"Mittageisen" | ||||
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Single by Siouxsie and the Banshees | ||||
B-side | "Love in a Void" | |||
Released | September 1979 | |||
Recorded | June 1979 | |||
Genre | Post-punk | |||
Length | 3:00 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Siouxsie and the Banshees singles chronology | ||||
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"Mittageisen" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It originally appeared on the band's 1978 debut album The Scream as "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)"; the track was re-recorded in 1979, this time with the lyrics sung in German, 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 as a double A-side single.
The title "Mittageisen" is a word play based on the German words "Mittagessen" (literally: "noon meal", i.e. lunch) and Eisen ("iron"). The title was inspired by antinazi German artist John Heartfield's photocollage Hurrah, die Butter ist Alle! [1] [ failed verification ] ("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 (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: "Iron always made a nation strong, butter and lard only made the people fat".
"Mittageisen" was composed by Siouxsie Sioux 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. [2]
The double A-side, "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 session, recorded in late November 1977. "Love in a Void" had not been recorded for Polydor until this release.
"Mittageisen" was released as a single in the UK by Polydor in September 1979. The record was promoted as a double A-side release at the time, but only "Mittageisen" charted on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 47. [3] Nevertheless, "Love in a Void"—but not "Mittageisen"—was included on the band's 1981 singles compilation Once Upon a Time/The Singles , which compiled all their A-sides up to that time, and later on the 2006 remastered edition of Join Hands . Putative A-side "Mittageisen" later appeared on the band's B-side compilation Downside Up .
"Mittageisen" was covered and sampled by Massive Attack as "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)" in 1997 for the soundtrack to the film The Jackal . [4] Robert Smith of the Cure said: "I loved all their early singles, especially "Metal Postcard"." [5]
All tracks produced by Nils Stevenson and Mike Stavrou.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mittageisen (Metal Postcard)" | 4:05 | |
2. | "Love in a Void" |
| 2:30 |
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Technical
Chart (1979) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles (OCC) [7] | 47 |
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 included John McKay's guitar playing on "Hong Kong Garden" in their list of "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever", while Mojo rated guitarist John McGeoch in their list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" for his work on "Spellbound". The Times called the group “one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".
John Heartfield was a 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. Heartfield also created book jackets for book authors, such as Upton Sinclair, as well as stage sets for contemporary playwrights, such as Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator.
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 Banshees' four albums. Once Upon a Time/The Singles spent twenty six weeks in the UK albums chart. The sleeve was designed by Stylorouge.
The Scream is the debut studio album by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released on 13 November 1978 by Polydor Records. The album is considered a landmark recording: its innovative combination of angular guitar with a bass-led rhythm and machine-like drums played mostly on toms, made it a pioneering work of the post-punk genre.
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, NME and Record Mirror.
Juju is the fourth studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was recorded at Surrey Sound studio with Nigel Gray as co-producer, and was released on 19 June 1981 by record label Polydor. Two singles were released from Juju: "Spellbound" and "Arabian Knights".
Tinderbox is the seventh studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released on 21 April 1986 by Wonderland and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and by Geffen Records in the United States. It was the band's first full-length effort recorded with then-new guitarist John Valentine Carruthers; Carruthers had previously only added a few parts on the 1984 EP The Thorn. The first recording sessions for the album took place at Hansa by the Wall in Berlin in May 1985.
The Seven Year Itch is a live album by Siouxsie and the Banshees, composed of performances recorded at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire on 9 and 10 July 2002 and released by Sanctuary Records in 2003.
Downside Up is a four-disc box set collecting B-sides and bonus material from the catalogue of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Also included is The Thorn EP, originally released in 1984. Most of these songs were classics of the band's live repertoire like "Pulled to Bits", "Eve White/Eve Black", "Red Over White", "I Promise", "Something Blue", "El Dia de Los Muertos" and "B Side Ourselves". The box set was also released on iTunes.
"Hong Kong Garden" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released as the band's debut single on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records. The single reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart.
"The Staircase (Mystery)" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released as a stand-alone single on 23 March 1979 by Polydor Records. The track was written by Siouxsie Sioux, John McKay, Steven Severin and Kenny Morris, and was produced by Nils Stevenson.
"Happy House" is a song written by Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin and recorded by their band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released as a single in March 1980 by record label Polydor, then later included on the band's third album, Kaleidoscope. "Happy House" was the group's first record made with guitarist John McGeoch and drummer Budgie.
"Christine" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, written by Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin. It was released in 1980 by Polydor as the second single from the then-unreleased third album, Kaleidoscope.
"Israel" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released as a stand-alone single in 1980 by Polydor Records. The track was written by Siouxsie and the Banshees and co-produced with Nigel Gray, it featured a 30 singer Welsh choir on backing vocals. While touring in Europe in Autumn 1980, the band wanted to write a Christmas song to be released on time for December of that year. They composed it on the road, which was quite unusual for them.
"Spellbound" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was written by the group and co-produced with Nigel Gray. It was released in 1981 by record label Polydor as the first single from the band's fourth studio album, Juju.
"Melt!" is a song by English post-punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released in 1982 by record label Polydor as a double A-sided single with the song "Il Est Né, Le Divin Enfant" and is the second and final single from the band's fifth studio album, A Kiss in the Dreamhouse.
The Thorn is an EP recorded by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released in late 1984 by Polydor and remastered in 2004 to be included on the Downside Up box set.
"Overground" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was originally featured on their debut studio album, The Scream (1978). The band re-recorded the track with elaborate, lush orchestral instrumentation with a flamenco acoustic guitar for its inclusion on the four-track extended play The Thorn (1984). This version was released as a single the same year by record label Polydor.
mittageisen is a Swiss dark wave band of the early 1980s.
"Love In a Void" is a song by the English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, written by Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, Kenny Morris and Peter Fenton. Originally included as the b-side to the 1979 single "Mittageisen" in West Germany, it was later released as a double A-side single in September of the same year. It was also included on the band's 1981 ten track UK Gold certified compilation album Once Upon a Time: The Singles. In 2006, the song was covered by metal band Darkthrone on the ep Too Old Too Cold in 2006. "Love in a Void" was also heavily sampled by rapper Akala in a version retitled "Love in my Eyes" on the album Freedom Lasso in 2007. The Banshees' studio version of "Love in a Void" was featured on the soundtrack of the 2016 film 20th Century Women.
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