# Hyæna

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For other uses, see [Hyaena](/source/Hyaena_(disambiguation)).

1984 studio album by Siouxsie and the Banshees

Hyæna Studio album by Siouxsie and the Banshees Released 8 June 1984 Recorded June 1983 – March 1984 Studio Angel, London Eel Pie, London Power Plant, London Europa Film, Stockholm Genre Post-punk neo psychedelia art pop Length 44:15 Label Polydor Geffen (US) Producer Siouxsie and the Banshees Mike Hedges Siouxsie and the Banshees chronology Nocturne (1983) Hyæna (1984) The Thorn (1984) Siouxsie Sioux chronology Feast the Creatures (1983) Hyæna (1984) The Thorn (1984) Singles from Hyæna "Swimming Horses" Released: 16 March 1984 "Dazzle" Released: 25 May 1984

***Hyæna*** is the sixth studio album by the English [rock](/source/Rock_music) band [Siouxsie and the Banshees](/source/Siouxsie_and_the_Banshees), released on 8 June 1984 by [Polydor Records](/source/Polydor_Records). The opening track, "[Dazzle](/source/Dazzle_(song))", featured strings played by musicians of the [London Symphonic Orchestra](/source/London_Symphonic_Orchestra) (LSO), a 27-piece orchestra called the "Chandos Players";[1] it was scored from a tune that [Siouxsie Sioux](/source/Siouxsie_Sioux) had composed on piano.[2] *Hyæna* is the only studio album that guitarist [Robert Smith](/source/Robert_Smith_(musician)) of [the Cure](/source/The_Cure) composed and recorded with Siouxsie and the Banshees.

In the United States, *Hyæna* was the first Banshees studio album to be released on [Geffen Records](/source/Geffen_Records), which also signed to reissue the rest of the band's catalogue. Before that, "[Dear Prudence](/source/Dear_Prudence#Cover_versions)" had become the band's highest-peaking single in the UK, reaching number 3 in September of the previous year.[3] The song, initially released as a stand-alone single in Europe, was issued in North America in May 1984. Consequently, it was finally added to the track listing of the US album version. *Hyæna* was the first Siouxsie and the Banshees album to enter the *[Billboard 200](/source/Billboard_200)* in the US.[4]

*Hyæna* was reissued on CD in a remastered, expanded edition in 2009. A 180-gram vinyl reissue of the album, remastered from the original 1⁄4-inch tapes and cut half-speed at [Abbey Road Studios](/source/Abbey_Road_Studios) by Miles Showell, was released in December 2018.

## Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [5]

Upon release, *[Melody Maker](/source/Melody_Maker)* wrote a favourable review: "Parts of it are so wistfully carefree that it's impossible not to credit Robert Smith as the [talisman](/source/Talisman) – his irreverence seems to course through everything. 'Take Me Back' is the Banshees rollicking like some primitive jazz combo drunk on the Good Lord's wine. On 'Belladonna', Smith's liquid guitar relaxes Sioux to the extent that she drops a few masks to reveal her vulnerability. When the siren sings 'daylight devours your unguarded hours', she's illuminating her own predicament so acutely it surely can't be coincidence. '[Dazzle](/source/Dazzle_(song))', too, is naively daring: Siouxsie's voice, framed alone against the firmament of strings. ... You can get impressed, wrapped up and lost in this'".[6]

In his retrospective review for [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic), Stephen Cook gave *Hyæna* a 4.5 out of 5-star rating and wrote: "The emphasis here is on layered arrangements and pop tunes disguised as art-house production numbers ("Dazzle"); tasteful horn and keyboard parts expand the group's guitar-dominated sound and provide Siouxsie with an airy and dreamlike backdrop in which to fully display her considerable vocal talents".[5] *[The Rolling Stone Album Guide](/source/The_Rolling_Stone_Album_Guide)* gave a 3 out of 5 rating saying that Smith brought a "surprisingly disciplined influence" to the band, which they recognised in the album's "best cuts: the liquid-mercury 'Dazzle', the sparse 'Swimming Horses', and a lushly appointed cover of the Beatles' 'Dear Prudence'".[7]

When the album was reissued, *[The Quietus](/source/The_Quietus)* praised it saying: "[It was] their most experimental work, Smith's presence is keenly felt on the disciplined execution of the grandiose 'Dazzle' or the starkly seductive '[Swimming Horses](/source/Swimming_Horses)'. But the real treasures were buried deep within the album. The [lysergic](/source/Lysergic) Spaghetti Western twang of 'Bring Me the Head of the [Preacher](/source/Preacher) Man' is evocative in its execution while the densely epic 'Blow the House Down' finds Smith indelibly stamping his mark on the track courtesy of some his [*sic*] finest guitar work".[8]

