- From "Hong Kong Garden" to "Spellbound": A Journey Through the Singles
"Once Upon a Time: The Singles" is Siouxsie & The Banshees’ landmark 1981 compilation album, gathering the band’s most influential early singles, from their punk-era breakout "Hong Kong Garden" to the gothic perfection of "Spellbound" and "Arabian Knights." The album chronicles their evolution from raw energy to haunting sophistication — a sonic journey that shaped the future of post-punk and gothic rock.
Siouxsie and the Banshees were masters of the single. Their songs, often propelled by Siouxsie Sioux's hypnotic vocals and swirling, experimental arrangements, were miniature sonic dramas in their own right. In 1981, the band encapsulated this strength with "Once Upon a Time: The Singles," a compilation that brought together their most potent standalone releases.
While the album served a practical purpose – compiling non-album singles for broader accessibility – it's more than just a collection. "Once Upon a Time" captures the band's thrilling evolution during their formative years. Early hits like the jagged "Hong Kong Garden" and the hypnotic "The Staircase (Mystery)" showcase the Banshees' raw post-punk energy, while later singles like the icy "Spellbound" and the playfully macabre "Arabian Knights" reveal the band's growing sophistication and embrace of darker, more atmospheric textures.
Crucially, several of these tracks hadn't appeared on any of the Banshees' existing four studio albums. "Once Upon a Time," then, was both a convenient entry point for fans and a treasure trove of essential material that painted a fuller picture of the band's development.
The album's artwork adds another layer of appeal. The front, back, and inner sleeve feature dynamic collages of photos showcasing Siouxsie Sioux's ever-changing looks and the band's striking stage presence. This visual mosaic reinforces the compilation's role as a time capsule, preserving moments of the band's thrilling growth and creative risk-taking.
Siouxsie and the Banshees continued to release groundbreaking albums throughout the 1980s and beyond, but "Once Upon a Time: The Singles" remains a compelling snapshot of a band at their most daring and immediate. It celebrates the unique power of the single format and highlights the band's undeniable impact on the alternative music scene.
British Post-Punk Rock, Gothic Rock
A fusion of sharp-edged post-punk rhythm and haunting gothic melodies, defined by Siouxsie & The Banshees’ innovative soundscapes that influenced countless alternative acts through the 1980s and beyond.
Polydor – POLS-1056
This album includes the original custom inner sleeve featuring complete lyrics, credits, and monochrome band artwork, reflecting the stark visual style typical of the early 1980s gothic aesthetic.
33rpm 12" Vinyl Stereo Record
Total Album (Cover + Record) Weight: 230g
1981 – Made in England
"Once Upon a Time: The Singles" is a 1981 compilation album that gathers the essential early singles by Siouxsie & The Banshees, documenting their artistic rise from the punk explosion to the gothic grandeur that defined their later work. Each track represents a milestone in their creative evolution and showcases the band's tight interplay and Siouxsie Sioux’s commanding vocal style.
The front cover of Siouxsie & The Banshees’ 1981 compilation album “Once Upon a Time: The Singles” bursts with kinetic collage energy. A dense patchwork of monochrome photographs—many of Siouxsie Sioux herself— is interlaced with rectangular splashes of neon color in pink, yellow, blue, and red. These vivid overlays slice through the grayscale imagery, creating a striking contrast that feels both chaotic and meticulously balanced.
Siouxsie’s heavily made-up eyes and sharp expression dominate the upper center, anchoring the visual narrative amid a sea of smaller portraits and live-action moments. Around her, candid band shots, moody close-ups, and live performance stills seem to flicker like fragmented memories of the band’s evolution from raw punk energy to sophisticated gothic allure.
The typography is minimal yet bold: the black-and-white band logo “Siouxsie and the Banshees” stands at the top, while the album title “Once Upon a Time / The Singles” anchors the bottom edge. Together, the sharp geometry, grainy photos, and pop-art colors embody the restless creativity and avant-garde visual identity that defined the post-punk movement of early-1980s Britain.
The back cover of Siouxsie & The Banshees’ “Once Upon a Time: The Singles” radiates eerie intensity. A mosaic of disembodied doll faces—some cracked, others expressionless— floats in grayscale against a velvety black backdrop. Each face, cut and layered with varying opacity, evokes a sense of haunting surrealism, aligning with the band’s fascination for unsettling imagery.
