"Spellbound" 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 was written by the group and co-produced with

Nigel Gray Nigel Gray (1947 – 30 July 2016) was an English record producer. His album credits include '' Outlandos d'Amour'' (1978), '' Reggatta de Blanc'' (1979), and '' Zenyatta Mondatta'' (1980) for the Police, '' Kaleidoscope'' (1980) and '' Juju'' (19 ...

. It was released in 1981 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 the first single from the band's fourth studio album, '' Juju''. Prior to recording the song, the band had been on tour in the UK in February 1981 to premiere the new material composed with guitarist

John McGeoch John Alexander McGeoch (25 August 1955 – 4 March 2004) was a Scottish musician and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Magazine (1977-1980) and Siouxsie and the Banshees (1980-1982). He has been described as one o ...

. When reviewing this era,

Barney Hoskyns Barney Hoskyns (born 5 May 1959) is a British music critic and editorial director of the online music journalism archive Rock's Backpages. Biography Hoskyns graduated from Oxford with a first class degree in English. He began writing about mus ...

of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' had described "Spellbound" as a "glorious electric storm", further adding, "Siouxsie and the Banshees are one of the great British bands of all time".

Release

"Spellbound" was released by Polydor on 22 May 1981. The single peaked at number 22 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 1981. It also reached 64 on the U.S. National Disco Action Top 80 chart. The 12" extended version of the song appeared on the 2006 remastered version of ''Juju''.

Reception and legacy

In their contemporary review, ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' praised the single, calling it "exhilarating". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' retrospectively hailed it as a " pop marvel". In 2006, ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' honoured McGeoch by rating him in their list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" for his work on "Spellbound".

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

the Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

stated on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

in February 2008 that he rated guitarist

highly for his work on "Spellbound". Marr said: "It's so clever. He's got this really good picky thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll and this actual tune he's playing is really quite mysterious". The song featured in the end credits of the finale of the 4th season of ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

'', "The Piggyback". and the end credits of the season 4 episode of ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The serie ...

'', "Spellbound".

Personnel

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 ...

– vocals *

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 ...

– bass *

– guitar * Budgie – drums and percussion

Track listing

; 7" ; 12"

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1981 singles Siouxsie and the Banshees songs Polydor Records singles Song recordings produced by Nigel Gray 1981 songs Songs written by Siouxsie Sioux Songs written by Budgie (musician) Songs written by Steven Severin Songs written by John McGeoch