Siouxsie and the Banshees “Candyman” 1986. 12″ single. The second single from their album Tinderbox (also 1986), “Candyman” went to #34 on the UK charts. This is quite literally a UK import: we picked this up a couple weeks ago at Flashback Records in London, though I can’t remember if it was from the Islington or Shoreditch location.  Though the song’s subject matter is dark and disturbing (it’s about child abuse: “Candyman – oh candyman/ And all the children, he warns ‘don’t tell,’/ Those threats are sold/ With their guilt and shame they think they’re to blame”), the music is propulsive and upbeat, guitar-forward with a jangle that is reminiscent of ‘86 Smiths (played by recent band addition John Valentine Carruthers, previously of the post-punk industrial band Clock DVA) and an upfront bassline. Side B has two songs: “Lullaby,” a more typically lushly gothic Siouxise composition, and “Umbrella,” which has a fairly heavy industrial vibe. Both of the b-side tracks appear as bonus tracks on the 1986 CD release though not on the vinyl edition.