Once Upon a Time: The Singles

Once Upon a Time: The Singles is Siouxsie and the Banshees's 1981 compilation album featuring the band's UK single releases to date. The album featured several songs that had been released as singles yet had not appeared on any of the Banshees' four albums. Once Upon a Time: The Singles spent twenty six weeks in the UK albums chart.[4][5] A tie-in VHS video was released in the UK the same year on PolyGram's Spectrum label (catalogue number 7915062). Running for 30 minutes, it featured the videos to the eight singles, but replaced "Mirage" and "Love in a Void" with "Red Light" from the "Kaleidoscope" album.

Once Upon a Time: The Singles
Greatest hits album by Siouxsie and the Banshees
Released	4 December 1981
Recorded	1978-1981
Genre	Post-punk
Length	32:37
Label	Polydor (UK) PVC (original US release) Geffen (1984 US reissue)
Producer	Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nigel Gray, Steve Lillywhite, Nils Stevenson, Mike Stavrou
Siouxsie and the Banshees compilations chronology
Once Upon a Time: The Singles (1981) Twice Upon a Time: The Singles (1992)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The Village Voice	B+[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]

Reception

Allmusic's Steve Huey called the compilation "a cohesive and essential overview of the band's edgy, influential peak." He added that despite the group's "challenging" music, "it's also accessible enough for eight of these singles to have charted in the British Top 50."[1] Mark Tremblay of the Calgary Herald wrote that "only 'Playground Twist' really excels from the first side", which features the band's singles prior to 1980. Tremblay said "Side two is more polished, less abrasive and generally has better rhythmic drive."[6] In 2002, Q Magazine named Once Upon A Time: The Singles the 7th Greatest Album of All-Time by a Female Artist.[7] In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked the album 44th on its "Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.[8]

Track listing

1. "Hong Kong Garden" (Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, John McKay and Kenny Morris)
2. "Mirage" (Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, John McKay and Kenny Morris)
3. "The Staircase (Mystery)" (Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, John McKay and Kenny Morris)
4. "Playground Twist" (Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, John McKay and Kenny Morris)
5. "Love in a Void" (Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, Kenny Morris & Peter Fenton)
6. "Happy House" (Siouxsie Sioux & Steven Severin)
7. "Christine" (Siouxsie Sioux & Steven Severin)
8. "Israel" (Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, Budgie & John McGeoch)
9. "Spellbound" (Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, Budgie & John McGeoch)
10. "Arabian Knights" (Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, Budgie & John McGeoch)

Charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
New Zealand Albums Chart[9]	16
UK Albums Chart[4]	21

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Christgau, Robert (1982). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (1 June). New York. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
3. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 740. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
4. "Siouxsie & the Banshees in the UK charts albums and singles". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
5. Daniel Blythe The Encyclopaedia of Classic 80s Pop 2002 - Page 377 "Siouxsle and the Banshees ... but the singles compilations Once Upon A Time and Twice Upon A Time are a solid testament to an ..."
6. Tremblay, Mark (7 April 1982). "Bill Hughes offers nine excellent renditions". Calgary Herald. p. A18. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
7. Q - 100 Women Who Rock The World Q magazine. January 2002 Issue
8. "Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
9. "Siouxsie and the Banshees - 'Once Upon a Time = The Singles'". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 March 2013.