Siouxsie and the Banshees | Tinderbox

On April 21st, 1986, Tinderbox—the seventh studio album by  Siouxsie and the Banshees was released. It was the first full recording with new guitarist John Valentine Carruthers who had previously been in Clock DVA.

On the album’s title, Siouxsie explains:

“It’s called that because everything seemed to happen either around situations or the effect of weather,” said Siouxsie in 1986, “and the word conjures up something explosive that’s to do with something being combustible, by the fact that the sun’s there and it’s made it that way, it’s not man made. It has that theme to it, although it’s all very diverse.”

Two singles from the album were released as singles between late 1985 and early 1986:

Cities in Dust

“That was really inspired by a visit to Pompeii,” said Siouxsie in 1986.

“There’s quite a lot of tourism there, but the place itself transcends all that. You can think you’re the only person there. It’s quite immense, and at the end of the day, seeing the petrified bodies, it had a strong effect on me. The song was written, the music was written, when we got back from Italy, I wrote the lyrics. It was dedicated to one of the petrified bodies. It almost looked as if there was someone underneath this kind of plaster cover. I almost expected it to get up and move.”

and Candyman

Check out Siouxsie and the Banshees appearance in the Anthony Michael Hall film Out of Bounds