(The Big Take-Over Issue #41)

"TOP 30 FEMALE SINGLES OF ALL TIME"
by Jeff Kelson

#6 (!!!) SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES "HONG KONG GARDEN" (1978) The last of the important punk bands of the era to get signed -- and it proved worth the wait. This effervescent debut betrayed a maturity that resulted from their long wait to record. A punk-pop masterpiece, it rocketed into the U.K. Top 10, yet despite its success, few misconstrued them as commercial artists. Rather the populace came to them and suddenly they were at the vanguard of post-punk. An indictment of the island of Hong Kong ("Harmful elements in the air/cymbols crashing everywhere"), the record was adorned with oriental flavor from its opening notes to the final gong. In between was some urgent guitar from Steve Severin and gloriously infectious vocals from Siouxsie Sioux. A prelude to a fantastic debut LP "The Scream" and to a brilliant career.