , and intellectual movements such as postmodernism . Many artists viewed their work in explicitly political terms. Additionally, in some locations,
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#17327904767266882-452: The band reissued 1979's Join Hands on vinyl for Record Store Day , with different cover artwork. A vinyl reissue series on Polydor of all of the band's albums, remastered from the original ¼" tapes in 2018 by Miles Showell and cut at half speed at Abbey Road Studios , began in August 2018. The eleven studio albums were reissued on black vinyl. A 10 track compilation titled All Souls
6993-587: The bands associated with the movement turned away from its aesthetics, often in favour of more commercial sounds. Many of these groups would continue recording as part of the new pop movement, with entryism becoming a popular concept. In the United States, driven by MTV and modern rock radio stations, a number of post-punk acts had an influence on or became part of the Second British Invasion of " New Music " there. Some shifted to
7104-660: The break-up of his pioneering punk band the Sex Pistols , citing his disillusionment with punk's musical predictability and cooption by commercial interests, as well as his desire to explore more diverse territory. In May, Lydon formed the group Public Image Ltd with guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble , the latter who declared "rock is obsolete" after citing reggae as a "natural influence". However, Lydon described his new sound as "total pop with deep meanings. But I don't want to be categorised in any other term but punk! That's where I come from and that's where I'm staying." Around this time, acts such as Public Image Ltd,
7215-432: The broad umbrella of " new wave ", with the terms being deployed interchangeably. "Post-punk" became differentiated from "new wave" after their styles perceptibly narrowed. The writer Nicholas Lezard described the term "post-punk" as "so multifarious that only the broadest use ... is possible". Subsequent discourse has failed to clarify whether contemporary music journals and fanzines conventionally understood "post-punk"
7326-404: The charts. Far Out magazine claimed a 2010s revival of the genre as having "claws firmly in the past, with many of the original post-punk bands such as The Fall and Bauhaus hailed as gods". Referring to bands such as Denmark's Iceage , England's Eagulls , Savages and Sleaford Mods , Canada's Ought , America's Preoccupations , Protomartyr and Parquet Courts . Further stating "This
7437-407: The concerns of a largely white, male, working-class population and abandoned its continued reliance on established rock and roll tropes, such as three-chord progressions and Chuck Berry -based guitar riffs . These artists instead defined punk as "an imperative to constant change", believing that "radical content demands radical form". Though the music varied widely between regions and artists,
7548-438: The creation of post-punk music was closely linked to the development of efficacious subcultures , which played important roles in the production of art, multimedia performances, fanzines and independent labels related to the music. Many post-punk artists maintained an anti-corporatist approach to recording and instead seized on alternate means of producing and releasing music. Journalists also became an important element of
7659-540: The critical community—American critic Greil Marcus characterised "Britain's postpunk pop avant-garde" in a 1980 Rolling Stone article as "sparked by a tension, humour and sense of paradox plainly unique in present-day pop music" —as well as media figures such as BBC DJ John Peel , while several groups, such as PiL and Joy Division, achieved some success in the popular charts. The network of supportive record labels that included Y Records , Industrial, Fast, E.G. , Mute , Axis/4AD , and Glass continued to facilitate
7770-410: The cultural milieu of punk rock in the late 1970s. Originally called "new musick", the terms were first used by various writers in the late 1970s to describe groups moving beyond punk's garage rock template and into disparate areas. Sounds writer Jon Savage already used "post-punk" in early 1978. NME writer Paul Morley also stated that he had "possibly" invented the term himself. At
7881-839: The culture, and popular music magazines and critics became immersed in the movement. In the mid-1970s, various American groups (some with ties to Downtown Manhattan 's punk scene, including Television and Suicide ) had begun expanding on the vocabulary of punk music. During the punk era, a variety of entrepreneurs interested in local punk-influenced music scenes began founding independent record labels, including Rough Trade (founded by record shop owner Geoff Travis ), Factory (founded by Manchester -based television personality Tony Wilson ), and Fast Product (co-founded by Bob Last and Hilary Morrison). By 1977, groups began pointedly pursuing methods of releasing music independently, an idea disseminated in particular by Buzzcocks ' release of their Spiral Scratch EP on their own label as well as