Centered across the artwork, the tracklist appears in two symmetrical columns: Side One and Side Two. Song titles are printed in bold red and white type, giving stark visual contrast. Beneath each title lie the precise songwriting and production credits, including mentions of Nils Stevenson, Steve Lillywhite, and Nigel Gray. The dense typography is anchored toward the lower half, framed by minimal margins and dark tones.
The design captures the cold elegance of the early 1980s post-punk aesthetic: minimal, haunting, and deeply evocative. It balances order and unease—an artful mirror of the band’s sound, where melody and menace coexist in perfect dissonance.
The first side of the custom inner sleeve for Siouxsie & The Banshees’ “Once Upon a Time: The Singles” extends the album’s fragmented, avant-garde visual language. A wide horizontal collage of black-and-white photographs spans the upper edge of an otherwise black field, creating a striking contrast between negative space and visual density.
Each cropped image captures a moment of the band’s stark charisma — Siouxsie Sioux’s intense gaze, candid shots of band members mid-performance, and minimal silhouettes that fade into the dark void below. A geometric emblem resembling an abstracted star motif appears at the top right, adding a subtle layer of symbolism to the layout.
The minimalist lower section remains largely empty, aside from faint text at the bottom edge, heightening the visual focus on the upper collage. The design exudes restraint and tension — a visual echo of the band’s ability to merge elegance, darkness, and emotional abstraction.
The reverse side of the custom inner sleeve for “Once Upon a Time: The Singles” presents a meticulous arrangement of all ten song lyrics, printed in bold black text against a soft, metallic grey background. Each track title—from “Hong Kong Garden” to “Arabian Knights”—is clearly delineated, creating a structured yet visually dynamic reading experience.
Behind the lyrics, a large, ghostly abstract shape stretches diagonally across the surface, resembling an ethereal figure in motion. The blurred silhouette adds a sense of depth and haunting motion, perfectly aligning with Siouxsie & The Banshees’ darkly elegant aesthetic.
The interplay between crisp text and soft imagery produces a striking contrast— the lyrics appear to emerge from the mist, mirroring the band’s music: poetic, eerie, and emotionally charged. The minimalist composition balances lyrical intensity with visual restraint, making this sleeve not just a lyric sheet but an integral extension of the album’s atmosphere.
Close-up view of the Side One record label from Siouxsie & The Banshees’ “Once Upon a Time: The Singles” LP, released by Polydor in 1981. The design features the iconic Polydor logo printed in bold white type against a matte black background, giving it a timeless, professional appearance typical of the label’s early 1980s output.
The label lists catalogue number POLS 1056-A, country of manufacture (“Made in England”), and publishing credits for Pure Noise and Chappell. Track details for Side One include “Hong Kong Garden,” “Mirage,” “The Staircase (Mystery),” “Playground Twist,” and “Love in a Void.”
Around the outer rim, fine print outlines copyright information and reproduction restrictions. The combination of crisp typography, concentric layout, and subdued monochrome colors reflects both the precision and artistry of Polydor’s vinyl label design during this era.
A defining collection of post-punk’s most striking singles, “Once Upon a Time” maps Siouxsie & The Banshees’ transformation from raw energy to atmospheric mastery. Released in 1981, it’s both a retrospective and a revelation—ten tracks that distill the band’s singular mix of mystery, art, and defiance into one essential vinyl statement.
"Spellbound" is the song recorded by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1981. The track was written by the Banshees and co-produced with Nigel Gray. It was the first single released from the Banshees' fourth album Juju.
Spellbound 7" Vinyl Single"This Wheel's on Fire" is a song written by Bob Dylan and Rick Danko, and it was popularized by the British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band recorded a version of the song in 1988, which was included on their album "Peepshow".
This Wheel's on Fire 12" Maxi SingleSiouxsie and the Banshees' 1987 album, "Through the Looking Glass," is a testament to their musical versatility. Featuring cover versions of songs by various artists, the album reflects the band's creative prowess.
Through The Looking Glass 12" Vinyl LP