Mojo Special Edition - PUNK - THE WHOLE TRUTH! (2005)

Punks not dead Part 1
The Stars of '77 Today...

SIOUXSIE SIOUX
Siouxsie And The Banshees

Where are you now?

At home in France. Once I stop being distracted I'm finishing a solo album. After the touring we did last year, culminating at the Royal Festival Hall, I'd like to finish the album using the 16-piece orchestra and the brilliant Taiko drum master Leonard Eto. I've never done something just as Siouxsie or without The Banshees or The Creatures. I may do some collaborations as well...

Did punk achieve what it set out to do?

It didn't have an agenda and that's why it was so exciting. There was an unwritten agenda maybe, very non-careerist and of the moment, it left the industry totally bemused and I think that always really healthy. What do these fucking A&R men know anyway? Especially at a time when it was so complacent. I would love for that excitement to be there again. People were saying, This is what I want to do and I can do it.

Did you realise that you were at the birth of something momentous?

No, not at all. Travelling in from Chislehurst, my first hangout was a lesbian club called Louise's. I discovered this underworld where places opened after 11pm which was at that time very rare. When we ended up going to see the Pistols, I introduced everyone to these places and they became our watering holes. It was a time for disparate souls.

You were the bondage fashion queen. Is that true?

I suppose so. There used to be this S&M outlet called She And Me. I did go to Vivienne Westwood's shop Let It Rock but most of the time I went to She And Me and customised from there as well as finding old bits of underwear from my mum. It wasn't for the titillation aspect - it kept people away from me. They were terrified. Punk was the first positive movement for women that ever happened.

Did punk make you a millionaire?

No. My integrity gets in the way of that.

More info: www.vamp.org/Siouxsie

Contributed by Bonnie Bryant.