Bitterness Personified

Released on this day (18 July 1988): “Peek-A-Boo” by Siouxsie and the Banshees, the first single from their ninth studio album Peepshow. If – like me! - you are Gen X and were going to goth clubs and alternative nights in your youth, you definitely danced to this one at some point! As Piers Martin recalls in Uncut magazine, the jarring-but-catchy experimental song came about my accident: “producer Mike Hedges accidentally played their version of John Cale’s “Gun” [from their previous album Through the Looking Glass] backwards, creating a low-end stutter with a fluttering bass riff – the track’s backbone – over which Siouxsie wrote about women being exploited in softcore porn, dehumanised and stereotyped, establishing the voyeuristic theme of the album. [Martin] McGarrick’s sprightly accordion and Budgie’s parade-ground drumming, as well as the Banshees’ increasingly piratical get-up, lend the whole thing a proto-steampunk vibe – it’s futuristic and corny and remains utterly compelling.” Similarly, Ned Raggett of the AllMusic website praises “Peek-A-Boo” for “interpolating what sounded like the Charleston into hip-hop rhythms with a brilliant, choppy arrangement.” “Peek-A-Boo” is widely acclaimed and is one of the Banshees’ all-time highest charting singles on both sides of the Atlantic but was never a personal favourite: I admire how inventive it is but find it gimmicky and shrill! However, I love its art-y German Expressionist-style accompanying video. And I remember the ripple of excitement when Siouxsie dramatically emerged with her signature wild crimped mane cropped into a sleek Louise Brooks-inspired flapper bob. Now sing along with me! “Reeking like a pigsty / Peeling back and gagging free / Flaccid ego in your hand / Chokes on dry tears, can you understand?” Photo by Ebet Roberts.

Light a black candle! The late, great heroin-ravaged German chanteuse, actress and fashion model Nico (née Christa Päffgen, 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988) - the Marlene Dietrich of punk, Edith Piaf of The Blank Generation, Warhol Superstar, Moon Goddess, Exiled Countess of Gloom, inscrutable Velvet Underground femme fatale, “possessor of the most haunting wraith cheekbones of the twentieth century” (James Wolcott of Vanity Fair), purveyor of what The Daily Telegraph termed “depraved Germanic lullabies” and my all-time favourite singer - died on this day aged 49 in Ibiza, Spain. Portrait of Nico in New York (presumably late 70s – early 80s) by punk photographer Stephanie Chernikowski (1941–2026), who died earlier this year. Seek out her work: Chernikowski also took exceptional photos of the likes of The Cramps, Lydia Lunch and Deborah Harry.

Born on this day: haunting jazz vocalist Jimmy Scott (aka “Little Jimmy Scott”, James Victor Scott, 17 July 1925 – 12 June 2014). I was privileged to see the unearthly Scott perform several times in London in the 2000s and it was always a powerful experience. (And like Madonna, he made me cry more than once! Scott makes a cameo appearance in the video for Madonna’s 1994 single “Secret”). For anyone unfamiliar with Scott’s work, the lushly romantic 1962 album Falling in Love is Wonderful (widely regarded as his magnum opus) is a good place to start. David Lynch aficionados already know Scott: he crooned the eerie “Sycamore Trees” against a red velvet curtain in the final episode of season two of Twin Peaks.

Born on this day: the glorious Barbara Stanwyck (Ruby Catherine Stevens, 16 July 1907 - 20 January 1990), one of THE great presences of golden age Hollywood cinema. The woman defined “durability”, equally at home in screwball comedies, melodramas, film noirs and Westerns. I won’t even attempt to pick a favourite Stanwyck performance – she never brought less than her considerable A-game – but off the top of my head, I particularly love her in Baby Face (1933), The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933), noirs like The File on Thelma Jordan (1950) and Crime of Passion (1957), and she achieved a creative zenith in the fifties with her Douglas Sirk collaborations (All I Desire (1953) and There’s Always Tomorrow (1956)). Top tip: in 1960-61 she diversified into television with The Barbara Stanwyck Show on NBC and you can find episodes on YouTube. It’s genuinely great, directed by esteemed filmmakers like Jacques Tourneur and featuring impressive guest stars (including Dana Andrews, Julie London, Anna May Wong, Joan Blondell, Joseph Cotton, Dan Duryea and Lee Marvin). Pictured: glamour shot of Stanwyck in 1937.

