Released 21 November 1988 Recorded 1988 Label Polydor | Format 7" and 12" vinyl
CD Genre Alternative rock | |
B-side "El Dia de Los Muertos", "Sunless" | ||
"The Last Beat of My Heart" is a song written, produced and recorded by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released in late 1988 as the third and final single from the band's ninth studio album, Peepshow.
Music and legacy
The song is a ballad with strings and accordion. Sioux's vocals addressed a lover who is leaving a relationship, as she asked for him to return to her. She declared her desire to be "close to you til the last beat of my heart".
Several musicians later praised the song. DeVotchKa covered it on their 2006 EP Curse Your Little Heart and The Decemberists qualified it as one of their favourite Siouxsie and the Banshees songs. The Flowers of Hell released a version on their 2012 album Odes, on which they covered their influences.
"The Last Beat of My Heart" reached number 44 in the UK singles chart in December 1988. Upon its inclusion on the 1992 compilation album Twice Upon a Time: The Singles, a live recording of the song from 1991 replaced the single version.