The Scream

The Scream is the title of the debut album by British group Siouxsie & The Banshees. Produced by the group and Steve Lillywhite, it was released on Polydor records on 13 November 1978.

The album entered the UK charts at its peak position of no.12 the week after its release. It had been preceded by the hit single Hong Kong Garden (no.7 in September), which did not however feature on the album itself.

John Peel had enthusiastically previewed the album on his Radio 1 late evening show on 03 October 1978, playing the album from start to finish without any interruptions. His comment afterwards was "“That’s the one, boys and girls, that’s the one." The group had already recorded two sessions for Peel, in November 1977 and February 1978, performing tracks which would later appear on The Scream.

No tracks were lifted from the album as singles, although Mittageisen (Metal Postcard) was re-recorded in 1979 with the lyrics in German and released as a single there, and later in the UK also, where it reached no.47 in the charts. The song Overgrown was also radically re-recorded in 1984 and released by the group as part of an EP entitled The Thorn, which reached the same position.

The album is also notable for featuring a cover version of The Beatles' Helter Skelter.

Tracklisting
Side One Side Two A 2005 Deluxe re-issue featured the original 10 tracks on CD1 and a bonus CD featuring demos, the two Peel sessions, the 7" version of Hong Kong Garden and the standalone follow-up single The Staircase (Mystery), released in 1979.
 * 1) Pure
 * 2) Jigsaw Feeling
 * 3) Overground
 * 4) Carcass
 * 5) Helter Skelter
 * 1) Mirage
 * 2) Mittageisen (Metal Postcard)
 * 3) Nicotine Stain
 * 4) Suburban Relapse
 * 5) Switch

A successive 2006 CD release featured the orginal album tracks plus Hong Kong Garden and The Staircase (Mystery).