Mercurial, imaginative, bitchy - Sioux, bassist Steve Severin, and drummer Budgie kept the Banshees flame alive throughout three decades, surviving a revolving door of managers, band members and fluctuations in public taste.  Sioux launched the group with an impromptu gig at the 100 Club in 1976, squawling the Lord's Prayer with Sid Vicious on drums.  From there, a one-off event became a full band, with tour after tour fuelled by copious amounts of acid, vodka and cocaine.  What's endearing about the Banshees is their honesty and gallows humour.  Paytress has turned the book into an eyewitness account, letting band members speak for themselves.  An assessment of the Banshees' impact in a wider context is sometimes needed, but overall Sioux, Severin, and a motley cast of characters including Robert Smith, tell the story very well.

Lucy O'Brien

Tales of clandestine sex and drugs are perhaps not quite what one would expect from a band with such a steely reputation as the Banshees have, but that is precisely what you can read here.

The story begins with the early days of Steve Severin and Siouxsie Sioux, and chronicles their teenage years spent as the Bromley Contingent, told through the words of the band and those people closest to them.

The strangest thing here is that there are moments when Siouxsie's icemaiden reputation suddenly melts as she comes across as far more vulnerable than you would ever have imagined.  She does manage to keep up appearances later in the book, though.

There are some surprising and candid tales which will have you screeching with laughter one minute and your jaw dropping the next.  You won't be able to put this book down.

4/5

Natasha Scharf