Siouxsie is very much in the news at the moment thanks to her return to the stage last week after an absence of no less than ten years. Here are the Banshees from way back when providing support to Buzzcocks. Many thanks to malcolm769 for the original Dime upload.
Also included is a UK review of the gig which was rather dismissive of the Banshees contribution to the evening.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-ASu5ScrZB5
01. Intro
02. Helter Skelter
03. Mirage
04. Make Up To Break Up
05. Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)
06. Carcass
07. 20th Century Boy
08. Suburban Relapse
09. Love In A Void
10. The Lord's Prayer
11. Bad Shape
This review of the gig appeared in the UK music press just before Christmas 1977 (24th December 1977).
'Already two years ahead of the competition
The Buzzcocks, Siouxsie And The Banshees
THE ROUNDHOUSE
'Another music in a different kitchen' the badges say: quite right, it's something else.
The evening builds from the flat, drab monotones of The Worst to the sparkling crescendo of The Buzzcocks at a new creative peak.
The Worst are colourless, humourless, relentless. Pounding monotony for its own sake, each song a plodding excursion into mediocrity. A fair reflection of the world, maybe, and probably intended as such; it frightens some people, fascinates some. It bores me.
Penetration are faster, more accessible with a hard edge to their sound. Straight punk, but with some enthusiasm and aptitude. Pauline sings, leaning out into the audience, then snaps back and skips back and forth across the stage, eyes blank. They get an encore.
The first time I've seen Siouxsie And The Banshees and I realise quickly the similarity, possibly coincidental, between Pauline and Siouxsie's stage manoeuvers. The music is cold again, the mood is cold, a section of the audience bounce frantically to the harsh soundtrack.
The words are mostly inaudible. The songs seem directionless, disjointed. The music is too close to repetitive hard rock for me to enjoy.
Siouxsie, The Worst and the other bands in that particular kitchen tend too often to create rather than illustrate tedium. The message may be valid, the questions they pose may be important, but they seem to have no answers.
The Buzzcocks no play a set which for variety, courage, intelligence and unaffected musical polish leaves any other group about two years behind.
More significantly, on this evening, their songs, whilst acknowledging the problems, questions and realities of 1977 wasteland, are an affirmation of hope.
Like The Clash, The Buzzcocks are a positive force. "Boedom", "Break Down", "Time's Up" and "What Do I Get" are classic songs of 1977.
They capture frustration, anxiety and apathybut with their energy and exuberance seek to lift the audience rather than just let them wallow.
Pete Shelley is as perfect as always, communicating with a huge crowd, producing quite unique vocal and guitar stylings.
The musical polish of The Buzzcocks lies not in indulgent showmanship but in the way they use their simple proficiency.
On an opening instrumental, on the more adventurous epics, "Sixteen", "Pulsebeat" and "Fiction Romance", Shelley and drummer John Maher shine.
Steve Diggle is beginning to share vocal and guitar work more equally with Shelley. He staggers loosely around the left of the stage while the new bassist kicks and twists stage right.
They flank the motionless, diminutive figure who has put The Buzzcocks on a plane above the new wave mass without compromising the original objectives of the movement.
New music for new people.
Kim Davis