Pictured: the wrath of Eartha Kitten! (Those flattened ears speak volumes). She was overdue for her annual check-up and vaccinations and her appointment was for 9 am this morning. I dreaded this and I knew I wouldn’t be able to cope with it if she was struggling and resistant to getting into her travel case, so I left it with Pal who was confident it would be fine (he took her to the vet successfully on his own last year) and made a point of leaving the house early and coming into the office to avoid any unpleasantness. Then Pal phoned me to say: call the vet and cancel the appointment. She turned totally feral and it was impossible to get her into the travel case! (Eartha was so violent he had to put on a jacket and gloves and try to wrap her in a bath towel, but nothing worked). For one thing, she’s outgrown her case. Once we acquire a bigger one, we’ll reschedule her vet appointment and try again. Just hearing about this whole episode stressed me right out. Anyway, here is Pal’s photo of Eartha in full blind rage mode earlier.

Why must all good things come to an end? No, seriously – WHY? After twelve tumultuous, fun-filled years, our glorious much-loved venue Fontaine’s in Dalston is closing this month. The FINAL Lobotomy Room cinema club (committed to Bad Movies for Bad People since 2015!) is THIS Thursday night (16 July) and we want to end things on a celebratory note and with a full house. Considering Lobotomy Room’s patron saint has always been (and always will be) anarchic sex kitten-gone-berserk Jayne Mansfield, our last screening is the ultra-kitsch 1968 faux documentary The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield. You don’t want to miss this! Say goodbye to Fontaine’s in style – over special offer cocktails! The film is FREE, but spaces are limited so we need to keep track of numbers. Email [email protected] to reserve a seat in advance! (We’re determined to cram in as many of you as possible!). Film starts circa 8:30 pm – be there by 8 to order drinks and get seated. Pictured: Jayne Mansfield and pet chihuahua Galina at Cannes Film Festival, 1964. Link to event page.

Born on this day: outrageous sewer-mouthed American glitter-punk chanteuse, transgender trailblazer, cult icon, filth elder and the Queen Mutha of us all – Miss Jayne County (13 July 1947)! Auntie Jayne’s career is like a defiant one-woman assault on good taste. In the seventies, backed by her band The Electric Chairs, County (then still billed as Wayne) was the undisputed drag queen of choice for hardened punks on both sides of the Atlantic, vomiting up ultra-raunchy diatribes like “Fuck Off” and “Cream in My Jeans”. After the band split, County relocated to relative obscurity in Berlin before transitioning and re-emerging with a solo career as self-made woman Jayne. In addition to music, County is a charismatic occasional screen presence in underground queer cinema (like Jubilee (1978) by Derek Jarman and City of Lost Souls (1983) by Rosa von Praunheim). All punk fans know “Fuck Off” but other Jayne-ified tracks to investigate include “Bad in Bed”, “Toilet Love”, “Mean Motherfucking Man,” “I’m in Love with Dusty Springfield” (County’s valentine to an early hairstyle role model) and the anthemic “Everyone’s an Asshole but Me”. I’d argue County’s best album is Rockn’Roll Resurrection (1980), a live recording of a New Year’s Eve gig at the Edge nightclub in Toronto. And her memoir Man Enough to Be a Woman (co-authored by Rupert Smith) is essential! Further reading: my 1995 interview with County for MAXIMUMROCKNROLL zine. Nice appreciation of County on the Filthy Dreams website here.

Released on this day (13 July 1992): “Face to Face”, the lush, soaring collaboration between life-changing English punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees and composer Danny Elfman from the Batman Returns (1992) soundtrack. I’m pretty sure I bought this on “cassingle” at the time! Probably from the long-defunct big Tower Records in Piccadilly! As Batman Returns director Tim Burton explained, he approached the Banshees because “Siouxsie is one of very few women who can create a realistic primal cat sound.” The lyrics offer a glimpse into the conflicted inner psyche of Catwoman, with punk diva Siouxsie Sioux’s dramatic and sensual delivery peppered with little Eartha Kitt-style purrs and growls. It’s sublime! For me, “Face to Face” represents the Banshees’ last truly great single (I was underwhelmed by their final album The Rapture (1995), and they disbanded in 1996). Funnily enough, I know someone who worked on the accompanying video and of course I pumped her for juicy details! She said bassist Severin and drummer Budgie were good-natured, friendly and cooperative. Siouxsie arrived hours later, was more unapproachable and wore a superhuman amount of make-up. Seriously – would you want her any other way?

