Q Punk Special Edition (2002)

From the 'Last Man Standing' section

Siouxsie and the Banshees - by Daphne Carr

Siouxsie has reformed the Banshees and is just about to go on tour again.

Original members: Siouxsie (vocals), Steve Severin (bass).
Other current members: Budgie (drums).

So you're still touring - good crowds?

"We're definitely playing four cities in America, and maybe Washington DC. All the theatres are between 1,500 - 3,000 capacity and then there's the Coachella Festival. In Chicago it sold out in two hours so we added another date. We really didn't know what to expect at all."

What songs will you be playing?

"We have our A and B wish lists. We're playing songs we didn't play in the last five years, early things and things we've never played."

What made you do it again?

"We've been talking for about a year or so, ever since a biographer began doing interviews. Always in the back of my mind was the question, I wonder if we could play music together again? So when Severin called and asked if we wanted to do the Coachella Festival, and we'd been getting on with each other, we said, why not?"

How long will you carry on?

"It's a one-off for now. There's been no talk of getting back together."

Do you make a living out of it?

"It took us a long time to understand the industry wouldn't supply us with what we needed, so we started our own label -Sioux- and it's been hard figuring that all out. We've also been recording the new Creatures album for so long now. It's been a struggle as we've done everything ourselves."

So Punk's not dead?

"We're playing in San Francisco with eX-Girl, a Japanese version of The Slits, and Tribe 8, some tough girls we'd played with before. I'm really excited because it's about time there were good female bands out there. But, honestly, I've lived in rural France for 10 years so I don't really know what's going on with music. One band I do like is Radiohead."

Contributed by Bonnie Bryant.