Video Killed the Radio Star :: Siouxsie & the Banshees :: Dear Prudence

Dear Prudence, a cover of a song The Beatles made famous, appeared on Siouxsie and the Banshees’ album Hyaena, in 1983. I remember thinking the video was hypnotic and the song, though familiar,
took me by surprise. This would mark the first time I ever heard Siouxsie sing, and would begin years of her being a favorite, as well as a style change that would end up sticking with me for over two decades.

Watching it today I am noticing that this was the time in the band’s career when Robert Smith, of The Cure, was contributing to the music. I remember having this great picture of Siouxsie and Robert, on a postcard that I picked up in a Venice Beach record store, that had the two of them smiling with these mischievous grins. It was my favorite picture of them, a sight not seen too often; glee on
the faces of the Goth queen and king. I gave the postcard to an ex-boyfriend because he loved it so much, and he taped it up to the back window of his truck. It had been Siouxsie that we had first spoken about when we met, so at the time it held certain significance to us.

I think it was her flair for the dramatic that caught my interest, much more than the perceived darkness that often people like to associate with the Goth scene. No one even called it that back then, Deathrock or D.R., and really Siouxsie was considered punk in the late seventies/early eighties.
Whatever you want to label it, I was intrigued by the look, though it took quite a few years to transpire before I had the courage to really try it on for myself.

To me, the song and the video still hold up today; and Siouxsie’s Dear Prudence continues to be on my list of favorite cover songs.

See the official video referred to in this post here – as it will not embed for some reason.

and enjoy a keen live version, with Robert Smith:

Dear Prudence (live on Top of the Pops) :: Siouxsie & the Banshees