7992-428: The debut albums of those bands layered the foundations of post-punk. Simon Reynolds ' 2005 book Rip It Up and Start Again is widely referenced as post-punk doctrine, although he has stated that the book only covers aspects of post-punk that he had a personal inclination toward. Wilkinson characterised Reynolds' readings as "apparent revisionism and 'rebranding ' ". Author/musician Alex Ogg criticised: "The problem
8103-447: The early 1980s, Downtown Manhattan's no wave scene transitioned from its abrasive origins into a more dance-oriented sound, with compilations such as ZE Records ' Mutant Disco (1981) highlighting a newly playful sensibility borne out of the city's clash of hip hop , disco and punk styles, as well as dub reggae and world music influences. Artists such as ESG , Liquid Liquid , The B-52s , Cristina , Arthur Russell , James White and
8214-906: The emerging music. Labels such as Rough Trade and Factory would become important hubs for these groups and help facilitate releases, artwork, performances, and promotion. Credit for the first post-punk record is disputed, but strong contenders include the debuts of Magazine (" Shot by Both Sides ", January 1978), Siouxsie and the Banshees (" Hong Kong Garden ", August 1978), Public Image Ltd (" Public Image ", October 1978), Cabaret Voltaire ( Extended Play , November 1978) and Gang of Four (" Damaged Goods ", December 1978). A variety of groups that predated punk, such as Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle , experimented with tape machines and electronic instruments in tandem with performance art methods and influence from transgressive literature , ultimately helping to pioneer industrial music . Throbbing Gristle's independent label Industrial Records would become
8325-477: The experimental seriousness of earlier post-punk groups, the club-oriented scene drew some suspicion from denizens of the movement but also achieved commercial success. Artists such as Gary Numan , Depeche Mode , the Human League , Soft Cell , John Foxx and Visage helped pioneer a new synthpop style that drew more heavily from electronic and synthesizer music and benefited from the rise of MTV . In
8436-602: 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". John McKay took his place in July. Their first live appearance on television took place in November on Manchester 's Granada , on Tony Wilson 's TV show So It Goes . That month they also recorded their first John Peel session for BBC radio in which they premiered
8547-610: The group's ability to produce pop songs while transmitting something subversive. He said, "They were outsiders bringing outsider subjects to the mainstream. We're not trying to rip off the Banshees, but that's kind of where we're coming from". He stated that among "the last great rock bands were Siouxsie and the Banshees ... the best post-punk bands for me. The ideas in the music and the lyrics for those ... bands completely influenced Primal Scream". The Banshees have been hailed by other acts. Thom Yorke said that seeing Siouxsie on stage in concert in 1985 inspired him to become
8658-439: The lyrics of the first two Banshees albums, Severin said that they were about "madness, and childhood, and escaping suburbia, which are themes that hadn't been dealt with at all in rock music or pop music before". Siouxsie and the Banshees impacted many genres including post-punk , new wave , synth pop , gothic rock , alternative music , shoegaze and trip hop , influencing a wide range of musicians including Joy Division ,
8769-438: The mind where weird and wonderful shapes loom". The first single, " Peek-a-Boo ", was seen by critics as a "brave move" with horns and dance elements. Sounds wrote: "The snare gets slapped, Siouxsie's voice meanders all around your head and it all comes magically together". "Peek-a-Boo" was their first real breakthrough in the United States. After the tour, the band decided to take a break, with Siouxsie and Budgie recording as
8880-483: The most original, intoxicating guitar playing I heard in a long, long time". The band released their debut album, The Scream , in November 1978. Nick Kent of NME said of the record: "The band sounds like some unique hybrid of the Velvet Underground mated with much of the ingenuity of Tago Mago -era Can , if any parallel can be drawn". At the end of the article, he added this remark: "Certainly,
