ON THIS DAY(ish) ... in 1984 - Siiiii

17 photos of the Goth lovelies, outside the Zigzag office in 1984

Siiiii - DISCOGS

Siiiii - Bandcamp

Siiiii - wiki

Three members of Siiiii, with their gloriously turret-haired manager, lounge around outside the Zigzag office, whereupon I shepherded them into the pub next door for an interview. Amazingly, it would be 22 years before recordings would emerge, when the group reformed to pay tribute to their original songs, in the form of the immaculate “Ancient” album, which was followed in glorious fashion eight years later by “Modern”, two albums I believe should be in every Goth home, or packed into every Goth’s coffin upon proof of death. You can find details of both on their bandcamp page, along with a live album from 2008, although you can’t hear anything there so check out the videos I’ve included in this post..

Shall we revisit that original interview? Very well then

Siiiii interview, Zigzag 1984

Mark, Paul, Ange, Wayne and Trevor. Mean anything to you? A collective title of Siiiii. Guitar, vocals, bass, drums and synth/percussion. Sheffield. Buried, by their accounts, in an atmosphere of apathy. People ('crowds') who refuse to stand in grotty pubs supporting grotty bands, supporting an invisible scene. With gigs unobtainable, bands fight tooth and nail for a chance, for reasons of existence. "Opportunist punk bands everywhere." All bands avoid each other and Siiiii are no exception.

So it's hardly likely to get better?

"It's an in-crowd of ex-students, mostly."

Curt!

"The bands have the energy."

So why haven't the people?

"Cos they've been through two years in grotty pubs watching grotty bands."

Full circle.

Can you feed off this? Can you fuel your aggression?

"There is aggression but it's not a tribal Death Cult thing, it's more subtle."

Shouldn't there be more people doing what you're doing? (Let me introduce you to Paul, a man who constantly leans forward, requiring the question again, before...)

"Dunno, depends where your vocation is. Most people are so placid. Most people can't be bothered whereas personally I know if I don't do something like this nothing's ever gonna happen at all. Other people might be good at something else. Doing their hair. And looking at each other. The aggression is latent in me. It's just what's there all the time. I've always been interested in doing something musically, something different musically, away from the mainstream. When I was fifteen, in a band called The Basics, we used one-string guitars. We did one gig, and then split up. People weren't ready for that sort of thing, especially in Suffolk."

A pause.

"I don't feel happy doing anything else. Probably a very lazy attitude but it's the attitude I've got. I think things are ready for some drastic change again."

And will Siiiii help this happen? Locked in Sheffield, it seems unlikely.

"I'd like people to go away from our gigs more disturbed," decides Paul. "Get a reaction that way, rather than to make some big social comment and have people think about that. I don't think people do think about that anyway. I don't think that gigs are places to do that."

Why does Paul sing these things?

"It's basically frustration. There's things I wanna say to people. I'm just really upset by most people, their ignorance and stupidity. I'm not preaching, it's just me. I'm talking to meself perhaps. They just happen to be listening."

And does this get a reaction in the town of silent spectators?

"People walk out."

Hmmmm.

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Twelve more photos from this session follow, for paid subscribers only.

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