November 2023 saw Nocturne turn 40 years old. To celebrate this unique live album, Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin have overseen a new direction of the already iconic artwork and selected 16 tracks taken from those two nights on September 30th and October 1st, 1983.nnnThis 2 LP set is mastered at half-speed on standard vinyl in a new gatefold sleeve with printed sleeves and a few extra surprises to discover. The Royal Albert Hall performances would see Sioux on vocals, Severin on bass guitar, Budgie on drums and Robert Smith (of the Cure) on guitar. Over the two nights, the Banshees would play different setlists. The songs making up Nocturne were hand-picked by the band as their ideal setlist from the two gigs. With songs taken from Juju, it also features a few B-sides and live performances of Beatles covers “Helter Skelter” and “Dear Prudence.” The music heard in the introduction before “Israel” is an excerpt from The Rite of Spring, composed in 1913 by Igor Stravinsky. Nocturne was lauded for its no-nonsense introduction to the band’s music for neophytes, while fans of the group will appreciate the tight, gutsy, stripped-down performances.
Although forming on a punky whim in 1976, the Banshees remain one of the most influential and enigmatic bands of our time, worlds apart from their contemporaries and a cut above the rest. Unapologetically singular, confrontational, ever evolving yet all encompassing.
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