"Mittageisen" 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 ...

. It originally appeared on the band's 1978 debut album ''

The Scream ''The Scream'' is a composition created by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images of art, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. Munch's work, including ...

'' as "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)"; the track was re-recorded in 1979, this time with the lyrics sung in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and released as a single in West Germany with " Love in a Void" on the b-side. That September the song was given a UK release 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-side 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 company ...

single.

Content and sleeve

The title "Mittageisen" is a

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonet ...

based on the German words "''Mittagessen''" (literally: "noon meal", i.e.

lunch Lunch is a meal eaten around the middle of the day. It is commonly the second meal of the day, after breakfast, and varies in size by culture and region. Etymology According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the etymology ...

) and ''Eisen'' ("

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

"). The title was inspired by antinazi German artist

John Heartfield John Heartfield (born Helmut Herzfeld; 19 June 1891 – 26 April 1968) was a 20th century German visual artist who pioneered the use of art as a political weapon. Some of his most famous photomontages were anti-Nazi and anti-fascist statements ...

photocollage Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that the final image ...

''Hurrah, die Butter ist Alle!'' ("Hurray, the Butter is Finished!"), which was also used as the single's cover art. Heartfield's photocollage was initially used on the front page of the German magazine ''

Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung ''Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung'' or ''AIZ'' (in English, ''The Workers Pictorial Newspaper'') was a German illustrated magazine published between 1924 and March 1933 in Berlin, and afterward in Prague and finally Paris until 1938. Anti-Fascism a ...

'' (''Workers Illustrated Journal''), published on 19 December 1935. The artist was an early member of Club Dada, which started in 1916 as Cabaret Voltaire in Zürich. The picture with the title "''Hurrah, die Butter ist Alle!'' / Hurray, the butter is finished!" shows a family who eats various pieces of metal. The trigger for it was the following quote from

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

: "Iron always made a nation strong, butter and lard only made the people fat".

Writing and recording

"Mittageisen" was composed by

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

and John McKay; the lyrics were translated into German by their manager Dave Woods and a woman named Renate. The single was dedicated to John Heartfield. The

, " Love in a Void", was penned by Severin and the music was mainly composed by previous Banshees guitarist Peter Fenton. The track was an early live favourite; it was also the first song of their first

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

session, recorded in late November 1977. "Love in a Void" had not been recorded for Polydor until this release.

Release

"Mittageisen" was released as a single in the UK by

in September 1979. The record was promoted as a

release at the time, but only "Mittageisen" charted 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 ...

, where it peaked at number 47. Nevertheless, "Love in a Void"—but not "Mittageisen"—was included on the band's 1981 singles compilation ''

Once Upon a Time/The Singles ''Once Upon a Time/The Singles'' is Siouxsie and the Banshees's 1981 compilation album featuring the band's UK single releases to date. The album featured several songs that had been released as singles yet had not appeared on any of the Bansh ...

'', which compiled all their A-sides up to that time, and later on the 2006 remastered edition of ''

Join Hands ''Join Hands'' is the second studio album by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released in September 1979 by the record label Polydor. Upon its release, it was praised by the British press, including ''Melody Maker'', ''Sounds'' ...

''. Putative A-side "Mittageisen" later appeared on the band's B-side compilation ''

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 ...

''.

Legacy

"Mittageisen" was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

and

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...

as "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)" in 1997 for the soundtrack to the film '' The Jackal''. Robert Smith of

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

said: "I loved all their early singles, especially "Metal Postcard"."

Track listing

All tracks produced by Nils Stevenson and Mike Stavrou.

Personnel

Siouxsie and the Banshees *

* John McKay * Kenny Morris *

Steven Severin Steven Severin (born Steven John Bailey; 25 September 1955) is an English songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He is best known as the bassist of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees which he co-founded in 1976. He took th ...

Technical * Nils Stevenson – production * Mike Stavrou – production

Charts

References

{{authority control 1978 songs 1979 singles Polydor Records singles Siouxsie and the Banshees songs Songs written by John McKay (musician) Songs written by Kenny Morris (musician) Songs written by Siouxsie Sioux Songs written by Steven Severin