Song · Siouxsie and the Banshees
“Christine” by Siouxsie and the Banshees
From the album Kaleidoscope (1980)
“Christine” by Siouxsie and the Banshees appears on 15 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1980 and 2003. It was first released in 1980 on the album Kaleidoscope. Its best result is #80 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1980. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #80 alternative song of 1980 and #1,683 alternative song of all time.
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Siouxsie and the Banshees put "Christine" out on Polydor in 1980 as the second single ahead of their third album, Kaleidoscope, which took its title from one of the song's lines. It's the sound of the band shifting shape, with new guitarist John McGeoch opening on a nagging acoustic riff, electronic organ creeping in after the chorus and a heavy flanging swirl dragging the ending under. Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin wrote it, and Nigel Gray produced with the band.
The subject suits that restless sound: Christine Sizemore, the woman at the center of The Three Faces of Eve, said to have carried 22 separate personalities. The B-side, "Eve White/Eve Black", stayed with her story, named after two of the personalities Severin described as constantly at war.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 80 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1980 | 106 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 188 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1988 | 202 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) | 501 |
| 1989 | 332 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1991 | 330 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1992 | 341 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1992 | 137 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) | 299 |
| 1994 | 418 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 1994 | 169 | Live 105 | Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) | 500 |
| 1995 | 487 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) | 500 |
| 1996 | 487 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) | 500 |
| 1998 | 465 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 1999 | 374 | 91X | 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) | 500 |
| 2002 | 653 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 800 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
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