"Melt!" is a song by English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

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 ...

. It was released in 1982 by record label

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

as a

double A-sided The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

single with the song "

Il Est Né, Le Divin Enfant "Il est né, le divin Enfant" (English: He is born, the divine Child) is a traditional French Christmas carol. History The song was published for the first time in 1862 by Jean-Romain Grosjean and Paul Webster, organist of the Cathedral of Sa ...

" and is the second and final single from the band's fifth studio album, '' A Kiss in the Dreamhouse'' ("Il est né, le divin Enfant" does not appear on that album).

Content

The sensual lyrics of "Melt!" compare an intense sexual interlude with a lover to dying. Its lyrics can also allude to a S&M encounter ("...Handcuffed in lace, blood and sperm / Swimming in poison / Gasping in the fragrance / Sweat carves a screenplay / Of discipline and devotion..."). Dave Morrison of '' Select'' observed that "The Baudelairean imagery of 'Melt' evokes claustrophobic scents of

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

, sex and sickly flowers, and lapses into morbidity with lines like, 'You are the melting man and, as you melt, you are beheaded'". "

Il est né, le divin Enfant "Il est né, le divin Enfant" (English: He is born, the divine Child) is a traditional French Christmas carol. History The song was published for the first time in 1862 by Jean-Romain Grosjean and Paul Webster, organist of the Cathedral of Sa ...

" was an adaptation of a traditional French

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

. This track was exclusive to this single, and remained unreleased on LP or CD for many years until the appearance of the Siouxsie and the Banshees box set ''

Downside Up ''Downside Up'' is a four-disc box set collecting B-sides and bonus material from the catalogue of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Also included (on disc four) is '' The Thorn'' EP, originally released in 1984. Most of these songs (only presen ...

'' in 2004.

Release

"Melt!" was released on 26 November 1982 as a

single by record label

. The single peaked at number 49 in 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 ...

Track listing

; 7" ; 12"

References

{{authority control 1982 singles Siouxsie and the Banshees songs Songs written by Siouxsie Sioux Songs written by Budgie (musician) Songs written by Steven Severin Songs written by John McGeoch 1982 songs Polydor Records singles Songs about BDSM