Evening Chronicle (8.26.98)
Creatures are on the loose - Siouxsie Sioux has shunned the big-wig record companies to set up on her own with long-time colleague Budgie. Showbusiness Reporter GORDON BARR finds out more
Being a stalwart of the music business has its plus points, as the effervescent Siouxsie Sioux can prove.
She's been making records for two decades and has now finally found the strength to set up her own label.
No more living their musical lives under the hammer of the music moguls for Siouxsie and colleague and former lover Budgie.
The pair, back again as The Creatures, and playing Newcastle Riverside on Sunday, have now formed Sioux Records and already released a single on the label, with plans for an album in the next few months.
"I certainly don't want to get into being a director of a label," says Siouxsie. "I don't want to become this business woman.
"I want to keep it as unofficial as possible. But I think it would be a good thing to show that you can do it another way. Everybody's so cowardly. Bands are told that there are all these people they need. But, particularly with the new technology, I really think that's hanging on a thin thread at the moment. And I'd like to be a part of a way of cutting it."
Siouxsie and Budgie first formed an alliance as The Creatures in the early 80s. They released a four-track EP Eraser Cut on July 26 and are now on to their third album, Anima Animus, which is due for release early next year.
The pair are confident that following their release from Polydor and Geffen records they will go from strength to strength.
The Creatures' music - unorthodox drum and voice - with Siouxsie's famous vocals and Budgie's pan rhythmic drumming is as emotionally powerful as ever.
The 10 tracks on Anima Animus form a variety of "chimes and grooves, moods and melodramas", according to the singer.
We wanted this record to redefine what an album is," she says. "Boomerang, our previous album, has 17 tracks on it, and that's too long,
"Our favourite albums, things like Iggy Pop's Lust For Life, were nine or 10 tracks long.
"So with this one we wanted to leave people wanting more from us."
The Creatures are at Newcastle Riverside on Sunday. Tickets cost £10 and can be booked on [0191] 261 4386.
Contributed by Jerry Burch.