Great cover, clearly from one of the periods when Robert Smith had joined the band.

Some of the video shots of Siouxsie are also amusing — bearing in mind this was 16 years before Julia Roberts made her famous gestural statement about female body hair at the London premiere of Notting Hill.

I have a lot of time for the Banshees. In recent weeks, I've often listened to Kiss Them for Me, with Talvin Singh and its reference to Jayne Mansfield.

And as a kid at alternative music clubs, I recall pretty vividly how effective the intro to Cities in Dust was for getting people onto the dance floor. [The same was true back then for the intros to Love Like Blood by Killing Joke and Lucretia My Reflection by The Sisters of Mercy.]

_____________


If anyone needs a quick history lesson or brush-up, check out the photo and article below of the first Banshees line-up in 1976 at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, London. Marco Pirroni on guitar, Sid Vicious on drums:




www.m-magazine.co.uk/features/siouxsie-and-the-banshees-first-gig/


_____________


In 2009, the BBC produced a programme in two parts called Queens of British Pop. Superficial, and mass-market in tone, but the Siouxsie Sioux profile is still interesting. Talking heads include Viv Albertine and Marc Almond:




_____________


On a separate note, in this age of paranoia, self-censorship and hypersensitivity bordering on hysteria, imagine what the social media response would be today to a young singer from Bromley taking on the name "Siouxsie Sioux".

You must be from Boston and yes I was aware of the Joy Division/New Order song - one of my favorite tunes and I almost posted it! Cheers

I was lucky enough to see Failure on the “Fantastic Planet” tour back in the late 90’s. At one of the shows, they played this cover live. So good!

I should have said in reference to the cover - that such a faithful version was unexpected, given how the Banshees had mangled and left their mark on Helter Skelter, but I guess that was chosen for non-musical reasons. Are you suggesting that perhaps Robert Smith was responsible for the melodious nature of the cover?

As for the body hair issue, I'd not consciously noticed it in the video. I recall the first time seeing the Banshees, there was plenty of armpit hair on show, in an affirmative way, just as there was with the Raincoats and The Slits, so it was quite normal, even if I was too young to understand the sexual politics. Such gestures would never have hit the mainstream media though.

Those intros bring a smile to my face ... perhaps there's another thread. From personal experience to this day ... the intro that causes the biggest stampede to the dancefloor has to be This Charming Man.

I enjoyed hearing this Soundgarden cover by the Avett Bros.

http://instagr.am/p/BXs4v6OFnfl