How did this local girl immortalise a Hong Kong garden?
Veteran punk rocker Siouxsie Sioux will headline next year’s Latitude Festival, on the BBC Sounds Stage, in what will be her first appearance in a decade.
The punk and post-punk icon, who’s best known as the singer of Siouxsie & The Banshees, will join headliners including Pulp, Paolo Nutini, and George Ezra at the Suffolk festival from July 20-23, 2023, reports NME.
The last time Sioux played live was in 2013, for Yoko Ono’s Meltdown festival, which was held at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
Speaking about her booking, Latitude’s festival Director Melvin Benn said: “What a privilege it is to welcome the iconic Siouxsie to the Latitude Festival.
“Siouxsie has been an enduring trailblazer and her impact across musical culture is colossal.
“Uncompromisingly defiant, Siouxsie’s powerful body of work is incomparable. There has never been a live performer like her and there probably never will be!”
But, who is Siouxsie Sioux? Here’s everything you need to know.
Who is Siouxsie Sioux?
Susan Janet Ballion, known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, and she was born in May 1957.
Ballion is best-known as the singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, a role she undertook from 1976-1996.
Whilst at the helm, the band released 11 studio albums, and had a number of UK Top 20 singles, including Hong Kong Garden, Happy House, and Peek-a-Boo. They also had Billboard Top 25 hit with Kiss Them for Me.
After leaving the Banshees, Siouxsie formed a second group, the Creatures, with whom she sang from 1981 to 2005, and it saw her record four studio albums, as well as the hit single Right Now.
After disbanding the Creatures, she continued as a solo artist, and released the album Mantaray to critical acclaim in 2007.
Is Siouxsie Sioux married and does she have children?
In 1991, Siouxsie married fellow singer-songwriter Budgie, and, the following year, they moved to the south west of France. However, in August 2007, she confirmed that she and Budgie had divorced.
In an interview with the Independent, she said: “I’ve never particularly said I’m hetero or I’m a lesbian.
“I know there are people who are definitely one way, but not really me. I suppose if I am attracted to men then they usually have more feminine qualities.”
