Steve Severin on JD

'The start of '81 was a weird time in music...Joy Division had split. I remember Joy Division's Closer coming out the same week as Kaleidoscope, just as their debut had come out the same week as Join Hands. It was as if they were always one album behind. People used to say that bands like Public Image, Joy Division...were ripping us off, but I preferred to think they were having the same ideas as us but just a bit later. Maybe that's being a little generous, but I did feel they were kindred spirits to some extent.'

Siouxsie and the Banshees: The Authorised Biography

Any thoughts?

I never really think of those three bands being particularly similar.

They're all great though.

and for what it's worth 'join hands' and 'kaleidoscope' were the weakest banshees albums and not in the same league as the two JD albums, also in no way similar.

Siouxsie and the Banshees' Once Upon A Time compilation is great, but I've heard like three or four albums and I have not been impressed. I bought The Scream and I thought it was miserable. "Israel" and "Arabian Knights" are similar in style to Joy Division, but by then those groups were contemporaries. My understanding is that after "Hong Kong Garden" the Banshees stumbled a bit until late '78 or mid-'79, so I don't think they had a real leg up. Joy Division were definitely influenced by PiL; Hooky has praised Wobble's style. For me, Metal Box is superior to Unknown Pleasures, but Closer is top. First Issue is good but not excellent, and Flowers of Romance is a bit of a disaster, although the title track is fantastic. Who wants to talk more PiL here and move it to the other forum?

johnny james wrote: I never really think of those three bands being particularly similar.

They're all great though.

and for what it's worth 'join hands' and 'kaleidoscope' were the weakest banshees albums and not in the same league as the two JD albums, also in no way similar.

They were lumped together in my 16 year old brain back in '79 though more in terms of being 'post punk standard bearers' than being similar musically although Barney's guitar in Joy Division could sometimes sound a bit like John McKay's in the Banshees. I still fondly remember the days when songs as un-commercial as Playground Twist and Death Disco got in the charts and appeared on Top of the Pops. Join Hands is also my favourite Banshees album!

Philip Collins wrote: I still fondly remember the days when songs as un-commercial as Playground Twist and Death Disco got in the charts and appeared on Top of the Pops. Join Hands is also my favourite Banshees album!

That's talked about in the book. Sounded like a good time

join hands aint weakest album,i think its a great album. scream is equal best one,then ju ju,then maybe kaleidoscope.them 4 are there best work