Ladies and germs! May we present Samantha Bennett who will pen the 33 1/3 on The Siouxsie and the Banshees 1988 album Peepshow. This book is one of 16 new titles in the 33 1/3 series.
Give it a good long listen…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpcMLAOafkk]
We caught up with Samantha to learn more about her listening and reading habits…
33 1/3: What was your favorite book or record store growing up?
SB: Nova Records in Littlehampton, just along the south coast from Brighton. It closed long ago, but my dad used to take me there all the time.
33 1/3: What is your favorite book or record store in the world?
SB: Foyles, Charing Cross Road, London.
33 1/3: What are you listening to right…NOW?
SB: The new Ghost record, Meliora.
33 1/3: What are you reading right….NOW?
SB: Lloyd Bradley’s ‘Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital’ It’s fascinating – particularly the musical trajectory of Calypso from Trinidad to the UK.
Prof. Barry Langford’s ‘Film Genre – Hollywood and Beyond’ There’s some great chapters on Film Noir and Horror.
33 1/3: Where do you live?
SB: Canberra, Australia
Want to know more about Samantha?
You can find her here and on twitter as @samkbennett.
What to expect from Samantha’s 33 1/3:
November 1987, Ardingly, Sussex.
In the stark aftermath of England’s most devastating storm since 1703, Siouxsie and the Banshees convened in the deracinated countryside to write their 9th studio album Peepshow. On November 5th, the band broke from pre-production for Guy Fawkes night in nearby Lindfield. To the banging of drums and riotous – murderous – chants, a flaring torch procession played out the traitor’s final journey as they paraded the 15ft effigy through the village streets towards the colossal bonfire. Sioux later recalled, ‘It was as if we were doing the whole thing on the set of The Wicker Man.’
Critically confined to rock’s too hard basket Siouxsie and the Banshees were always an awkward musical fit: shoehorned into punk historiography as ‘also rans’ then lazily mislabeled post punk ‘goths’. By 1987, the so-called ‘most elitist band in the world’ made a last ditch attempt to resurrect their flailing career; the self-proclaimed non-musicians recruited a classically trained cellist to embellish their modern, experimental soundscapes. Subsequently, in creating a record akin to a classic Hollywood film soundtrack, the Banshees ‘Broke America’, were honorarily adopted into the US alt-rock canon and scored a Billboard number 1 hit.
Starring Roger Corman, Bernard Herrmann, Walt Disney and Louise Brooks. Also featuring Hammer Horror and Hitchcock. And introducing Dr. Caligari: Peepshow is the soundtrack to all the films Siouxsie and the Banshees ever saw. Or it might have been the soundtrack to the greatest film they never made.
Say Hello to Samantha!
