The Staircase (Mystery)

"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. The single's B-side is a cover of the 1973 T. Rex song "20th Century Boy".

"The Staircase (Mystery)"
Single by Siouxsie and the Banshees
B-side"20th Century Boy"
Released23 March 1979 (1979-03-23)
Recorded1978
GenrePost-punk
Length3:06
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Nils Stevenson
Siouxsie and the Banshees singles chronology
"Hong Kong Garden"
(1978)		 "The Staircase (Mystery)"
(1979)		 "Playground Twist"
(1979)
Music video
"The Staircase (Mystery)" on YouTube

Release

"The Staircase (Mystery)" was released as the band's second single on 23 March 1979 by Polydor Records. It became the group's second top 40 entry, peaking at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart.[1]

The track later surfaced on the singles compilation album Once Upon a Time: The Singles. When the band's debut album, The Scream, was remastered and reissued in 2005 with bonus material, "The Staircase (Mystery)" was included in the package.

Reception

Melody Maker hailed the single and wrote: "The Banshees have been able to come up with a couple of slices of excellent music for their singles. 'The Staircase' hasn't anywhere near the commercial potential or immediacy of 'Hong Kong Garden', but nevertheless it's a great song. A sinister almost mesmerising tune, dominated by Siouxsie's unorthodox vocals – it grows and matures with each play."[2]

Smash Hits said, "the 'mystery' of the song is solved if you speculate that the band were zonked out of their brains when they wrote it. This is not necessarily a criticism; just an observation. In fact both sides of the record are powerfully attractive."[3]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Nils Stevenson.

7-inch single[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Staircase (Mystery)"
3:06
2."20th Century Boy"Marc Bolan1:57

Personnel

Siouxsie and the Banshees

Technical

  • Nils Stevenson – production

Charts
Chart (1979) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[5] 24

References
  1. Johns, Brian (1989). Entranced: The Siouxsie and the Banshees Story. Omnibus Press. p. 94. ISBN 0-7119-1773-6.
  2. "The Staircase [review]". Melody Maker. 24 March 1979. ISSN 0025-9012.
  3. Cliff White (5 April 1979). "Singles". Smash Hits. No. 9.
  4. "The Staircase (Mystery)" (UK 7-inch single). Siouxsie and the Banshees. Polydor Records. 1979. POSP 9.CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
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