HorrorYearbook: How did you get your start in the music industry and when did your passion first develop?

Steven Severin: It started with The Beatles at the age of 5. I guess they were the first really global phenomenon. You could not avoid them in the mid Sixties. I formed a group at school built around tape machines, making “sounds” with found objects and a violin I found in a junk shop. Not nearly as radical as it sounds ~ it was just a bunch of 14 year olds making weird tapes. Next thing I know Billy Idol is approaching Malcolm McLaren saying that me, him & Siouxsie have a band ready to play the 100 club punk festival in September 1976. It was a complete lie as I couldn’t play and Siouxsie had never sung in public but we got the gig!

Billy dropped out under pressure from his ‘real band’ Chelsea/Generation X but by then Siouxsie & I were determined to seize the opportunity so…with the help of Malcolm’s assistant, Nils Stevenson we enlisted Sid Vicious on drums and Marco (Adam & the Ants) on guitar. We did our 20 minutes of fame thing with a cacophenous rendition of the Lord’s Prayer. Who knew we would turn the Banshees into a 20 year career.

HYB: You helped form Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1976 with Siouxsie Sioux. How did you meet her?

SS: We met at a Roxy Music concert at the tail end of 1975. We had a mutual friend.

HYB: After so many years together, why did the band break up?

SS: There’s no one single reason. We probably should have stopped in 1988 but we soldiered on for 8 more years (!) only producing 2 more albums. There are some good moments on those 2 albums but the world wouldn’t have missed them and maybe the band could have reformed for real had the damage that was done in trying to persevere not been so deep.

HYB: Do you still keep in contact with Siouxsie to this day?

SS: After the split in 96 we stopped talking but started to patch things up at the end of 2001. Early 2002 saw a nice offer to reform so we foolishly toured again amidst talk of a “comeback” studio album. 6 shows into the “Seven Year Itch” tour and we all knew it was doomed….again. Siouxsie & I have not spoken since the biography signing in August 2003. That book hammered in the final nail. We speak and conduct business through Siouxsie’s manager. It works fine.

HYB: At a certain point, you broke away from your record label and started an indie label yourself. Why did you do this and do you regret the decision?

SS: The Banshees were dropped by Polydor in early ‘95, so it wasn’t a choice. However, It was my choice not to go back into the beast and I don’t regret it for a minute.

HYB: You were introduced to Arban Ornelas who later became your wife in 2002. Did the attraction start as a musical collaboration or as a relationship first?

SS: Totally musical. I heard Arban before I saw her. A mutual friend sent me a link to some mp3s and I wanted to bring her over to London to produce some tracks for my label.

HYB: What happened during the Banshees reunion tour, The Seven Year Itch, that made you not want to collaborate with them any longer?

SS: I really believed that things would have changed during the intervening years but I failed to take into account that my life & attitude had evolved and Siouxsie & Budgie’s hadn’t. What I mean by that is that post ‘96 they hadn’t stopped and taken account of anything. They had just continued with album & tour ad infinitum as The Creatures. I had dealt with the trauma of losing “my family” by going solo and carving out a new direction, re-aligning my attitude and embracing the new world of the “web”.

They simply expected me to slot right into The Creatures touring machine but use the name “The Banshees” to get bigger venues. I refused to tow the party line and found myself frozen out again. It’s their loss and their issues that I really wish they had the courage and honesty to face.

HYB: You were the composer on Visions of Ecstasy (1989), a short film that was banned in the UK on the grounds of blasphemy. What was the film about and how was it blasphemous?

SS: It was intended as an exploration of the real life “visions” of St. Teresa of Avila. It’s well documented that these visions are erotic in nature so the project was on thin ice from the outset. The video board didn’t really trust the integrity of the director, Nigel Wingrove and because he didn’t have a big studio behind him, he was made an example of. It was during the time of the Satanic Verses furore so everything was very sensitive. You couldn’t dare offend anyone.

HYB: In 1992, you composed the song “Face to Face” for the Batman Returns film by Tim Burton. What was your inspiration for this song?

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SS: After the success of the first Batman film, Tim Burton was given much more control over everything including the music. Originally there was not going to be ANY songs in the film, just Danny Elfman’s score. In post they decided they needed a song for the masquerade ball scene. Warner Bros. wanted R.E.M., Tim & Danny wanted us which didn’t go down to well from the outset as we were on Warners’ arch-rival, Geffen records. Siouxsie suggested the rhythm from The Aristocats “We are Siamese” and Martin McCarrick & myself knocked out a demo at my home studio. The band pulled it into shape then we sent it to Danny. He just added some of his “themes” on top but nothing that affected the basic song we presented. We’d had to swallow Danny taking 50% of the publishing regardless so we made sure that it was representative of the Banshees despite that compromise. Tim loved it, Warners couldn’t have cared less and to all intents and purposes “buried” it. It was a hit in the UK because it was released on Polydor. The whole thing left a very sour taste but a great song. Typical Banshee luck really.