8991-593: 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. In 1988, the band made a breakthrough in North America with the multifaceted album Peepshow , which received critical praise. With substantial support from alternative rock radio stations, they achieved
9102-640: The movement, including particular brands of krautrock , glam , art rock , art pop and other music from the 1960s. Artists once again approached the studio as an instrument , using new recording methods and pursuing novel sonic territories. Author Matthew Bannister wrote that post-punk artists rejected the high cultural references of 1960s rock artists like the Beatles and Bob Dylan as well as paradigms that defined " rock as progressive , as art, as 'sterile' studio perfectionism ... by adopting an avant-garde aesthetic". According to musicologist Pete Dale, while groups wanted to "rip up history and start again",
9213-701: The music of "Red Light". "'My Superman' is an interpolation of 'Red Light'". Indie folk group DeVotchKa covered the ballad " The Last Beat of My Heart " at the suggestion of Arcade Fire singer Win Butler ; it was released on the Curse Your Little Heart EP. Gossip named the Banshees as one of their major influences during the promotion of their single "Heavy Cross". British indie band Bloc Party took inspiration from "Peek-a-Boo" and their singer Kele Okereke stated about that Banshees' single: "it sounded like nothing else on this planet. This
9324-408: The music was still "inevitably tied to traces they could never fully escape". Nicholas Lezard described post-punk as "a fusion of art and music". The era saw the robust appropriation of ideas from literature, art, cinema, philosophy , politics and critical theory into musical and pop cultural contexts. Artists sought to refuse the common distinction between high and low culture and returned to
9435-424: The original era during the 1990s included Six Finger Satellite , Brainiac , and Elastica . In the early 2000s, a new group of bands that played a stripped down and back-to-basics version of guitar rock emerged into the mainstream, led by Interpol , Franz Ferdinand , The Strokes , and The Rapture . These bands were variously characterised as part of a post-punk revival , as well as a garage rock revival and
9546-405: The period as "a fair match for the sixties in terms of the sheer amount of great music created, the spirit of adventure and idealism that infused it, and the way that the music seemed inextricably connected to the political and social turbulence of its era". Nicholas Lezard wrote that the music of the period "was avant-garde, open to any musical possibilities that suggested themselves, united only in
9657-573: The pop mainstream, began to be categorised under the marketing term new pop . Several more pop-oriented groups, including ABC , the Associates , Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow (the latter two managed by former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren ) emerged in tandem with the development of the New Romantic subcultural scene. Emphasizing glamour, fashion and escapism in distinction to
9768-621: The post-punk movement by several years. A variety of subsequent groups, including the Boston -based Mission of Burma and the New York-based Talking Heads, combined elements of punk with art school sensibilities. In 1978, the latter band began a series of collaborations with British ambient pioneer and ex- Roxy Music member Brian Eno , experimenting with Dadaist lyrical techniques, electronic sounds, and African polyrhythms . San Francisco 's vibrant post-punk scene
9879-439: The post-punk movement has been characterised by its "conceptual assault" on rock conventions and rejection of aesthetics perceived of as traditionalist , hegemonic or rockist in favour of experimentation with production techniques and non-rock musical styles such as dub , funk , electronic music , disco , noise , world music , and the avant-garde . Some previous musical styles also served as touchstones for
9990-487: The rest of the record. Released in 1995, The Rapture was described by Melody Maker as "a fascinating, transcontinental journey through danger and exotica". A few weeks after its release, Polydor dropped the band from its roster and Klein was replaced on the band's last tour in 1995 by ex- Psychedelic Furs guitarist Knox Chandler . In April 1996, the Banshees disbanded after 20 years of working together. Siouxsie and Budgie announced that they would carry on recording as
10101-401: The right recording contract that could give them "complete artistic control". Polydor offered this guarantee and signed them in June. Their first single, " Hong Kong Garden ", featuring a xylophone motif, reached the top 10 in the UK shortly after. An NME review hailed it as "a bright, vivid narrative, something like snapshots from the window of a speeding Japanese train, power charged by
