Laughing Out Loud

Happy birthday to Lol Tolhurst, born 3rd February 1959.

Forever associated with The Cure, Lol has lit a creative fire of late, not least a collaborative album with Budgie and Jacknife Lee, but some impressive live performances and unexpected stage shares. For example,

I'd recommend watching the whole of Lol's gig with Gray in France from last April, a composite of two shows in Paris and Lille, but skip to 16:49 and you'll find Miki Berenyi join them on stage for A Strange Day, then the Miki Berenyi Trio in full for Stranger.

Lol also performed with David J and Robyn Hitchcock at the Musack Rock & Roll Carnival in Los Angeles last year, here with a version of Kundalini Express by Love & Rockets.

Unfortunately, the person filming this on their phone were positioned so that Lol remains hidden behind Robyn for most of the song!

Speaking of Los Angeles, aside from being Lol's home for the past three decades, it's also the title track of the 2023 by Lol, Budgie & Jacknife Lee, featuring James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem's unmistakeable vocals.

Los Angeles was also the opening song of Lol and Budgie's KEXP session in 2024. The session closed - as this post opened - with a shimmering version of A Forest by The Cure, Liam Hayden on bass, Lol and Budgie in their element.

Have a good one, Lol.

An Eye In The Glass On The Parquet Floor

I still think of The Creatures as relatively recent, but in October it will be twenty two years since Siouxsie and Budgie released their fourth and final album, Hái!

October will also mark twenty seven years since the release of 2nd Floor, the lead single and opening track of third album, Anima Animus.

A remix of the song popped up on my random shuffle and a subsequent YT search unearthed the promo video, which I'd never seen before. Monochrome (mostly), make up and manic moves make for a compelling four and a half minutes. Then again, I need little motivation to watch a performance by Siouxsie Sioux, she is superb.

The promo 12" and CD single came with an extended version, labelled the 'Album Mix', by Siouxsie, Budgie and album co-producer Warne Livesey. Ultimately this was ditched in favour of the single version, so it remains a relative obscurity.

The flip side of the promo featured 2nd Floor (Siouxsie, Budgie And Warne's Club Mix). I've not been able to track down the original 9:43 version, but I have found a 5:24 edit by Erasercuts, synched with the promo video.

Another promo 12" single featured a further remix by Girl Eats Boy aka one half of The Drum Club and Slab, Lol Hammond...

...whilst the regular single release featured a 2nd, very similar Girl Eats Boy remix.

In 1999, The Creatures released Hybrids, a compilation of previously released and newly commissioned remixes. One of the latter was a fresh take on 2nd Floor by the mysteriously named Vito Bonito. 

Apartment door

Is left ajar

An eye in the glass

On the parquet floor

All the guests

Have left and gone

But I'm still here

On the 2nd floor

Aftermath

In an amber glow

A vodka bath

For this shipwrecked soul

Seconds fly

As the years flow by

But I don't care

I'm on the 2nd floor

2nd Floor

And I still want more

2nd Floor

Coming back for more

Why fear death

When death never hurt

No one

2nd Floor

Peepshow, Creepshow

Thirty-three years ago today, I saw Siouxsie & The Banshees live in concert for the first and only time at the Colston Hall in Bristol. I referenced this briefly back in March 2021, in a related post over at The Vinyl Villain about seeing Pete Shelley's Zip supporting Erasure at the same venue. This was part of a frequent 'gig swap' with friends, where I would go along to see a band I didn't have a lot of interest in at the time (Erasure), so that I could get to see a band I really wanted to see (Siouxsie & The Banshees). I went to both gigs with my college friend Paul, who was mainly into hip hop and rap (and James Brown), and was also a fan of Erasure. I'm pretty sure he had little or no idea who Siouxsie & The Banshees were, but was game for a laugh...although they were likely to be in short supply where we were going. 

 

16th September 1988 was a Friday night. I'd dropped out of college and been in full-time work for a few months, so it's a fair guess that we may have skipped the support act to down a few pints at local pub The Bunch Of Goths before going into the venue. Either way, I have no recollection of the support band that night and a search on the web hasn't helped much. Suicide was the opening act at Liverpool's Royal Court Theatre on 12th December 1988. if Suicide was also there that night in Bristol, I either missed it or completely forgot something possibly quite special. As referenced in my previous post on The Vinyl Villain, I've clearly been affected by False Memory Syndrome (or alcohol amnesia), as most of the night is a blur three decades on.

Once more, some kind soul has uploaded the night's setlist to the, er, Setlist website, so I have been able to recreate what Siouxsie & The Banshees played that night. Unsurprisingly, given that it was released a couple of weeks previously and gave the tour it's name, their ninth studio album Peepshow was highlighted. However, I was surprised to find that the entire album was played over the course of the night, accounting for half of the setlist. I hadn't bought Peepshow prior to the concert - and in fact I didn't buy it until the expanded CD reissue in 2014 - so I was as unfamiliar as Paul was with most of the songs. They did play lots of favourites of mine, including Cities In Dust, which was the first Siouxsie & The Banshees single I bought, way back in 1985 on 12" vinyl.

I recall being completely mesmerised by Siouxsie Sioux. I also thought that Steve Severin and Budgie were pretty cool and, of their newly expanded 5-piece line up, I'd also heard of Martin McCarrick because of his involement with This Mortal Coil. To my retrospective shame, I had no idea who Jon Klein was, other than the Banshees seemed to favour guitarists called John. Worse still, given that Jon Klein was born in Bristol, also my birthspace. Where's the loyalty and support for local artists?! I've since been educated...

 

Juju was the first Siouxsie & The Banshees album I bought (in fact, one of the first albums I bought, full stop), originally on cassette and one which I played and played to death. So, it was a thrill to hear Night Shift half way through. The other two selections from that album - Arabian Knights and Spellbound - were held back for the inevitable finale.

Reviews of the tour appeared to be lukewarm. I clearly don't remember a lot about the night, other than I personally thought they were great. I think Paul was less impressed and that was probably the last gig swap that we did. Listening to the recreated setlist, although the Peepshow songs aren't always on a par with the others, I'm struck by the wonderful sequencing of 'hits', early album tracks, a few unexpected B-sides, some enduring favourites and three encores. The setlist neatly divides into two sides of a C90 cassette, if you're so inclined - links below for your listening pleasure. Jeepers Creepers!

 

Part One (45:11)

1) The Last Beat Of My Heart (Album Version) (1988)

2) Turn To Stone (1988)

3) The Killing Jar (Lepidopteristic Mix - Full Length) (1988)

4) I Promise (1984)

5) Ornaments Of Gold (1988)

6) Christine (1980)

7) This Wheel's On Fire (Full Length Version) (Cover of Bob Dylan & The Band) (1987)*

8) Something Blue (1987)

9) Scarecrow (1988)

10) Rawhead And Bloody Bones (1988)

 

* This version appeared on 2002's The Best Of Siouxsie & The Banshees and is approx. 30 seconds longer than the original album version, with an extended outro.

 

Part Two (45:56)
1) Carousel (1988)

2) Night Shift (1981)

3) Red Light (Album Version (1980)

4) Peek-A-Boo (Album Version) (1988)

5) Rhapsody (1988)

6) Cities In Dust (Album Version) (1985)

7) Skin (1980)

8) Burn-Up (1988)

9) Dear Prudence (Single Version) (1983)

10) Arabian Knights (Album Version) (1981)

11) Spellbound (Album Version) (1981) 

 

Part One (45:11) (GD) (M)

Part Two (45:56) (GD) (M)