I am a massive aficionado of the great diva Siouxsie. We go back a long way. I first saw her supporting Johnny Thunders at Middlesbrough Town Hall and have been a fan ever since. It is a long time since I have seen the great lady live in concert so when she announced a few dates I was determined to see her again. I bought tickets to see her in Glasgow and was really looking forward to it.
Then she added a date close by at Tynemouth Priory as part of the Mouth of the Tyne Festival. So I passed on Glasgow and bought tickets for Tynemouth. I have vague memories of seeing her appear at Maxwell’s nightclub in Tynemouth around 1978 but I can’t really be sure if that really happened or if it is my mind playing tricks on me.
Tynemouth Priory is a lovely setting for seeing concerts. The backdrop on one side is the sea and on the other the ancient priory. We were situated up on a wheelchair platform with a good view of the stage. Jan and I took our place on the platform; Jan had brought along a small fold–away chair which was a good idea as there were only a few seats provided for carers and they were all taken. Siouxsie came on stage at 8:30 PM prompt as there was a 10 PM curfew, presumably to protect local residents from loud sound late at night!
She started with a surprise: “Voices (on the air)”. It is the B-side to “Hong Kong Garden”; a song that she performs very rarely. Siouxsie seemed genuinely pleased to be back in the north-east and took us right back to some of the old Banshees hits and the joyous, discordant clashing/metal sounds of the early Banshees noise. Wonderful. So next up was a personal favourite of mine “Israel”, followed by the swirling, wondrous “Arabian Knights”. It doesn’t get much better: but then it continued in a similar vein.
A few more songs in and we were treated to Siouxsie’s wonderful psychedelic treatment of “Dear Prudence” which easily matches the Beatles version. Then a mixture of Banshees material and Siouxsie solo songs which led into another favourite of mine “Cities in Dust” and soon “Christine” (the Strawberry Girl); another favourite.
Siouxsie looked resplendent dressed in a lovely blue; the screens at the side displaying black and white psychedelic images of the action on stage. She also told us how she went swimming in the sea earlier in the day. She really seemed to be enjoying herself throughout the performance and had obviously had a fun time in Tynemouth. The set closed with the jangling “Happy House” and “Into a Swan”; a quite appropriate description of the great lady herself.
Soon she was back for “Spellbound” and, in her own words “now let’s go back full circle” and “Hong Kong Garden”. The latter was a big, very welcome, unexpected surprise for me as I had read an earlier set list at a concert during which she did not perform this classic. The show finished at 10 PM; exactly on the curfew. We made our way along the meandering path through the Priory over some very bumpy cobblestones to the exit where my taxi carriage awaited me to whisk us homeward, the trills of “Hong Kong Garden” still swirling around my head.
Oh, I forgot to say I bought a lovely limited edition poster with a picture of Siouxsie and the date and location of the concert. An excellent momento of a great occasion.
Thank you Jan for taking some really good pictures to remind me of the evening.
Setlist: Voices (on the Air); Israel; Arabian Knights; Here Comes That Day; Kiss Them for Me; Dear Prudence; Face to Face; Loveless; Land’s End; Cities in Dust; But Not Them; Sin in My Heart; Christine; Happy House; Into a Swan. Encore: Spellbound; Hong Kong Garden
Vintagerock's Weblog. 
Posted by kevin on July 15, 2023 at 6:25 pm
Now that was a good night, first time I saw the banshees was the city hall 77 and Hong Kong garden might have just charted,she came on stage and said your only here because you seen us on the telly, their first TOTP appearance was the week before, that was a great night as well, the next gig I went to all the girls had dyed their hair black and back combed it and dressed like her, she did make an impression in the 70s,
Posted by vintagerock on July 16, 2023 at 11:14 am
Hi Kevin I was at the City Hall concert when Hong Kong Garden had just been released. I thought she was majestic that night, just as she was last week at Tynemouth. Happy days Peter
Posted by kevin on July 20, 2023 at 6:15 am
i think we were at the same gigs a fair bit during the 1970s – 1980s,
#as the price of tickets got daft I stopped going but I started working as local crew at the arena so seen loads of bands and paid for it instead,
Posted by vintagerock on July 20, 2023 at 11:43 am
Sounds a good plan Kevin happy days Peter
Posted by flyingsaucerattack63 on July 16, 2023 at 7:39 am
Sounds like a great night – she’s struggled at times with her voice over the last 30 years or so but that seems to have been overcome fortunately. Glad you enjoyed it.
“Voices” opened the Banshees Hammersmith Odeon gig in December 1982, so Tynemouth would have been at least the second time it was played live – there were possibly more. I saw the soundcheck at Hammersmith when they were working it out – Robert Smith was in the band at the time as a replacement for John McGeoch
Posted by vintagerock on July 16, 2023 at 11:07 am
Thanks for sharing and for the correction. I shall change my entry. I also saw Siouxsie with Robert Smith on guitar at Newcastle Polytechnic. I think the Cure were support that night so Robert Smith played twice! Jealous that you were in the sound check! Best wishes Peter
Posted by Jeff Cann on July 22, 2023 at 1:59 pm
That’s a great set list. I’ve been a bit immersed in Siouxsie this week after dragging her into a piece I wrote about Chinese takeout. Thanks for the memories. I don’t listen to the Banshees anywhere near often enough.
Posted by vintagerock on July 22, 2023 at 5:08 pm
Hi Jeff I agree. The Scream is a classic album which I need to listen to more. Happy days in a Happy House Peter
Posted by Siouxsie Tynemouth Priory 7 July 2023 | ryetursblog's Blog on July 29, 2023 at 9:28 pm
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