"Kiss Them for Me" is a song written and recorded by English rock 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 ...

. It was produced by

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...

. It was released in 1991 as the first single from the band's 10th studio album, ''

Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs ...

''. Upon its release, the single received enthusiastic reviews. "Kiss Them for Me" became their most successful single in the US.

Background and lyrics

The song presented a change in musical direction for Siouxsie and the Banshees, adopting a much more straightforward pop-oriented feel than previous efforts, due in part to Hague's production work. Siouxsie Sioux's cryptic lyrics were an ode to actress and

sex symbol A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive. Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor t ...

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...

.The Stud Brothers. "Kiss Of The Spider Woman". ''

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 ...

''. 11 May 1991 The lyrics use Mansfield's catchword "divoon", referring to her heart-shaped swimming pool and her love of champagne and parties, and to the car crash that killed her in 1967. '' Kiss Them for Me'' was also the name of a

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

motion picture made in 1957 starring Mansfield and

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of ...

Composition

A mid-tempo

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 ...

track, it was influenced by Asian music and featured South Asian instrumentation, which had become popular in the UK club scene due to the growth of bhangra.

Tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

player

Talvin Singh Talvin Singh OBE (born 1970) is an English musician, producer, and composer. A tabla player, he is known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass. Singh is generally considered involved with an electronica s ...

(future percussionist for

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

on her 1993 ''

Debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The Deb ...

'' album) took part in the sessions and also sang during the bridge. The beat was taken from a

Roland TR-909 The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a drum machine introduced by Roland Corporation in 1983, succeeding the TR-808. It was the first Roland drum machine to use samples for some sounds, and the first with MIDI functionality, allowing it to syn ...

drum machine stock beat that had previously been used on

Schoolly D Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. (born June 22, 1962), better known by the stage name Schoolly D (sometimes spelled Schooly D), is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Career Schoolly D teamed up with DJ Code Money in the mid-1980s. His ...

's 1985 single " P.S.K. What Does It Mean?"

Reception

'' wrote a rave review, calling it "sublime", but noting that some listeners would be "horrified by its baggy backbeat and sheer unashamed danceability. It doesn't just groove, ..It floats almost imperceptibly to its ecstatic climax, each sweet verse and saccharin chorus a tantalising hint of what's to come. And when it comes, by Christ your knees give way". ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television ...

'' retrospectively included it in their list of "The 20 Most Memorable Songs of 1991".

Release

"Kiss Them for Me" was released on 13 May 1991, and was Siouxsie and the Banshees' biggest hit in the United States. It became their second and last entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and their first single to hit the top 40, peaking at No. 23 in the week of 19 October. It also became the band's second chart-topper on the U.S.

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart, spending five weeks at No. 1 during the summer of 1991. "Kiss Them for Me" was the first Banshees song to hit the top 10 on the US US Hot Dance/Disco chart, peaking at No. 8. It also spent several months on heavy rotation on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. In the UK, "Kiss Them for Me" peaked at No. 32 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 ...

, the band's 16th top 40 single. The "Snapper Mix" includes a spoken sample of Jayne Mansfield from the movie '' Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'', while the "Kathak Mix", remixed by producer

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...

, features spoken samples of

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilso ...

in the

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and ...

. In the UK, two different 12-inch records were released. The first included the "Snapper Mix" of "Kiss Them for Me" with the non-album

B-sides 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 ...

"Staring Back" and "Return". The second version contained three different versions of "Kiss Them for Me" by

: the "Kathak Mix" on the A-side and the "Loveappella Mix" and "Ambient Mix" on the B-side.

Cover versions and legacy

The song was covered by

Diane Birch Diane Birch (born January 24, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter. Early life Birch was born in Michigan. At the age of seven she began studying piano using the Suzuki method. While growing up she listened to opera, classical and church mu ...

School of Seven Bells School of Seven Bells (often stylized as SVIIB) was an American indie rock band from New York City, formed in 2007. It originally consisted of Alejandra Deheza (vocals, guitar), her sister Claudia Deheza (keyboards, vocals) and Benjamin Curtis ...

in 2010 and

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 ...

in 2011.Anna Nalick web site
Broken Doll & Odds & Ends It was occasionally used as background music on the

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...

program '' Q'' and was used in the ''

Daria ''Daria'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It focuses on the title character, Daria Morgendorffer, an intelligent, cynical high ...

'' episode "Ill". "Kiss Them for Me" was the last song played on the

program ''

120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After its cancellation, MT ...

''.

Track listing

US CD maxi single (GEFDS-21650) on

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

# "Kiss Them for Me (7" Version)" – 4:29 # "Staring Back" – 3:16 # "Return" – 5:02 # "Kiss Them for Me (Kathak Mix)" – 8:56 Tracks 2 and 3 were produced by Siouxsie and the Banshees and engineered by Charles Gray

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control Songs about kissing 1991 singles Siouxsie and the Banshees songs Song recordings produced by Stephen Hague 1991 songs Songs written by Siouxsie Sioux Songs written by Budgie (musician) Songs written by Steven Severin Songs written by Martin McCarrick