B-side "20th Century Boy" Format 7" vinyl Genre Post-punk | Released 23 March 1979 Recorded 1978 Length 3:06 | |
"The Staircase (Mystery)" is a song by English post-punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released as a stand-alone single in 1979 by record label Polydor. The track was written by Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, John McKay and Kenny Morris, and was produced by Nils Stevenson. The B-side of the single was a cover of the T. Rex song "20th Century Boy".
Contents
Release
"The Staircase (Mystery)" was released as a stand-alone single and the band's second in total on 23 March 1979 by record label Polydor. It became the group's second top 40 hit, peaking at number 24 in the UK Singles Chart.
The track later surfaced on the singles compilation album Once Upon a Time: The Singles. When 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."
Legacy
The song was later praised by Tim Burgess of The Charlatans:
"Hong Kong Garden" had been a false alarm – the poppier end of the Banshees had sneaked them into the mainstream but with 'Staircase' ester the majesty and true searing darkness of the band came out to play.