*Hyæna* was namechecked by [Brett Anderson](/source/Brett_Anderson), the singer of [Suede](/source/Suede_(band)).[9] [James Dean Bradfield](/source/James_Dean_Bradfield) of [Manic Street Preachers](/source/Manic_Street_Preachers) hired producer Hedges because he loved the sound on lead single "Swimming Horses". Bradfield stated: "Swimming Horses' by the Banshees – what a fucking record that is! ... I remember thinking 'You really care about that record. I'm gonna have to chase that record down." He also mentioned the importance of the drums: "I loved ... Banshees records ... where everything starts with the drums".[10] [Stuart Braithwaite](/source/Stuart_Braithwaite) of [Mogwai](/source/Mogwai) selected "Dazzle" when curating a collection of "cinematic music" for BBC radio, saying "this record is so kind of epic and huge".[11]

## Track listing

All music is composed by Siouxsie and the Banshees ([Siouxsie Sioux](/source/Siouxsie_Sioux), [Steven Severin](/source/Steven_Severin), [Budgie](/source/Budgie_(musician)) and [Robert Smith](/source/Robert_Smith_(musician))) except "Belladonna" (Siouxsie, Severin and Budgie).[12]

All lyrics are written by [Siouxsie Sioux](/source/Siouxsie_Sioux), except where noted.

Side one No. Title Lyrics Length 1. "Dazzle" 5:30 2. "We Hunger" 3:31 3. "Take Me Back" 3:03 4. "Belladonna" Steven Severin 4:30 5. "Swimming Horses" 4:06

Side two No. Title Lyrics Length 6. "Bring Me the Head of the Preacher Man" Severin 4:37 7. "Running Town" 4:04 8. "Pointing Bone" Severin 3:49 9. "Blow the House Down" 6:59

US version No. Title Lyrics Music Length 1. "Dazzle" 2. "We Hunger" 3. "Take Me Back" 4. "Belladonna" 5. "Swimming Horses" 6. "Dear Prudence" Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney 7. "Bring Me the Head of the Preacher Man" 8. "Running Town" 9. "Pointing Bone" 10. "Blow the House Down"

2009 CD remastered issue bonus tracks No. Title Lyrics Music Length 10. "Dear Prudence" Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney 11. "Dazzle" (12" Glamour mix) 12. "Baby Piano (Part 1)" 13. "Baby Piano (Part 2)"

The two "Baby Piano" instrumental tracks are, respectively, a short piano demo of "Dazzle" and the string backing to the album version of the song.

## Personnel

**Siouxsie and the Banshees**

- [Siouxsie Sioux](/source/Siouxsie_Sioux) – vocals

- [Steven Severin](/source/Steven_Severin) – electric bass, keyboards

- [Budgie](/source/Budgie_(drummer)) – drums, percussion, marimba

- [Robert Smith](/source/Robert_Smith_(musician)) – guitars, keyboards

**Additional personnel**

- Robin Canter – woodwind

- The Chandos Players – strings

- [Mike Hedges](/source/Mike_Hedges) – production, engineering

- David Kemp – engineering assistance

- Frank Barretta – engineering assistance

- Siouxsie and the Banshees – production

- Maria Penn - paintings

## Charts

Chart performance for Hyæna Chart (1984) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[13] 98 European Albums (Music & Media)[14] 64 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 18 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 50 UK Albums (OCC)[17] 15 US Billboard 200[18] 157

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Billy Chainsaw. "Phase Three Issues Three & Four". *The Siouxsie and the Banshees File [Official magazine]*. 1984.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Billy Chainsaw. "Phase Three Issue Two". *The Siouxsie and the Banshees File [Official magazine]*. 1984.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Brian Johns (1989). Entranced: the Siouxsie and the Banshees story. Omnibus Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7119-1773-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7119-1773-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Allmusic_4-0)** ["Awards Billboard Siouxsie and the Banshees"](https://web.archive.org/web/20111023050448/http://allmusic.com/artist/siouxsie-and-the-banshees-p125670/charts-awards/billboard-albums). [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic). Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2010.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_bot:_original_URL_status_unknown))

