"Cities in Dust" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

from their seventh studio album, ''

Tinderbox A tinderbox, or patch box, is a container made of wood or metal containing flint, firesteel, and tinder (typically charcloth, but possibly a small quantity of dry, finely divided fibrous matter such as hemp), used together to help kindle a fire ...

'' (1986). It was released on 18 October 1985 as the album's lead single.

Background and composition

"Cities in Dust" is a

dance-rock Dance-rock is a dance-infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and disco ...

, and

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song. The lyrics describe the city of

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

, destroyed in a volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Imagery describing the volcano and its magma chamber, the condition of the victims of the eruption, and the subsequent discovery and excavation of the city comprises the bulk of the lyrics. The lyrics mention a shrine to

Lares Familiares Lares Familiares are guardian household deities and tutelary deities in ancient Roman religion. The singular form is ''Lar Familiaris''. Lares were thought to influence all that occurred within their sphere of influence or location. In well-regul ...

Release and reception

"Cities in Dust" peaked at No. 21 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in November 1985. In the US, Geffen released the single in early 1986 and included a remix of the song by

Bob Rock Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, The Tragically Hip, the Cult, 31 ...

on the A side of the vinyl and also on the 12 inch vinyl as an additional track. Although not Siouxsie and the Banshees' first song to enter the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Dance/Disco Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart, it was their first significant success, climbing to No. 17. ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' hailed the group for creating "this intoxicating wonderful commercial dance record without losing their edge". Reviewer John Leland said, "In a month of good dance rock records, this is the best", and noted that it was "full bodied, dense, with layers of chugging funk guitars, toy piano, and various electronic things". He concluded with praise for Siouxsie's performance: "It's rare these days to find a full production job that draws its identity from the ''voice''". In 2011, singer

Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004-2 ...

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...

cited "Cities in Dust" as one of his favourite songs.

In popular culture

Siouxsie and the Banshees are seen performing the song in the 1986 movie ''Out of Bounds'', and the song appears on the soundtrack album. The song was featured in the 1997 film ''

Grosse Pointe Blank ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' is a 1997 American black comedy action film directed by George Armitage from a screenplay by Tom Jankiewicz, D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink and John Cusack. It stars Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin and Dan Aykroyd and follo ...

'', the 2017 spy film ''

Atomic Blonde ''Atomic Blonde'' is a 2017 American action thriller film directed by David Leitch (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Kurt Johnstad, based on the 2012 graphic novel ''The Coldest City'' by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart. The f ...

'' and its soundtrack, and the 2018 second season of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

teen drama series ''

13 Reasons Why ''13 Reasons Why'' is an American teen drama television series developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey and based on the 2007 novel ''Thirteen Reasons Why'' by author Jay Asher. The series revolves around high school student Clay Jensen (Dylan Mi ...

'' and its soundtrack. The song featured in the final credits of episode 9 of the second season of the comedic series ''

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' is an American period comedy-drama television series, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, that premiered on March 17, 2017, on Amazon Prime Video. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it stars Rachel Brosnahan as ...

''. It also appears at the beginning of the eighth episode of the third season of '' Glow''. Scenes from the promo video are seen in Brazilian film ''Califórnia''.

Cover versions

Pato Fu Pato Fu is a Brazilian indie rock band from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The band was formed by lead singer & rhythm guitarist Fernanda Takai, lead guitarist John Ulhoa and bassist Ricardo Koctus, in September 1992. Long-time drummer Xande Ta ...

recorded a version on their album ''

Daqui Pro Futuro ''Daqui Pro Futuro'' is an album released by the Brazilian rock band Pato Fu. It was released on August 10, 2007 and distributed by Tratore, began as the only independent album, Rotomusic. Along with their last album, it was still recorded by 1 ...

'' (2007). "Cities in Dust" was covered live by

theStart theStart (stylized as theSTART) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Their current lineup includes Aimee Echo, Jamie Miller, Erick Sanger and Chelsea Davis. History Aimee Echo and Jamie Miller formed the band in 1998, origi ...

during numerous concerts in 2007 and 2008.

Anna Nalick Anna Christine Nalick ( ; born March 30, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter. Her debut album, '' Wreck of the Day'', featuring her first radio hit, "Breathe (2 AM)", was released on April 19, 2005. Nalick left her label under Sony in 2009 ...

also performed it live. A cover by electronic artist

Junkie XL Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967), also known by his stage name Junkie XL or occasionally JXL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer. Originally known for his trance productions, he has moved to producing e ...

was released as a single in 2008, and included on the '' Booming Back at You'' album; the soundtrack for the racing video game ''

Burnout Paradise ''Burnout Paradise'' is a 2008 open world racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. It was also released on the PlayStation Store and via Xbox Live Marketpl ...

'' and the compilation album '' OMFGG – Original Music Featured on Gossip Girl No. 1''. A cover version by the Everlove was used in the trailers for the 2012 video game '' Transformers: Fall of Cybertron''; that cover was also featured in a 2014 trailer for the fourth season of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

''.

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...

recorded a rendition of the song, for a vinyl to be released on

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

2023."Garbage Record Store Day 2023"
Garbage official. Retrieved 3 March 2023.

Charts

References

{{authority control 1985 singles 1985 songs Geffen Records singles Polydor Records singles Songs about Italy Songs about natural disasters Pompeii in popular culture Siouxsie and the Banshees songs Songs written by Budgie (musician) Songs written by Siouxsie Sioux Songs written by Steven Severin Songs about cities Dance-rock songs