Artist:Siouxsie and the Banshees
Song:Hong Kong Garden
Album:Spellbound: The Collection
Siouxsie and the Banshees were one of the most durable and successful bands to come out of the late 70s London punk scene. Hong Kong Garden was their 1978 debut single and it's probably their signature song. Susan Janet Ballion was born May 27, 1957 in London. After dropping out of school at age 17, Susan started hanging around punk music clubs and especially The Sex Pistols. With a big music festival coming Susan and bassist Steven Severin decided to form a band for one show only. One of the musicians they hired was John Simon Ritchie AKA Sid Vicious. They decided to stay together as Siouxsie and the Banshees. They got popular enough that record companies started a bidding war. They signed with Polydor in 1978 and Hong Kong Garden was the first single. It reached #7 on the British Singles chart. It was the first record produced by Steve Lilywhite who went on to a long and successful career. Guitarist John McKay wrote the song and created the guitar track. After two more albums, Siouxsie and the Banshees signed a US deal with Geffen Records. Hong Kong Garden never appeared on an album. So Geffen released the 1981 album Once Upon a Time: The Singles. And that is probably the album most North American listeners bought. Siouxsie and the Banshees continued to chart singles in England. But they were an album and touring band everywhere else. When they split up in 1996, Siouxsie and Severin were the only original members. I recommend this 2015 budget comp that covers their entire career. Though the band has reunited occasionally, Siouxsie Sioux released a 2007 album. Severin has worked on instrumental music and composed music for films and TV. Here's Siouxsie and the Banshees performing Hong Kong Garden on the ITV show Revolver 1978.
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