The Creatures

The Creatures were an English band formed in 1981 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and drummer Budgie, both members of the group Siouxsie and the Banshees. Their music, initially based on drums and voice, evolved over the years. The Creatures released their first EP Wild Things in 1981. On their debut album Feast (1983) including a UK top 25 single "Miss the Girl", the band embraced exotica while keeping percussion as the main instrument. On their second album Boomerang (1989) which was widely critically acclaimed, the duo married their music with blues and jazz; Uncut magazine would later rank Boomerang at number 184 in their list of "the 500 Greatest Albums of the 1980s". In the late 1990s, they developed a more urban sound on Anima Animus; The Times then described their music as "adventurous art rock built around Siouxsie's extraordinary voice and drummer Budgie's battery of percussion". For their last album Hái! (2003), they returned to their roots while turning to east, with an ode to Japanese minimalism. They disbanded in 2005.Their music was praised by Jeff Buckley, PJ Harvey, Anohni, and name-checked by Neil Hannon of the Divine Comedy.Singer Siouxsie Sioux and drummer Budgie created the Creatures in 1981 while rehearsing for Banshees' Juju album. During one session, they discovered by accident that the combination of just voice and drums suited the track "But Not Them". A studio session was organized with the aim of recording five songs. Budgie played marimba and metallophone for the first time; these percussion instruments would then become an integral part in the band's music. The project was released in the form of an EP titled Wild Things. The title track was a reworking of a hit by the Troggs; the other numbers were Creatures compositions. The EP reached No. 24 in the UK Singles Chart and the pair performed "Mad-Eyed Screamer" on Top of the Pops.In 1983, the Creatures released their first full-length album, Feast. The band had decided where to record the album by randomly placing a pin on a map of the world. The result was Hawaii, which led to the Lamalani Hula Academy Hawaiian Chanters being featured on some tracks. Musically, the album was steeped in exotica and tropical backdrops. During the week of its release, the band were on the front cover of both Melody Maker and NME. Melody Maker described Feast as "an album of filtered brilliance, fertile, sensual and erotic", while NME said, "The humours of Sioux's frosty larynx are nakedly outlined against skins of sometimes fabulous quality". The album reached No. 17 in the UK Albums Chart. The single "Miss the Girl" which peaked at number 21 in the UK chart, took its inspiration from the book Crash by J. G. Ballard. Shortly after its exit from the charts, a follow-up, "Right Now", was recorded, a song that was initially performed by Mel Tormé. The Creatures revamped it by adding a brass section, and it became their most successful single, reaching the top 15.The Creatures reconvened six years later. Siouxsie and Budgie went to a stone barn in Jerez, Andalucia, Spain to record Boomerang, an album which blended their music with blues, jazz, flamenco and electronica. Brass arrangements featured on some tracks and Anton Corbijn took colour pictures for the sleeve. The record received widespread critical acclaim. NME wrote: "It's a rich and unsettling landscape of exotica". One of the bluesier songs on Boomerang, "Killing Time", was later covered live by Jeff Buckley. On 4 December 1989, the band performed live "Standing There" and "You!" with a brass section for UK TV Channel 4's "Big World Cafe". The Creatures then rehearsed with other musicians to play a rearranged version of "Pluto Drive" with Budgie exceptionally on keyboards, for UK TV Show "One Hour with Jonathan Ross".

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.