10212-505: The scene began leaning away from underground aesthetics. In the music press, the increasingly esoteric writing of post-punk publications soon began to alienate their readerships; it is estimated that within several years, NME suffered the loss of half its circulation. Writers like Paul Morley began advocating "overground brightness" instead of the experimental sensibilities promoted in the early years. Morley's own musical collaboration with engineer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik ,
10323-400: The scene. According to Village Voice writer Steve Anderson, the scene pursued an abrasive reductionism that "undermined the power and mystique of a rock vanguard by depriving it of a tradition to react against". Anderson claimed that the no wave scene represented "New York's last stylistically cohesive avant-rock movement". British post-punk entered the 1980s with support from members of
10434-452: The self-released 1977 singles of Desperate Bicycles . These DIY imperatives would help form the production and distribution infrastructure of post-punk and the indie music scene that later blossomed in the mid-1980s. As the initial punk movement dwindled, vibrant new scenes began to coalesce out of a variety of bands pursuing experimental sounds and wider conceptual territory in their work. By late 1977, British acts such as Siouxsie and
10545-643: The sense that it was very often cerebral, concocted by brainy young men and women interested as much in disturbing the audience, or making them think, as in making a pop song". Many post-punk artists were initially inspired by punk's DIY ethic and energy, but ultimately became disillusioned with the style and movement, feeling that it had fallen into a commercial formula, rock convention, and self-parody. They repudiated its populist claims to accessibility and raw simplicity, instead of seeing an opportunity to break with musical tradition, subvert commonplaces and challenge audiences. Artists moved beyond punk's focus on
10656-516: The song "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)", recorded prior to their Mezzanine album. Air 's Jean-Benoît Dunckel cited the group as one of his three main influences. Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins cited the Banshees as an important influence on his music. Faith No More covered "Switch" in concert and cited The Scream as one of their influences. The Banshees continue to influence younger musicians. Singer James Murphy
10767-547: The sound and serrated guitars, creating a music being "cold, machine-like and passionate at the same time". Mojo editor Pat Gilbert said, "The first truly post-punk band were Siouxsie and the Banshees", noting the influence of the band's use of repetition on Joy Division . John Robb similarly argued that the first Banshees gig was "proto post-punk", comparing the rhythm section Public Image Ltd's Metal Box , which would be released three years later. In January 1978, singer John Lydon (then known as Johnny Rotten) announced
10878-426: The time, there was a feeling of renewed excitement regarding what the word would entail, with Sounds publishing numerous preemptive editorials on new musick. Towards the end of the decade, some journalists used " art punk " as a pejorative for garage rock-derived acts deemed too sophisticated and out of step with punk's dogma . Before the early 1980s, many groups now categorised as "post-punk" were subsumed under
10989-793: The top ten in the UK, while Idles ' Ultra Mono , Fontaines D.C. 's Skinty Fia and Wet Leg 's self-titled debut all reached number one on the UK album charts. This scene is rooted in experimental post-punk and often features vocalists who "tend to talk more than they sing, reciting lyrics in an alternately disaffected or tightly wound voice", and "sometimes it's more like post-rock ". Several of these bands, including Black Country, New Road, Black Midi and Squid, began their careers by playing at The Windmill , an all-ages music venue in London 's Brixton neighbourhood. Many of them have also worked with producer Dan Carey and have released music on his DIY label Speedy Wunderground. Siouxsie and
11100-475: The traditional three-piece sound has never been used in a more unorthodox fashion with such stunning results". The Banshees' second album, Join Hands , was released in 1979. In Melody Maker , Jon Savage described "Poppy Day" as "a short, powerful evocation of the Great War graveyards", and Record Mirror described the whole record as a dangerous work that "should be heard". The Banshees embarked on
