Siouxsie Sioux and Robert Smith

Siouxsie and The Banshees were one of the first post-punk bands to make it big, forming in 1976, already releasing their second album Join Hands in September of 1979.

During the tour for said album however, the Banshees’ guitarist John McKay and drummer Kenny Morris (both now referred to as The Blackheads) quit the group, leaving founders Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin scrambling to find replacements for the tour.

Slits percussionist Peter Edward Clarke aka Budgie was recruited on drums, becoming a permanent member of the band—but Severin and Sioux still had a hard time enlisting a guitarist.

Robert Smith of The Cure decided to offer his services as his group were already the support band on tour in support of Join Hands.

After the tour, Robert returned to full time duties with his own band, and Sioux and Severin then had a proper audition, and Sioux and Severin recruited Magazine and Visage guitarist John McGeoch to join the band, which was the perfect arrangement until the departure of John McGeoch from the Banshees after suffering a nervous breakdown at a gig in Madrid.

Robert Smith was recruited a second time into Wonderland to join his hand on guitar as a Banshee, now becoming a full time member, as Smith was still recovering from the emotional anguish of The Cure album “Pornography” (which led to Simon Gallup leaving The Cure, a major reason for the band’s hiatus).

Read the rest at Post-Punk.com.