Side A of this 12″ single is an extended cut of “Peek-A-Boo,” the “Silver Dollar Mix” which doubles the track’s length with synthpop elements and extra industrial stomp and swagger. Side B has the single version of “Peek-A-Boo” plus “False Face,” an all-out rocker, and Catwalk,” which is almost as crazed as its A-side: a weirdly slinky instrumental with purrs, howls and whispers.

“Peek-A-Boo” was not without controversy. From Allmusic: “The lyrics, spat by Siouxsie Sioux in one of her most cutting performances, are considerably less light-hearted, being a biting condemnation of the use of sexual imagery in advertising and marketing, comparing shopping to a visit to a sleazy sexual arcade. The group were later sued by the estates of Harold Warren and Johnny Mercer for including the mangled couplet “Golly jeepers, where’d you get those weepers/Peepshow, creepshow, where did you get those eyes,” which was ruled too close to the chorus of the old pre-rock standard “Jeepers Creepers” for comfort; the songwriters were later added to the credits.”

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Peepshow is a mesmerizing masterpiece, a mix of gloom/doom and danceable alt-pop perfection. The album made it to #20 in the UK and #68 in the US in ‘88.  “The Killing Jar” (#41 UK singles chart, #2 US Modern Rock Tracks chart) is bleak in content and dense in orchestration. “Scarecrow” is brilliant and terrifying. “Carousel” takes the classic organ music from the amusement ride and shifts it to something beyond dark and demented, all the while Siouxsie’s clear voice soars hauntingly above the swirl (Its motor whirrs and colors curl, inside your head the monsters whirl).  Melody Maker described “The Last Beat of My Heart” as “the highlight [of the album], where Siouxsie’s voice explores new ground as she caresses a haunting melody.“  Peepshow concludes with the operatic and majestic ballad “Rhapsody.”

Upbeat dancing fun also shines on Peepshow with “Burn Up” (though not too sunny: All fire and brimstone/The jack o’ lantern/He likes to watch the buildings burn) and the record’s biggest hit, “Peek-a-Boo,” which reached #16 on the UK singles chart and #1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. I love “Peek-a-Boo,” a song that gets included on many of my mixes. Every time I hear it I think back to ‘88 and ‘89 when I was a senior in high school. My look back then was somewhere between punk, ska and hippie and I always rocked enormous black platform shoes, often in patent leather, sometimes with silver buckles and studs. My friend Mitzi would take great delight in singing, in the “Peek-a-Boo” melody while pointing at my shoes, “Golly jeepers, where’d you get those creepers? Peepshow creepshow where did you get those shoes?”

Not my actual shoe, but you get the idea.

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