Punk is 30, Siouxsie is 50, Neither are Acting Their Age

We’ve hit the end of summer, and we’re on our way into the last three months of the year. I never like to see summer end, but this particular year could use an ending, as the “Punk Turns 30” deal is getting a bit played out. (Not that I won't play it out until the end of the year, but stil...)

Even so, punk is getting older, and with it, the punks are getting older. (How many of you felt punched in the stomach when I said that?) There are some monumental birthdays rolling through, and while some of the old schoolers are really showing their ages, some of them are really not looking their ages. One of those ageless faces in punk rock is also one of its first ladies; as punk turned 30 this year, Siouxsie Sioux turned 50.

Click more to find out what’s going on lately with one of punk rock’s most infamous and influential ladies, and for a few links to some of Siouxsie’s best from back in the day as well as some brand-new music…

Since Siouxsie And The Banshees debuted in 1978 with The Scream, Siouxsie has had her hand in over 20 albums, both with the Banshees and later the Creatures. Up until now, however, she has never done a solo album. Her first solo album, Mantaray, will be released on September 10 (in the UK, October 2 stateside).

If the first single, “Into A Swan” is any indication, she’s reaching back to her roots. “Into A Swan” features a trudging, visceral guitar line that speaks more to her earlier punk days than her later, more ethereal sound. Fans of punk Siouxsie Sioux will get into it; those who liked her more in her goth days may not.

She has a series of European dates set right now (including a date at the Eiffel Tower on September 28) and I hope/assume she’ll hit the states, too. I don’t know who her touring band will be, as she has broken off from the Creatures and divorced from former husband/Slit/Banshee/Creature Budgie (who got handed the short end of the stick when they were passing out punk rock nicknames), but I bet she’s going to have an impressive lineup.

Stay tuned here for developments as they happen, and for now, check out the video for “Into A Swan”. It’s on YouTube, and is viewable here.

If you’re looking for video of some old-school Siouxsie Sioux goodness, here are a few of my favorites:

1. “Bad Shape” – live 1977 – One of my favorite Banshees tunes, this is from a 1979 film simply called The Punk Rock Movie. To my knowledge, Siouxsie and the Banshees never recorded it. If you could prove me wrong on that however, let me know, I’d love a copy of it.
2. “Love in a Void” – live on Something Else in 1979
3. And for one more bit of punk trivia: in the now-infamous Bill Grundy Today interview with The Sex Pistols, where a profanity-laden outburst effectively ended Grundy’s career, Siouxsie Sioux was the blonde that prompted the bulk of the incident. That clip is here (Warning! It contains profanity – quite a bit of it!).

Photo courtesy of Universal Music