Siouxsie & The Banshees: The story of the 1979 split 

Shame cos this was the best banshees line up - the scream surpasses anything they did since - Morris and McKay are truly unique players in their own right and looked so perfect for the band.

such a shame they split because John McKay & Kenny Morris were the backbone of the band with a marvellous sound. John's unique guitar work was phenomenal - like a big wall of rusting industrial machinery. Siouxsie's vocals were at their best with that original line-up, as were the lyrics, just imho. It all went relatively wishy washy mamby pamby after they left. Yes there was some great music. But the energy was never the same. I had long suspected - and it sounds from this - that John & Kenny fled from a long series of being insulted, put down and bullied. They had had more than enough of it and their quality of life, their mental health and self-esteem mattered more than being in the band. And Siouxsie's remarks here add weight to that impression.

I think it's kind of funny that John and Kenny seemed to have been terrified of Siouxsie tracking them down on the train. But she does seem to have been genuinely difficult to deal with at the time.

It's a shame what happened to that stellar line-up; John McKay was a talented guitarist and the group would have benefitted more with him at the helm.

They were treated poorly and eventually they left.

Like they described, these things are never because of an isolated incident. It sounds like it was just the last straw after a long period of conflict. Bands are known for their conflicts, especially during touring though so i really wonder what could've been. Especially since i love Mckay's playing.

Join Hands is brilliant

They were so damn lucky Mcgeoch came along, that has to be destiny, no? They were amazing before that but then they blossomed into something even more extraordinary. It’s a shame Mcgeoch didn’t stay longer, they ran out of ideas after that which is probably why they’ve been forgotten to a certain extent, which is shame, juju is a masterpiece.

Siouxsie comes out of this as a “c u next Tuesday” to be fair

A unique and unfortunate situation in rock history. What confuses me most, though, isn't their fight or the drama, but rather Siouxsie Sioux of ALL people would call them arty artsters or whatever. At the first show after the two fled, she opened by saying "the two from art school fucked off. If you see them, beat them up" or whatever (paraphrasing). She's one of THE most visually, lyrically, theatrically artistic people ever. Goes to show, I guess, that she was of a sort of thinking where there's "real art. Instinctual art. raw art." and then whatever she saw theirs as. Perhaps all style no substance. Silly, of course, given she'd been recording with them and knew their talent. Band dysfunction like this never makes me like a band less. It makes what's otherwise just pictures in a magazine or the back of a record and words in an article into complex, HUMAN people. It makes their highest highs in their catalog MORE impressive. It makes their misfires somehow more relatable and forgivable. While I love this band and so many other bands and am certainly guilty of obsessing over bands and albums, the whole rock god or worship stuff is b.s. Artists (be it Siouxsie's definition of artists in the pejorative or not lol) are messy humans and this specific incident, while so negative, seemed to be resolved years later in a very oddly coincidental, magical way. Typical for the band.

It's a miracle, It's a wander.... one thousand hidden n....

Rock and roll!

"No, Cookie. I swear it. I'm scared of you." is how I feel about Siouxsie. lol Equal parts mesmerizing and terrifying.

Judging by their behaviors in these interviews afterward it seems like Siouxsie was very childish and angry, even years after the fact. I'm more willing to side with John McKay and Kenny Morris since it sounds like they escaped an abusive atmosphere.

Nils Stevenson certainly didn't help matters.

I had no idea they patched things up I'm definitely going to show this to a group

I guess the record store thing was just the last drop ...

I'm a massive fan of Siouxie's talent, but she sounds difficult to work with.

I love that they were so scared of her. 😂I love Siouxsie! Such a great story. Good riddance.