Song · Siouxsie and the Banshees
“Spellbound” by Siouxsie and the Banshees
From the album Juju (1981)
“Spellbound” by Siouxsie and the Banshees appears on 10 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1981 and 2026. It was first released in 1981 on the album Juju. Its best result is #71 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #71 alternative song of 1981 and #3,170 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Siouxsie And The Banshees - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Spellbound" opened the Juju chapter for Siouxsie and the Banshees, the first single from their fourth album, out on Polydor on 22 May 1981. The band wrote it together, with Steven Severin supplying the words, and co-produced it with Nigel Gray, after road-testing the new songs on a UK tour that February with guitarist John McGeoch now in the fold.
And McGeoch is the story here. His guitar whips up a dizzying, galloping storm and the whole band charges along behind it. It's post-punk that moves like a pop record. Melody Maker found it exhilarating at the time, it reached number 22 in the UK, and in 2006 Mojo cited this song when naming McGeoch one of its greatest guitarists of all time.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 71 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981 | 106 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 318 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1991 | 761 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1996 | 476 | Q101 | Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) | 500 |
| 1999 | 666 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) | 1002 |
| 2003 | 74 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2021 | 309 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2022 | 241 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2023 | 160 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
| 2026 | 295 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s | 498 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Spellbound" by Siouxsie and the Banshees.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.