Once Upon a Time/The Singles

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Once Upon a Time/The Singles
Greatest hits album by
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Released4 December 1981
Recorded1978-1981
GenrePost-punk
Length32:37
LabelPolydor (UK)
PVC (original US release)
Geffen (1984 US reissue)
ProducerSiouxsie 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)

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.[1][2] The sleeve was designed by Stylorouge.

Video compilation[edit]

A tie-in VHS video was released in the UK the same year on PolyGram's Spectrum label. Running for 30 minutes, it featured the videos to the eight singles, but replaced "Mirage" and "Love in a Void" with "Red Light".[3]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
The Village VoiceB+[5]

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."[4] In 1982, 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."[7] In 2002, Q Magazine named Once Upon a Time/The Singles the 7th Greatest Album of All-Time by a Female Artist.[8] In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked the album 44th on its "Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.[9]

Track listing[edit]

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

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Once Upon a Time/The Singles
Chart (1982–1983) Peak
position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10] 16
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 21

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Once Upon a Time: The Singles
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[12] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Siouxsie & the Banshees in the UK charts albums and singles". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  2. ^ 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 ..."
  3. ^ Johns, Brian (1989). Entranced: the Siouxsie and the Banshees story. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-1773-6.
  4. ^ a b AllMusic review
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (1982). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. No. 1 June. New York. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  6. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 740. ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  7. ^ Tremblay, Mark (7 April 1982). "Bill Hughes offers nine excellent renditions". Calgary Herald. p. A18. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  8. ^ Q - 100 Women Who Rock The World Q magazine. January 2002 Issue
  9. ^ "Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Charts.nz – Siouxsie & the Banshees – Once Upon a Time - The Singles". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  12. ^ "British album certifications – Siouxsie & the Banshees – Once Upon a Time - The Singles". British Phonographic Industry. 23 March 1982. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
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