Released on this day (12 July 1985): Camera Obscura, the majestic sixth and final solo studio album by the Velvet Underground’s ghostly erstwhile femme fatale, Nico (1938 – 1988). Camera Obscura reunited the heroin-ravaged Marlene Dietrich of punk with fellow Velvet Underground alumni John Cale for their fourth (and last) collaboration and the first since The End in 1974. According to Nico’s biographer Richard Witts, the atmosphere between them was tense: they had only three weeks to complete the album on a shoestring budget, and most seriously, Cale wouldn’t permit Marlboro addict Nico to smoke in the studio. Reviews were mostly positive: Melody Maker called Camera Obscura “a glowing return to form” that “pushed that all-or-nothing voice back to full expression.” Creem magazine characterized the sound as “layering a warm, undulating electronics-and-percussion groove beneath That Voice.” Nico agreed, saying, “You know, I would have gone to the Amazon to record it … the Amazon Jungle … because of the rhythm section. I wanted just a whole bunch of Amazon drumming. You’re supposed to have a heart attack …” Most significantly, Camera Obscura demonstrated that - like Billie Holiday or Marianne Faithfull - no matter how troubled her life, Nico could marshal her energies and produce powerful music. The two songs sung in German ("Das Lied vom einsamen Mädchen", "König") are haunting. Chanting “When I dream in / When I scream in / When I wipe my / Dirty hands clean …” on “Tananore”, Nico evokes Lady Macbeth. Her sombre rendition of jazz standard “My Funny Valentine” is like being handed a dozen dead roses. And the alienated confessional “My Heart is Empty” is one of the best things Nico ever recorded. Portrait of Nico in London by Peter Noble, 1985.

Boom! is baroque. It’s opulent. It’s decadent. It’s berserk! How can you resist? See the film Hollywood Reporter called “an ordeal in tedium” and Newsweek deemed “a pompous, pointless nightmare!” Buy your tickets NOW! Link.

Born on this day 88 years ago: striking Amazonian Russ Meyer leading lady (John Waters calls her tough-as-nails performance as the vicious Varla in Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1966) "one of the best villains in screen history”), tassel-twisting burlesque queen (billed as “Miss Japan Beautiful”) and all-round ultra-vixen, the fiercely bodacious Tura Satana (Tura Luna Pascual Yamaguchi, 10 July 1938 - 4 February 2011). Do the Watusi or karate chop someone today in Satana’s memory! Pictured: Tura Satana in the 1963 film Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed? via Tura Satana Productions. Their exciting 2025 documentary (simply entitled Tura!) is compulsory viewing.

Born 80 years ago today: actress Sue Lyon (née Suellyn Lyon, 10 July 1946 – 26 December 2019), most notorious for playing the titular character in Stanley Kubrick’s 1962 film adaptation of the troubling Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita. Tuesday Weld and Hayley Mills were reportedly considered first before it went to 14-year-old unknown Lyon. Her performance is remarkable (she holds her own against heavyweight, experienced talents like James Mason, Shelley Winters and Peter Sellars), but Lolita cast a shadow over the rest of her career (her final acting credit was in 1980) and she eventually drifted into obscurity. Lyon’s turbulent personal life subsequently encompassed near-fatal car crashes, rumoured mental health problems and five stormy marriages (including one to a convicted felon, then in prison for second-degree murder and robbery). I need to revisit Lyon in the 1964 adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play Night of The Iguana (I haven’t watched that one in decades), but the film I’m really curious about is bizarre-sounding French-Spanish exploitation curiosity Murder in a Blue World (1973), in which Lyon plays a homicidal nurse and which has been likened to A Clockwork Orange. Pictured: portrait of Lyon by Bert Stern for Look magazine to promote Lolita. Decades later, when Lana Del Rey first emerged in 2010, she made stylish references to Lyon’s heart-shaped sunglasses and lollipops in her early publicity shots. And recall Del Rey’s lyrics to “Diet Mountain Dew” (“Baby, put on heart-shaped sunglasses / 'Cause we gonna take a ride …”).

Born on this day: perennial starlet, sex kitten, the former Mrs Russ Meyer and quintessential ultra-vixen Edy Williams (née Edwina Beth Williams, 9 July 1942). Reflecting on their stormy marriage, Meyer famously recalled that the fun lasted “about 45 minutes, but we were married for four years.” Williams’ voracious performance as predatory porn queen Ashley St Ives in Meyer’s 1970 sexploitation magnum opus Beyond the Valley of the Dolls – particularly her purring delivery of the line “You’re a groovy boy. I’d like to strap you on sometime” - ensures her cult cinema immortality.