Released: 1978
Timing, the key to everything. Much to their chagrin Siouxsie and The Banshees were the last of the punk’s original wave to be signed, having been viewed by some in the industry as too difficult to work with. By 1978 there was also the feeling that the movement in it’s basic form was essentially over, despite refusing to go quietly. Even if the moment had gone however, the band were still determined to seize it.
A false start didn’t help, as the quartet were initially booked to work with US soul producer Bruce Albertine. The resulting takes were scrapped and Steve Lillywhite was brought in to capture the rakish energy of their live performances. They gelled instantly, Lillywhite going on later to produce their debut album The Scream.
Fourty five years later some of the song’s lyrical imagery sounds questionable, but the Hong Kong Garden itself was actually a humble take away which was plagued by right wing skinheads abusing the staff. Angered, Siouxsie wished she could take the situation into her own hands and along with a youthful fascination with Eastern culture, inspiration for the track rapidly took shape.
Propelled by Kenny Morris’ drums and John McKay’s skeletal guitar, this was where the timing part came in. Hong Kong Garden possessed a different energy to punk’s racket, drawing on strands of art-rock and echoing the transition to an era where anarchy was substituted for post-industrial twilight. Formerly excluded, Siouxsie and The Banshees had now pushed through a door that a year previously hadn’t even existed.
The Voice Of Unreason 