"Dazzle" is a song by the English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...

. It was released on 25 May 1984 by

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

as the second single from their sixth studio album, ''

Hyæna ''Hyæna'' is the sixth studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released on 8 June 1984 by Polydor Records. The opening track, "Dazzle", featured strings played by musicians of the London Symphonic Orchestra (LSO), a 27-pi ...

''.

Content

The song begins with a gradual fade-in of an orchestral string section and progresses to a drum-driven, majestic anthem. The lyrics "swallowing diamonds/A cutting throat" were derived from the final scene of '' Marathon Man'' where

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

puts diamonds in his mouth. Siouxsie's vocals are accentuated by expansive reverb effects. The string section piece that opens the track was actually called "Baby Piano" (a rough piano demo and the finished string section version were both included as bonus tracks on the 2009 reissue of ''Hyæna''). The strings arrangements were scored by

Martin McCarrick Martin McCarrick (born 29 July 1962) is an English cellist, keyboardist, guitarist and composer, best known for being a member of Siouxsie and the Banshees for seven years, from 1987 until 1995. Aside from being a live and recording artist, he ...

who would become an official member of the Banshees in 1987. A section of the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

then recorded it.

Release

"Dazzle" was released in a shorter and slightly different radio edit version on 25 May 1984 by Polydor Records as the second single from the band's sixth studio album, ''Hyæna''. It climbed to number 33 on the UK Singles Chart and was Siouxsie and the Banshees' 11th top 40 UK hit.

References

{{authority control 1984 singles Siouxsie and the Banshees songs Song recordings produced by Mike Hedges 1984 songs Polydor Records singles Songs written by Siouxsie Sioux Songs written by Budgie (musician) Songs written by Steven Severin Songs written by Robert Smith (musician)