Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-Worthy Acts #3 - Siouxsie and the Banshees

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Should these guys be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? According to me, yes. According to you, maybe yes, maybe no, maybe you're all "Why in the hell are you wasting my time with this crap?" Well it's my countdown, and I've got to get the HOF's ear somehow. I'm doing these in no particular order, and we are at #3: Siouxsie and the Banshees. Vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin met in 1975 at a London Roxy Music concert, began following the then-upcoming Sex Pistols, and decided to form an emergency fill-in band to play a punk rock festival (future Adam and the Ants guitarist Marco Pirroni and future Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious, on drums, rounded out the lineup.) The four bashed out a lengthy punk performance of "The Lord's Prayer," and that should have been it. Instead, despite a few lineup changes (counting Pirroni, nine guitarists have called the Banshees home,) as well as some shifts in musical styles, Siouxsie and Severin (along with longtime drummer Budgie) kept the band afloat for two decades (plus a 2002 reunion tour,) in the process becoming one of alternative music's most influential bands. Just how influential? Radiohead, The Smiths, The Cure (Robert Smith did two separate stints as the Banshees guitarist,) Joy Division, Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins, Air, and U2 have all cited the Banshees as a major influence, Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson claims that she learned to sing from listening to Siouxsie, Jeff Buckley, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Faith No More have all covered Banshees songs in concert, and, well, you get the picture. Siouxsie and the Banshees released 11 studio albums, nine of which were certified silver, and one gold, in the UK. Of their 30 singles, 29 landed on the UK Singles chart (18 of them achieving Top 40 status,) and while the band never reached those heights here in the States, their 1988 single, "Peek-a-Boo," was the very first #1 song on Billboard Magazine's then-brand new Modern Rock Tracks chart. And, they were one of the best live bands I've ever seen. With The Cure having been inducted in 2019, the door might have been opened for other deserving 80's alternative acts. The Banshees should be a no-brainer. I leave you with a mesmerizing live performance of their classic, "Night Shift," written about British serial killer Peter Sutcliffe. (Info verified by Wikipedia)