The Creatures
The Creatures were a British band that was a side project of Siouxsie Sioux , the singer / songwriter and Budgie , the drummer of Siouxsie and the Banshees , and - after the dissolution of the Banshees in 1996 - formed the main project of the musician couple until 2004.
The band recorded four studio albums: Feast (1983), Boomerang (1989), Anima Animus (1999) and Hái! (2003).
history
Wild Things Era (1981)
The band was formed in 1981 while recording the Banshees album JuJu. Siouxsie and Budgie worked on the accidentally created song "But not them", which only consisted of vocals and drums, to which, however, in the opinion of everyone involved, nothing more had to be added. Since "But not Them" didn't fit JuJu (even though the song was played during the JuJu tour), Siouxsie and Budgie formed the side project The Creatures. They worked out four more songs and released them together with "But Not Them" on the EP "Wild Things". The title song is originally from the Troggs and has been completely revised by the Creatures. Another song, entitled "So Unreal", was inspired by the novel "The Stepford Wives" by Ira Levin , while the song "Mad-Eyed Screamers" was inspired by the public speakers in London's Hyde Park . Musically, the release is characterized by a more minimalistic, drum-driven banshees sound, with Siouxsie's distinctive vocals being just as cool and distant as the previous banshees recordings. At this time the love affair between the two musicians began. This found its first public form of expression in the erotic cover pictures of the "Wild Things" EP. In the Man Ray- inspired photographs, Siouxsie and Budgie are shown half-naked in the shower while making love. This artwork sparked some media controversy.
Feast Era (1983)
1983 followed the first full-fledged album "Feast", which was recorded in the free time between the Banshees album "A Kiss In The Dreamhouse" (1982) and the live album "Nocturne" (1983) in Hawaii. Local musical influences were fused with the own sound as a stylistic enrichment. For example, "The Lamalani Hula Academy Hawaiian Chanters" can be heard as the background choir on some songs. The title of the song "Inoa ʻOle" means "No Name" in Hawaiian . The single "Miss the Girl", actually inspired by the novel "Crash" by JG Ballard, landed on the BBC's index because the text was incorrectly interpreted as sado-masochistic , but it was still quite successful. "Right Now", on the other hand, is a cover version of a composition by Mel Tormé , for which the Creatures added a brass section to their very own sound, giving the song a certain swing character, which made it the most successful release of the band to date.
Boomerang Era (1989)
After a long break and a bouquet of successful Banshees albums, the Creatures returned in 1989. Siouxsie and Budgie spent the time after the "Peepshow" album, and the subsequent international tour in Spain, which inspired them to the next long player "Boomerang", which they recorded in Jerez, Andalusia . Once again one was inspired by the local folklore and atmosphere and wove these impressions into one's own sound world. The result was a successful combination of a folkloric, yet experimental creatures sound, with melancholic lyrics. For example, "Manchild" tells the tragic story of a Colombian boy named Nelsito. In "Willow" Budgie dealt with the time after his mother's death. "Simoom", on the other hand, means "dry wind" in Arabic and is inspired by the Salman-Rushdie affair .
The Creatures as main project (1997)
After Siouxsie and the Banshees disbanded in 1996, the Creatures were reactivated in 1997 and made the main project. First the two long out of print Creatures albums "Feast" and "Boomerang" were released again. In addition, a compilation entitled "The Bestiary of the Creatures" was released, which includes both the "Wild Things" EP and the album "Feast", including all of the accompanying singles, to the delight of the fans.
Sad Cunt (1998)
In 1998 they started working on new material. The single "Sad Cunt" was produced and offered to the record companies. They liked the dark-glam-rock song, but wanted more of it and less of the experimental music that the Creatures wanted to produce in the following. As a reaction to this, they founded their own label Sioux Records and released the song there. Out of a kind of defiance towards the industry, the single was distributed free of charge at the first Creatures gigs of this new era of independence.
Eraser Cut (1998) and Anima Animus (1999)
The next releases followed in autumn the "Eraser Cut" EP (1998) and the studio album "Anima Animus" that followed shortly afterwards in early 1999. Both were written, produced and partly self-directed by the Creatures in their southern French country house Recorded with guest musicians (including the last Banshees guitarist Knox Chandler). Musically, an experimental fusion of creatures and banshees elements was presented. Rhythmic percussion, cool electronic and a few targeted guitar use create a gloomy atmosphere.
Hai! (2003)
The recordings for the next Creatures album called "Hái!" (Japanese: Yes!) started 24 hours after the international banshees tour ended. This led to Japan. There Budgie was surprisingly given the opportunity to meet the Japanese taiko drummer Leonard Eto, whom he had long admired. The chemistry between Budgie and the ex-Kodo drummer was right and so they met without further ado for a spontaneous drum session, at which Siouxsie watched and was inspired. The result was another fusion of the percussive creatures sound, this time with Asian elements. The single "Godzilla", which was released from the movie monster of the same name, made it successfully into the alternative charts. The Tokyo drum session was released on DVD as part of the album.
The End of Creatures & The Beginning of Siouxsie's Solo Career (2004)
In 2004, however, the end for The Creatures came, as the band name only aroused interest among die-hard fans. This was the official birth of Siouxsie's solo career, to which she is now fully dedicated. This already took place with the “An Evening with…. Siouxsie 'tour began in 2004.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1983 | Feast |
UK17 (9 weeks) UK |
- | |
| 1989 | boomerang | - |
US197 (2 weeks) US |
|
| 1999 | Anima animus |
UK79 (1 week) UK |
- | |
More studio albums
- 2003: Hai!
Live albums
- 1999: Zulu
- 2000: Sequins in the Sun
- 2006: Utrecht Tivoli 06/03/90
Compilations
- 1997: A Bestiary of (all pieces from 1981–1983)
- 1999: Hybrids
- 2000: US Retrace (B-sides 1998–1999)
EPs
- 1981: Wild Things
- 1998: Eraser Cut
- 1999: Zulu (mailorder publication)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 1981 | Mad Eyed Screamer Wild Things |
UK24 (7 weeks) UK |
|
| 1983 | Miss the Girl Feast |
UK21 (7 weeks) UK |
|
| Right now |
UK14 (10 weeks) UK |
||
| 1989 | Standing There Boomerang |
UK53 (3 weeks) UK |
|
| 1990 | Fury Eyes Boomerang |
UK81 (3 weeks) UK |
|
| 1998 | 2nd floor anima animus |
UK93 (1 week) UK |
|
| 1999 | Say anima animus |
UK72 (1 week) UK |
|
| Prettiest Thing Anima Animus |
UK87 (1 week) UK |
||
| 2003 | Godzilla! Hai! |
UK53 (2 weeks) UK |
More singles
- 1998: Sad Cunt
- 1998: Exterminating Angel
- 1999: Disconnected