HYB: You also composed the song “Peek-a-boo”, which was acquired for Jeepers Creepers (2001). Do you think the song was well utilized in a movie about a creature that likes “peepers”?

[Editor's Note: The Creeper also likes little boys: Read Story Here.]

SS: I wish they had used our version. They got somebody to re-record it. That way they didn’t even have to tell us about it, which they didn’t!

HYB: Oops, I hope I didn’t spill the beans. Your song “Make up to break up” can be heard in the UK film 24 Hour Party People (2002). Do think your work is best suited for UK audiences or that it works equally well in US productions?

SS: It ’s never occurred to me. We’ve had music used in “Grosse Point Blanke”, “The Craft” and Verhoeven’s Showgirls ~ all pretty mainstream movies.

HYB: The Purifiers (2003) was more action-oriented that your previous ventures. What type of music was needed for this film?

SS: I’d known the director, Richard Jobson since the early Eighties. We shared an apartment for a few years. He called me the day after I’d finished LONDON VOODOO and said he wanted to use a couple of my solo tracks:- “Enter into these bonds” from Visions & “Prelude : Europa” from Maldoror. I went to see him and we spotted the film together with the notion that Arban & I would score the entire movie. We delivered a lot of music but not much got used in the end even though I felt we had hit the right tone according to Richard’s brief. The movie was given a more upbeat edit and subsequently a lot of our cues just didn’t work. In hindsight, we probably came on board a bit late in the day.

HYB: The London Voodoo (2004) soundtrack may be what you are better know for in the film industry. How did you create the moody and dark tracks that fit the film so well?

SS: Now that was the total opposite to the Purifiers. I wrote 3 cues just going from scenes in the script months before shooting began and in one instance Robert shot using my cue as a guide. It was my first feature so it was a big learning curve both artistically and technically but it really came naturally to me. I’ve always been really into movies nearly as much as music so I think a lot it comes from my subconscious ~ I think I know instinctively what to avoid and that’s always the best start.

Read Molly’s Review of “London Voodoo” HERE

HYB: Your song “Halloween” was chosen for the animated film Monster House (2006). Did you find the end result of the animated film to be as satisfying as a live action film?

SS: I bought the DVD for my son but to be honest I haven’t watched it. “Halloween” runs over the end credits.

HYB: Nature Morte (2006) is considered a dark, erotic thriller. How did you compose the soundtrack?

SS: I’d done LONDON VOODOO on my own whilst Arban was pregnant so when I got NATURE MORTE it was agreed we would work on it together. Sometimes we’d each pick cues and work separately but more often than not one of us would start a cue then the other would add (or subtract!) until we were both happy to sign off. It’s an odd way of working and it involves a lot of trust ….and shouting and sulking…but that’s just the way I am.

HYB: You have had a good run in the film industry particularly with horror. Do you prefer to record songs for your own label and maintain your own level of creativity or do you enjoy the challenge of creating soundtracks for others?

SS: I love doing the soundtracks, bringing a scene “alive” for the director. It’s such a thrill when you get them excited in a way they hadn’t foreseen. I only really get involved with people who give me a lot of freedom. I’m not really someone who can or wants to write to order.

HYB: Work has begun on the remastering of the entire Banshees back catalogue. When will this be completed and should we be looking forward to any special releases or box sets?

SS: It’s all on hold at the moment as we try to secure a domestic release in the States. The first 4 albums are out but we don’t want any more coming out until that situation is resolved. The catalogue deserves proper promotion in America and the import prices deter a lot of people I guess. We have the next 4 ready to go. I imagine the next thing that will be made available will be all the promo videos and as many TV appearances as we can afford compiled onto DVD. The live concert from 1983 with Robert Smith (The Cure) on guitar, NOCTURNE came out recently and it’s doing really well and that always makes the suits want more.

HYB: You have a solo tour in the works now. Can you give any information on the performance you are preparing?

SS: Well, it’s going to be just myself in the dark with my laptop and some film elements. I don’t just want random visuals so I’m collecting specific footage from various sources to build into some kind of narrative and THEN I’ll score it like a real movie. So it will be all new material. That’s what going to take time so that’s why I had to postpone the dates in May. Hopefully, I’ll have everything in place from the Autumn. But if it’s not ready ~ it won’t happen until next year. I have no desire to rush.

HYB: Besides the tour, do you have any new projects lined up in the future?

SS: We’ve just scored a short film for one of the guys who got his start at Aardman, Michael Wright. It’s a bitter-sweet black comedy in space! We’re on a promise from about 6 or 7 different directors (the legendary Jess Franco is one) waiting to see who gets to the funding post first.

Arban is working on her solo album whilst waiting for Robert Pratten to finish his new movie “Mindflesh”. She’ll score that on her own whilst I get my act together. There is also the possibility that we’ll provide some music for a couple of art gallery shows in Berlin this September featuring the work of Spanish fantasy artist Luis (Heavy Metal) Royo and Clive Barker. Yes, THAT Clive Barker. Fingers X’d on that one. Could be an exciting year!