Siouxsie & the Banshees

By February 1977, Siouxsie and Steven Severin - the only remaining Banshees - recruited drummer Kenny Morris and guitarist Pete Fenton to their line up, which was by now gigging regularly and had attracted a solid fan base. Fenton was subsequently replaced in July by John McKay.

It was not until June 1978 that they obtained a record contract with Polydor Records, whereupon they released their first single Hong Kong Garden (which reached the Top 10 in the UK), followed in November by their first album The Scream.

Right before an Aberdeen date on their 1979 UK tour, guitarist John McKay and drummer Kenny Morris left their hotel beds with the pillows upright and their tour passes clipped to them - like effigies of themselves - and disappeared into the night, never to return.

Tour support The Cure were forced to do a longer set that night, after which Siouxsie made an announcement to the crowd; "Two original members of the band are here tonight. Two art college students fucked off out of it. If you ever see them, you have my blessings to beat shit out of them". 

Their replacements, John McGeoch (ex-Magazine) and Budgie (ex-The Slits) brought a new pop levity to the band.

What began on 1980s Kaleidoscope was ramped up by Ju Ju (1981), a dazzling set rooted in Budgie's tribal drums and McGeogh's piercing guitar sounds. 

Siouxsie was feeling a tad tribal herself, prowling around with all manners of spooks, from the album's first single Spellbound to the closing Voodoo Dolly, via the violence of Halloween and Head Cut. 

These supreme pop songs influenced a thousand bands and brought kohl, lace and leather to Top Of The Pops and the high street.