Billboard Online (4.6.06)

Severin preps Siouxsie, Glove reissues

By JASON MACNEIL, Billboard.com

Although more than a decade has passed since Siouxsie and the Banshees' last studio album, the group's back cata-log will be refurbished this summer. On June 1, Universal U.K. will released expanded editions of the Banshees' 1978 debut, "The Scream," 1979's "Join Hands," 1980's "Kaleidoscope" and 1981's "Juju." No North American release date has yet been announced.

"Finding the material wasn't a problem -- remembering what to look for was," original bassist Steven Severin tells Billboard.com.

The new editions are bolstered with various demos and unreleased tracks, with "Kaleidoscope" containing 10 addi-tional songs. But Severin says the vaults aren't quite empty, citing "The Scream" as an example. "The notorious 'Track Sessions' were vetoed, which I thought was a shame considering people will still buy them on bootleg," he says. "I felt we that we could have loosened the quality control noose just a touch to enable fans to hear these unreleased, early songs at a reasonable price."

Also about to appear from the Siouxsie archive is a DVD of the 1983 home video "Nocturne," featuring a concert taped in London the previous year plus the TV special "Play at Home." In addition, "Juju" will receive a double-disc "deluxe edition" treatment that Severin says should be finished by year's end.

As previously reported, Severin has also been shepherding a reissue of 1983's "Blue Sunshine," his lone album with the Cure's Robert Smith as the Glove. The set is tentatively due in July to coincide with a new round of Cure reissues. The album's bonus material will comprise "rough mixes" of songs with Smith singing "all the guide vocals," according to Severin.

"[Fiction label head ]Chris Parry strictly forbade Robert from singing on the final album but we managed to sneak him on to two tracks under the proviso that neither was to be released as singles," Severin says.

Severin also says Smith was quite eager to work on the reissue. "In fact, in many ways he's driven it!" he says. "I think it's been a bit of a mission on his part. He desperately wanted to sing on the album at the time so getting the chance to release this 'alternative version' has become his personal quest, I think."

And while Severin nixes any thoughts of a one-off concert to celebrate "Blue Sunshine," both he and Smith are in preliminary discussions about possibly recording a new album together. "I'm thinking more prequel than sequel," Severin says. "You know, what led to the Glove being so disturbed."

Contributed by Jerry Burch.