MAGNET NO. 61 (Nov/Dec 2003)

KISS THEM FOR ME

GOODBYE BANSHEES, HELLO CREATURES

When the Sex Pistols reunited in 1996 for their Filthy Lucre tour, Siouxsie And The Banshees showed their disapproval for punk-rock retreads by promptly breaking up. All Banshees involved< including drummer (and Siouxsie Sioux's husband) Budgie and bassist Steve Severin together again.

But the Banshees reneged on their dissolution last spring, when they performed a series of dates in the U.S., U.K. and Japan. Footage from the tour, dubbed the Seven Year Itch, has been released by Sanctuary as a live DVD and companion CD of the same title. The band has also collaborated with writer Mark Paytress on Siouxsie & The Banshees: The Authorised Biography.

"I think we decided to [regroup] for old time's sake and to put a full stop to the Banshees," says Sioux. "The way it ended in 1996, we just petered out and slowly disintegrated. This was a chance to put something positive back in."

Sioux says she and Budgie are now focused on the Creatures, their longtime side project. After a four-year hiatus, the Creatures have just issued their fourth full-length, Hai!, on their Sioux label (co-released in the U.S. by Instinct).

Recorded with former Kodo drummer and taiko master Leonard Eto in Tokyo, Hai! is almost obscenely percussive. The taiko Japanese drums low, stalking the rhythmic edges and purring contentedly.

"It feels very productive and very positive at the moment," she says. "I'm just relieved that we've survived."

Contributed by Bonnie Bryant.