- Siouxsie And The Banshees Songs
- Siouxsie And The Banshees Members
- Siouxsie And The Banshees Albums
- Siouxsie And The Banshees Wiki
- Siouxsie And The Banshees Albums
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. 'Happy House' is a song recorded by English rock band Siouxsie & the Banshees. The song was written by Banshees members Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin and it was released as the first single from the band's third album Kaleidoscope. 'Happy House' and the Kaleidoscope album marked a change in musical direction for Siouxsie & the Banshees.
'Happy House' | ||||
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Single by Siouxsie and the Banshees | ||||
from the album Kaleidoscope | ||||
B-side | 'Drop Dead/Celebration' | |||
Released | 7 March 1980 | |||
Recorded | 1980 | |||
Genre | Post-punk | |||
Length | 3:48 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
Siouxsie and the Banshees singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
'Happy House' on Dailymotion |
'Happy House' is a song written by Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin and recorded by their band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released as a single in June 1980 by record label Polydor, then later included on the band's third album, Kaleidoscope (August 1980).
Background and recording[edit]
'Happy House' and the Kaleidoscope album marked a change in musical direction for Siouxsie and the Banshees due to the arrival of two new musicians: drummer Budgie, previously of the Slits, and guitarist John McGeoch, previously of Magazine.
Budgie, who was interested in African polyrhythms, used a reggae vibe on the song, while McGeoch played both atmospheric and edgy guitars. Siouxsie stated that the band almost invented a new sound with this single: It was 'Banshees – phase two'.[1]
When asked if 'Happy House' was a cynical song, Siouxsie replied: 'It is sarcastic. In a way, like television, all the media, it is like adverts, the perfect family whereas it is more common that husbands beat their wives. There are mental families really but the projection is everyone smiling, blond hair, sunshine, eating butter without being fat and everyone perfect'.[2]
Release[edit]
'Happy House' was released on 7 March 1980 by record label Polydor as the first single from the band's third studio album, Kaleidoscope. The single became the band's second top 20 hit, peaking at number 17 in the UK Singles Chart.[3]
Music video[edit]
The video is set in a studio 'cartoon house' made to look 'fun and happy', reflecting the sarcastic lyrics. Siouxsie explores the house, dressed in a Harlequin outfit while the band supports her, playing their instruments in the living room. Despite the very distinctive guitar riff (played by McGeoch) that is arguably the centrepiece of the song, McGeoch does not feature in the video. Instead Siouxsie occasionally mimics playing the riff with a ukulele, with Severin on bass and Budgie on drums playing along in the background.
Use in other recordings[edit]
The song was later revisited by several acts. The Italian dance act Cappella had a hit single in 1993 with the Eurodance song 'U Got 2 Know', which used the distinctive riff from 'Happy House'. Cappella were later sued for failure to pay publishing royalties.[4] In 2000, electronic rock band Mindless Self Indulgence sampled the opening riff on their single 'Bitches', from the album Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy. In 2011, the Weeknd sampled several elements of the original version in his song 'House of Balloons' from the mixtapealbum of the same name.[5]
References[edit]
- ^'Tracks' TV'interview. Arte. Broadcast June 1999
- ^'Siouxsie interview'. Elektron (dutch television). December 1982.
- ^'Siouxsie & the Banshees [uk charts]'. officialcharts.com. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^Price, Simon. 'Kisses in the Dreamhouse'. Melody Maker. 8 August 1993. p. 41. 'Happy House built on a naggingly eerie synth riff (recently stolen by Cappella's 'U Got 2 Know)'
- ^Miller, Andrew. 'Self Pleasure'. Thepitchkc.com. 14 February 2002. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
Neyland, Nick.'The Weeknd’s House Of Balloons'Archived 23 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Pitchfork. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Happy_House&oldid=993341628'
Siouxsie And The Banshees Songs
'Spellbound' | ||||
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Single by Siouxsie and the Banshees | ||||
from the album Juju | ||||
B-side | 'Follow the Sun', 'Slap Dash Snap' | |||
Released | 22 May 1981 | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Genre | Post-punk[1] | |||
Length | 3:18 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Susan Ballion, Peter Edward Clarke, John McGeoch and Steven Severin | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
Siouxsie and the Banshees singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
'Spellbound' on YouTube |
'Spellbound' is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was written by the group and co-produced with Nigel Gray. It was released in 1981 by record label Polydor as the first single from the band's fourth studio album, Juju.
Release[edit]
'Spellbound' was released by Polydor on 22 May 1981. The single peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart in 1981.[2][3] It also reached 64 on the U.S. National Disco Action Top 80 chart.[4]
The 12' extended version of the song appeared on the 2006 remastered version of Juju.
Reception and legacy[edit]
Melody Maker praised the single, calling it 'exhilarating'.[5]The Guardian retrospectively hailed it as a 'pop marvel'.[6]
In 2006, Mojo honoured McGeoch by rating him in their list of '100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time' for his work on 'Spellbound'.[7]Johnny Marr of the Smiths stated on BBC Radio 2 in February 2008 that he rated guitarist John McGeoch highly for his work on 'Spellbound'. Marr said:'It's so clever. He's got this really good picky thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll and this actual tune he's playing is really quite mysterious'.[8]
Personnel[edit]
- Siouxsie Sioux – vocals
- Steven Severin – bass
- John McGeoch – guitar
- Budgie – drums and percussion
Track listing[edit]
- 7'
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | 'Spellbound' | 3:19 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | 'Follow the Sun' | 2:49 |
- 12'
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | 'Spellbound (Extended)' | 4:40 |
Siouxsie And The Banshees Members
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | 'Follow the Sun' | 2:49 |
2. | 'Slap Dash Snap' | 3:42 |
Charts[edit]
Chart (1981) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Single Chart | 22 |
US National Disco Action Top 80 | 64 |
Siouxsie And The Banshees Albums
References[edit]
Siouxsie And The Banshees Wiki
- ^Bassett, Jordan (20 February 2019). 'Turns out Karl Lagerfeld was an indie kid all along'. NME. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^'Siouxsie & the Banshees [uk charts]'. officialcharts.com. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^'Siouxsie and the Banshees - UK Singles Chart'. OfficialCharts. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ^'Billboard singles - Siouxsie and the Banshees'. allmusic. Archived from the original on 22 October 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- ^Hewitt, Paulo (23 May 1981). ''Spellbound' review'. Melody Maker.
- ^Petridis, Alex (21 November 2007). 'Artists Beginning with S | Music | The Guardian'. The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
Pop marvels such as Spellbound and Arabian Knights were poised, peerless exercises in magic realism that you could dance to.
- ^'John McGeogh – Spellbound – (Siouxsie & the Banshees, Juju) – 1981 – Yamaha'. Mojo (89). June 1996. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^Mitchell, Pete. 'Spellbound : The Story Of John McGeoch' on YouTube BBC Radio 2's Pete Mitchell talks to Howard Devoto, Siouxsie Sioux and Johnny Marr among others, as he shines a light on the life of this unsung guitar hero. February 2008.
Siouxsie And The Banshees Albums
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spellbound_(Siouxsie_and_the_Banshees_song)&oldid=991299691'