Candyman (Siouxsie and the Banshees song)

"Candyman"
Single by Siouxsie and the Banshees
from the album Tinderbox
B-side
  • "Lullaby"
  • "Umbrella"
Released28 February 1986
RecordedMay 1985
GenreAlternative rock
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)Susan Ballion, Peter Edward Clarke and Steven Severin
Producer(s)Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees singles chronology
"Cities in Dust"
(1985) 		"Candyman"
(1986) 		"This Wheel's on Fire"
(1987)
Music video
"Candyman" on YouTube

"Candyman" is a song written and produced by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released as the second single from their seventh studio album, Tinderbox.

The song is about child abuse.[1] Musically, it is a guitar-based number with distinctive use of arpeggios by John Valentine Carruthers.[2] Melody Maker hailed the single upon its release, saying it was "thrilling". [...] "Big and brash and clashing, its many parts combine to form one spirited, unpredictable yet wholly co-ordinated outburst while Siouxsie's voice, in confident control, bounces up and down and around the repeating motifs, and unexpected twist of arrangements."[3]

"Candyman" became Siouxsie and the Banshees' 13th top 40 hit, peaking at number 34 in the UK Singles Chart.[4]

References

  1. ^ Shaw, William. "In at the Deep End". Word. September 2005
  2. ^ Rooksby, Rikky (2010). Riffs: How to Create and Play Great Guitar Riffs. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0879309930.
  3. ^ Clerk, Carol. "Candyman" - Single review. Melody Maker. 1 March 1986.
  4. ^ Johns, Brian. Entranced : the Siouxsie and the Banshees story. Omnibus Press, 1989. Page 94. ISBN 0-7119-1773-6