Overground (song)

"Overground" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was originally featured on their debut studio album, The Scream (1978). The band re-recorded the track with elaborate, lush orchestral instrumentation with a flamenco acoustic guitar for its inclusion on the four-track extended play The Thorn (1984). This version was released as a single the same year by record label Polydor.

"Overground"
Song by Siouxsie and the Banshees
from the album The Scream
Released	13 November 1978
Recorded	August 1978
Genre	Post-punk
Label	Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Steven Severin John McKay
Producer(s)	Siouxsie and the Banshees Steve Lillywhite

"Overground"
Single by Siouxsie and the Banshees
from the album The Thorn
B-side	"Placebo Effect"
Released	2 November 1984
Recorded	1984
Genre	Post-punk, art rock
Label	Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Steven Severin John McKay
Producer(s)	Siouxsie and the Banshees Mike Hedges
Siouxsie and the Banshees singles chronology
"Dazzle" (1984) "Overground" (1984) "Cities in Dust" (1985)

Music

This version taken from The Thorn EP was co-produced with Mike Hedges. "Just how far they've come is shown by the '84 reworking of 'Overground'", observed Dave Morrison in a review of Twice Upon a Time – The Singles, "where the teeth-grating abrasion of old gives way to a panoramic sound of martial drumming, strings and flamenco guitars".^[1]

The Thorn version of "Overground" was later included on the 2004 box set Downside Up.

Release

The Thorn version of "Overground" was released as a single on 19 October 1984 by Polydor, with "Placebo Effect", a track first appearing on Join Hands album, as its B-side. It peaked at number 47 on the UK Singles Chart.^[2]

References

1. Morrison, Dave (November 1992). "Twice Upon a time Siouxsie and the banshees – review". Select.
2. Johns, Brian (1989). Entranced: The Siouxsie and the Banshees Story. Omnibus Press. p. 94. ISBN 0-7119-1773-6.