Chronicles Of Reverence: Siouxsie Sioux

Born Susan Janet Ballion on May 27 1957 in London, she is famously known for being the frontwoman and center of attention for Siouxsie And The Banshees along with subsequent projects as a solo artiste and the band The Creatures throughout her singing career. Surviving a rough childhood with the loss of her father and a near death experience, Siouxsie first made her mark on the punk scene with her unique fashion sense fueled by the inspiration of bands such as David Bowie, Roxy Music and The Stooges which gave an inkling on her path in life later on with the formation of Siouxsie And The Banshees in 1976. Together with fellow founder Steven Severin, the band was fast selling out venues in its early days and eventually had their first single Hong Kong Garden released under Polydor which reached the top 10 of the UK charts soon after and subsequently released The Scream in 1978. Making guest appearances every now and then, Siouxsie's last discography came in the form of her solo album MantaRay and was last heard in the The Edge Of Love soundtrack singing Careless Love and is currently taking a break from touring

The Relevance Of Her Reverence


Everything that sums up the roots of the music subculture and her work with The Banshees provided the strong branch for subsequent goth influenced acts to grow from the punk subculture and taking a cue from her musical hero David Bowie by adding an element of glam with a drop of darkness that quickly spread through the waters and becoming a huge influence to bands such as Janes Addiction, Massive Attack, Garbage and even to bands that are just as acclaimed such as The Smiths whose lead singer Morrissey collaborated with Siouxsie at one point. Even to the bright lights of the fashion industry, Siouxsie Sioux is hailed as a doyen of her subculture by combining the elements of punk and goth seamlessly into her own wardrobe evidenced by the countless collections that have gone through the runway with her essence strongly felt from the make up to the raven hued articles. The Creatures era had some impact in the music subculture as well and despite not being a household name as The Banshees, it still managed to achieve critical acclaim and has influenced modern acts like PJ Harvey while MantaRay received the sign of approval from publications worldwide with Siouxsie's foray into solo territory looking to inspire the upcoming generations as she did with The Banshees and The Creatures and at 53 this year, Siouxsie is not resting on her laurels anytime soon. So the next time you listen to your favourite band and wonder why the melodic voices, fusion synthesisers and jet black apperance seems to strike a chord, it is simply because Siouxsie Sioux has influence in that artiste and its a statement that needs no verification.



To know more about Siouxsie Sioux:

http://siouxsiemantaray.com (Siouxsie Sioux)
http://siouxise.com (Siouxsie And The Banshees)