Siouxsie And The Banshees – Kiss Them For Me
Description
Superstition is the tenth studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released on 10 June 1991 by Polydor Records. The lead single, “Kiss Them for Me“, gave the band its first top 40 Billboard Hot 100 entry in the United States, peaking at No. 23, with the album peaking at No. 65 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band widened its musical influences with the arrival of musician Talvin Singh, who played tablas on the songs “Kiss Them for Me” and “Silver Waterfalls”.
“Kiss Them for Me” is a song written and recorded by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was produced by Stephen Hague. It was released in 1991 as the first single from the band’s 10th studio album, Superstition.
Upon its release, the single received enthusiastic reviews. “Kiss Them for Me” became their most successful single in the US.
Background and lyrics
The song presented a change in musical direction for Siouxsie and the Banshees, adopting a much more straightforward pop-oriented feel than previous efforts, due in part to Hague’s production work. Siouxsie Sioux‘s cryptic lyrics were an ode to actress and sex symbol Jayne Mansfield. The lyrics use Mansfield’s catchword “divoon”, referring to her heart-shaped swimming pool and her love of champagne and parties, and to the car crash that killed her in 1967. Kiss Them for Me was also the name of a 20th Century Fox motion picture made in 1957 starring Mansfield and Cary Grant.
Composition
A mid-tempo dance-pop track, it was influenced by Asian music and featured South Asian instrumentation, which had become popular in the UK club scene due to the growth of bhangra. Tabla player Talvin Singh (future percussionist for Björk on her 1993 Debut album) took part in the sessions and also sang during the bridge. The beat was taken from a Roland TR-909 drum machine stock beat that had previously been used on Schoolly D‘s 1985 single “P.S.K. What Does It Mean?“
