We interrupt the pathetic sausagefest that is my page with a birthday tribute to one of the true icons.
I met her once, you know. In a backstage area before a concert. True to her reputation, she was exceedingly contemptuous of everyone.
Paradoxically, this only made me like her more.
The concert was incredible, too. This was in 1988, I think.
Now we blink and the Punk priestess and godmother of Goth is turning 65 today.
One of the original British Punks -- didn't the Banshees open the first Sex Pistols performance? -- to actually have more to say than three chords and a gob of spit, she -- as much as any other figure -- defined the transition to Post Punk.
I guess it boils down to her one-of-a-kind voice, and that no one before or since has sounded anything like her, unless they're a one-dimensional imitator.
Anyway Siouxsie Sioux -- born Susan Ballion this day in 1957 -- has been doing it for 45 years at a very lofty level, and we are here to celebrate her milestone b'day.
And let's do precisely that with her legendary appearance on the German show Rockpalast, in the company of shredtastic guitarist John McGeoch and supporting 1981's pinnacle Juju album.
Siouxsie & The Banshees
Rockpalast
Sartory-Säle
Köln, Germany
7.19.1981
01 WDR introduction
02 Israel
03 Halloween
04 Regal Zone
05 Spellbound
06 Arabian Knights
07 Switch
08 Pulled to Bits
09 Head Cut
10 Tenant
11 Night Shift
12 Sin In My Heart
13 But Not Them
14 Voodoo Dolly
15 Hong Kong Garden
16 Eve White/Eve Black
17 Happy House
18 Skin
Total time: 1:14:25
Siouxsie Sioux - vocals, percussion & guitar
John McGeoch - guitar
Steve Severin - bass
Budgie - drums & percussion
192/48K audio extracted from a 1997 WDR-TV rebroadcast
remastered, repaired, tracked & converted to 16/44 CD Audio by EN, May 2022
495 MB FLAC/May 2022 archive link
I'll be back in 48 hours with something for a recently-departed Maestro.
Don't sleep on Siouxsie tho.... she will keep you Spellbound.--J.
