Love in a Void (song)

"Love In a Void" is a song by the English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, written by singer Siouxsie Sioux, bassist Steven Severin, drummer Kenny Morris and guitarist Peter Fenton. Originally included as the b-side to the 1979 single "Mittageisen" in West Germany, it was later released as a double A-side single in September of the same year. It was also included on the band's 1981 ten track UK Gold certified compilation album Once Upon a Time: The Singles,[1] and on the CD reissue of the album Join Hands.

"Love In a Void"
Song by Siouxsie and the Banshees
ReleasedSeptember 1979
RecordedJune 1979
StudioAir Studios, London
Length3:03
LabelPolydor Records
Songwriter(s)Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, Kenny Morris, Peter Fenton
Producer(s)Mike Stavrou and Nils Stevenson

The song was covered by metal band Darkthrone on the ep Too Old Too Cold in 2006.[2] "Love in a Void" was also heavily sampled by rapper Akala in a version retitled "Love in my Eyes" on the album Freedom Lasso in 2007.[3] The Banshees' studio version of "Love in a Void" was featured on the soundtrack of the 2016 film 20th Century Women.[4]

Siouxsie and the Banshees' biographer Brian Johns wrote that "Love in a Void" was "their old stage favourite" back in the late 1970s.[5]

Composition and recording

Early demos indicate that the band composed the song during the first half of 1977 with guitarist Peter Fenton in the line-up.[6]

When the band recorded their first John Peel session for BBC Radio 1 in late November 1977 in Maida Vale studio with Fenton's replacement John McKay, the first song aired was "Love in a Void".[7] Biographer Brian Johns noted that "Kenny Morris' drums were given the Glitter Band treatment on "Love In a Void"". The Peel session recording was released in 1987 on 12-inch and then in 2006 on the compilation Voices on the Air: The Peel Sessions.

In June 1979, the band finally recorded the song in George Martin's plush AIR studios situated on Oxford Street in London for Polydor.[8] It was released as a double A-side 7-inch single in the UK in September.[8] It was produced by band's manager Nils Stevenson and Mike Stavrou, the latter had engineered for one of the group's major influences, T. Rex on Dandy in the Underworld which was the final studio album of Marc Bolan.

The Banshees had already recorded another song dating from the Fenton-era for Polydor, "Carcass" on their debut album The Scream.

Legacy

The band was filmed playing "Love in a Void" live in concert by director Derek Jarman, it featured in the 1978 film Jubilee.[9] The song was credited in the end credits of the film which was later released on VHS and DVD.[10]

When the band decided to release a compilation album in late 1981, they included a version of "Love in a Void" in a slightly different mix.[11] "Love in a Void" also featured in the boxset At the BBC.

The song was still popular among their audience many years after its initial release. When Rolling Stone reviewed a tour reunion concert in New York in 2002, journalist Robin Athman noted that one discontented attendee said upon exiting, "I can't believe they didn't play 'Love in a Void'."[12] Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai selected it among his essential punk favourites during a radioshow for ABC.[13]

Personnel

Sources
  • Johns, Brian (1989). Entranced: the Siouxsie and the Banshees story. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-1773-6.
  • Paytress, Mark (2003). Siouxsie & the Banshees: The Authorised Biography. Sanctuary. ISBN 1-86074-375-7.

References
  1. "British Phonographic Industry search results [scroll down the page and below "Search by parameters", enter "siouxsie and the banshees" in Keywords and click on search]". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  2. Stosuy, Brandon (31 January 2006). "Darkthrone: Too Old, Too Cold EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  3. Goddard, Simon (September 2018). "The Restless Native". Q: 42.
  4. 20th Century Women (Music From The Motion Picture) CD format. Rhino Records (2) – R2 558652. 2017.
  5. Johns 1989, pp. 38.
  6. Johns 1989, pp. 20.
  7. Johns 1989, pp. 25.
  8. Johns 1989, pp. 40–41.
  9. Paytress 2003, pp. 56.
  10. Jarman, Derek (2018). Jubilee - 40th Anniversary Edition (DVD + Blu-ray). Bfi. ASIN B079NBWJM8.
  11. Johns 1989, pp. 60.
  12. "Siouxsie Takes NYC Back in Time". Rollingstone.com. 22 April 2002. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  13. "Mogwai share their essential punk favourites". Abc.net.au. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
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