11211-473: The way that it was discussed in later years. Music historian Clinton Heylin places the " true starting-point for English post-punk" somewhere between August 1977 and May 1978, with the arrival of guitarist John McKay in Siouxsie and the Banshees in July 1977, Magazine 's first album, Wire 's new musical direction in 1978 and the formation of Public Image Ltd . Music historian Simon Goddard wrote that
11322-652: Was a commercial success, peaking at number 5 on the UK albums chart. This line-up, featuring McGeoch on guitar, toured the United States for the first time in support of the album, playing their first shows in New York City in November 1980. For Juju (1981), the band took a different approach and practised the songs in concert first before recording them. Juju , according to Severin, became an unintentional concept album that "drew on darker elements". Sounds hailed it as "intriguing, intense, brooding and powerfully atmospheric". The album later peaked at number 7 on
11433-531: Was a completely new world". Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine also mentioned them as being among his early influences. Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction once noted a parallel between his band and the Banshees: "There are so many similar threads: melody, use of sound, attitude, sex-appeal. I always saw Jane's Addiction as the masculine Siouxsie and the Banshees". Primal Scream 's Bobby Gillespie liked
11544-670: Was centered on such groups as Chrome , the Residents , Tuxedomoon and MX-80 , whose influences extended to multimedia experimentation, cabaret and the dramatic theory of Antonin Artaud 's Theater of Cruelty . Also emerging during this period was downtown New York's no wave movement, as well as a short-lived art and music scene that began in part as a reaction against punk's recycling of traditionalist rock tropes, often reflecting an abrasive and nihilistic worldview. No wave musicians such as The Contortions , Teenage Jesus and
11655-510: Was hospitalised on his return to a promotional trip from Madrid . The band fired him shortly thereafter. Severin asked Robert Smith to take over guitarist duties again; Smith accepted and rejoined the group in November 1982. During 1983, the band members worked on several side projects; Siouxsie and Budgie composed the first Creatures album, Feast , while Severin and Smith recorded as the Glove . Smith then insisted on documenting his time with
11766-595: Was marked by certain Banshees albums during his childhood. His band LCD Soundsystem covered " Slowdive " as a B-side to the single " Disco Infiltrator ". The Beta Band sampled "Painted Bird" on their track "Liquid Bird" from the Heroes to Zeros album. TV on the Radio said that they have always tried to make a song that begins like "Kiss Them for Me" where all of a sudden, there's an "element of surprise" with "a giant drum coming in". Santigold based one of her songs around
11877-457: 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
11988-442: Was released in 2022. The album's track list was curated by Siouxsie and features " Spellbound " (licensed for season four of series Stranger Things ), " Fireworks ", "Peek-a-Boo", plus album tracks and rarities. It was released on black vinyl, and orange vinyl. In 2023 The Rapture was reissued on double colored vinyl. In 2024, Nocturne , was reissued featuring new artwork, for Record Store Day. In October 2024 Through
12099-474: Was released. The Times wrote in its review: "here is a group that never filled B-sides with inferior, throwaway tracks. Rather they saw them as an outlet for some of their most radical and challenging work". In 2006, the band's first four records were remastered and compiled with previously unreleased bonus tracks. Several recordings made for the John Peel radio show from 1978 to 1986 were also compiled on
12210-458: Was seen as a reaction to the commercialism of MTV-oriented nu metal , hip hop and "bland" post-Britpop groups. Because the bands came from countries around the world, cited diverse influences and adopted differing styles of dress, their unity as a genre has been disputed. By the end of the decade, many of the bands of the movement had broken up, were on hiatus, or had moved on to other musical areas, and very few were making significant impact on
12321-580: Was the perfect time for post-punk to return, against a backdrop of hideous geopolitical happenings such as the financial crash of 2008, the ascendence of Donald Trump and the Brexit vote." During the late 2010s and early 2020s, a new wave of UK and Irish post-punk bands gained popularity. Terms such as "crank wave" and "post-Brexit new wave" have been used to describe these bands. The bands Black Country, New Road , Squid , Dry Cleaning , Shame , Sleaford Mods , and Yard Act all had albums that charted in
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