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Cook_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Cook_5-1) Stephen Cook. ["Hyaena – Siouxsie and the Banshees"](http://www.allmusic.com/album/hyaena-mw0000203563). *[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)*. Retrieved 3 November 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Melody_Maker_6-0)** Steve Sutherland. "Pedigree Chums [*Hyæna* review]". *[Melody Maker](/source/Melody_Maker)* (9 June 1984).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-RSAlbumGuide_7-0)** Coleman, Mark; Randall, Mac (2004). "Siouxsie and the Banshees". In [Brackett, Nathan](/source/Nathan_Brackett); with Hoard, Christian (eds.). *[The New Rolling Stone Album Guide](/source/The_New_Rolling_Stone_Album_Guide)*. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 740–41. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7432-0169-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7432-0169-8).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-quiet_8-0)** Marszalek, Julian (10 April 2009). ["Siouxsie & the Banshees reissues: A kiss in the Dreamhouse, Nocturne, Hyaena, Tinderbox"](http://thequietus.com/articles/01467-siouxsie-the-banshees-a-kiss-in-the-dreamhouse-nocturne-hyaena-tinderbox-reissues-album-review). *[The Quietus](/source/The_Quietus)*. Retrieved 19 July 2012.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Some Current Fascinations"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130316011411/http://www.brettanderson.co.uk/baculture.swf). *brettanderson.co.uk*. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-autogenerated1_10-0)** Price, Simon (2 June 2016). ["And If You Need An Explanation: Manic Street Preachers interviewed"](http://thequietus.com/articles/20332-manic-street-preachers-everything-must-go-interview-simon-price). *[The Quietus](/source/The_Quietus)*. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Mogwai In The Frame Mogwai"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00281bf). BBC 6 Radio. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025. That was Siouxsie and the Banshees with 'Dazzle'. I love the Banshees,this record is so kind of epic and huge, it is such a brilliant group, I feel lucky that I got to see them a few times

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** "*Hyaena* Siouxsie and the Banshees [Original issue]". Polydor – 821 510-1. 1984. "All songs Dreamhouse / Chappell / A.p.b. except 'Belladonna' – Dreamhouse / Chappell [Picture label notes]". "*Hyaena* Siouxsie and the Banshees [Vinyl reissue]". Polydor – SATBLP08S. 2019. "All tracks published by – Chrysalis Music Limited / Domino Publishing Company Limited / Fiction Songs Limited except 'Belladonna' – Chrysalis / Domino [Picture label notes]".

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [Kent, David](/source/David_Kent_(historian)) (1993). *Australian Chart Book 1970–1992* (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 444. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-646-11917-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-646-11917-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["European Top 100 Albums"](https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/80s/84/M&M-1984-06-18-OCR-Page-0004.pdf) (PDF). *[Eurotipsheet](/source/Music_%26_Media)*. Vol. 1, no. 12. 18 June 1984. p. 12. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [29800226](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/29800226) – via World Radio History.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ac_New_Zealand_Siouxsie_&_the_Banshees_15-0)** "[Charts.nz – Siouxsie & the Banshees – Hyæna](https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Siouxsie+%26+the+Banshees&titel=Hy%E6na&cat=a)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 October 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ac_Sweden_Siouxsie_&_the_Banshees_16-0)** "[Swedishcharts.com – Siouxsie & the Banshees – Hyæna](https://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Siouxsie+%26+the+Banshees&titel=Hy%E6na&cat=a)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 October 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ac_UK2_17-0)** "[Official Albums Chart on 10/6/1984 – Top 100](https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart/19840610/7502/)". [Official Charts Company](/source/Official_Charts_Company). Retrieved 16 October 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Siouxsie & the Banshees Chart History (Billboard 200)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200217000956/https://www.billboard.com/music/siouxsie-the-banshees/chart-history/TLP). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. Archived from [the original](https://www.billboard.com/music/siouxsie-the-banshees/chart-history/TLP) on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2021.

v t e Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie Sioux Steven Severin Marco Pirroni Sid Vicious Kenny Morris Peter Fenton John McKay Budgie Robert Smith John McGeoch John Valentine Carruthers Martin McCarrick Jon Klein Knox Chandler Studio albums The Scream Join Hands Kaleidoscope Juju A Kiss in the Dreamhouse Hyæna Tinderbox Through the Looking Glass Peepshow Superstition The Rapture Live albums Nocturne The Seven Year Itch At the BBC Compilation albums Once Upon a Time/The Singles Twice Upon a Time – The Singles The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees Downside Up Voices on the Air: The Peel Sessions All Souls Extended plays The Thorn The Peel Sessions (1987) The Peel Sessions (1989) Videos/DVDs Nocturne The Seven Year Itch At the BBC The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees Singles "Hong Kong Garden" "The Staircase (Mystery)" "Playground Twist" "Mittageisen" "Happy House" "Christine" "Israel" "Spellbound" "Arabian Knights" "Fireworks" "Slowdive" "Melt!" "Dear Prudence" "Swimming Horses" "Dazzle" "Overground" "Cities in Dust" "Candyman" "This Wheel's on Fire" "The Passenger" "Song from the Edge of the World" "Peek-a-Boo" "The Killing Jar" "The Last Beat of My Heart" "Kiss Them for Me" "Shadowtime" "Fear (of the Unknown)" "Face to Face" "O Baby" "Stargazer" Other songs "Love in a Void" "Red Light" "Tattoo" Related articles Discography Personnel The Creatures The Glove

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hyæna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hy%C3%A6na) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hy%C3%A6na?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.