On November 5th, 1982, Siouxsie and the Banshees released their fifth studio album A Kiss in the Dreamhouse. The album’s cover artwork and title allude to the Gustav Klimt painting, possibly HP Lovecraft, and a Los Angeles brothel called the “Dreamhouse” that featured “replicas” of the Hollywood stars at the time.
The album was the band’s first to include the use of strings, which was provided in part by Anne Stephenson of The Venomettes, on tracks such as “Slowdive” and “Obsession”.
The album is the last to feature guitarist John McGeoch, who left the band after suffering a nervous breakdown due to the stresses of touring and alcoholism that caused him to collapse on stage at a Madrid concert. He would be replaced midtour by Cure frontman and guitarist Robert Smith, who is featured on many of the A Kiss in the Dreamhouse’s televised promotional performances.
A Kiss in the Dreamhouse was preceded by the standalone single Fireworks, which the 12-inch version is included on deluxe reissues of the LP.
The album had two singles, both about oral “activities”:
“Melt!”
(Old Grey Whistle Test Performance of “Melt!” and “Painted Bird” featuring Robert Smith on guitar)
“Slowdive”
There is also a promotional video for the track “Circle” from the Riverside “Play At Home” special
Tracklist:
- “Cascade”
- “Green Fingers”
- “Obsession”
- “She’s a Carnival”
- “Circle”
- “Melt!”
- “Painted Bird”
- “Cocoon”
- “Slowdive”
