The Thorn (EP)

The Thorn
EP by Siouxsie and the Banshees
Released	19 October 1984
Genre	post-punk
Label	Polydor, Wonderland
Producer	Siouxsie and the Banshees, Mike Hedges
Siouxsie and the Banshees chronology
Hyæna (1984) The Thorn (1984) Tinderbox (1986)

The Thorn is the only EP recorded as such by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released in late 1984 by record labels Polydor and Wonderland.

Content

The Thorn features four of the band's album tracks recorded with orchestral instrumentation: "Overground" originally appeared on the Banshees' debut album The Scream; "Placebo Effect" was a song from their second album Join Hands, while "Voices" and "Red Over White" were previously released as B-sides of the "Hong Kong Garden" and "Israel" singles, respectively. The recording took place in Bavaria, in Germany.^[1]

Release

The Thorn was released on 19 October 1984 by record label Polydor.

The purpose of the EP was three-fold: Siouxsie stated that she wanted to induct guitarist John Valentine Carruthers into the Banshees, to try out some string arrangements, and to simply re-record tracks that had evolved on tour.^[1] The songs from the EP were later included on the fourth disc of Downside Up, a collection of the band's B-sides.

Track listing

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Overground"	3:53
2.	"Voices (On the Air)"	5:26

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Placebo Effect"	4:37
2.	"Red Over White"	5:43

Personnel

• Siouxsie Sioux – vocals
• Steven Severin – bass
• John Valentine Carruthers – guitar
• Budgie – drums

Additional personnel

• The Chandos Players – orchestration
• Sam Artiss – conduction
• Gini Ball – strings on "Red Over White"
• Anne Stephenson – strings on "Red Over White"
• Martin McCarrick – string arrangements
• Bill McGee – string arrangements
• Gini Ball – string arrangements
• Anne Stephenson – string arrangements

References

1. Downside Up (Media notes). Siouxsie and the Banshees.