Siiiii (pronounced 'sigh'), is a British

goth Goth or Goths may refer to: * Goths, a Germanic people Arts and entertainment * Gothic rock or goth, a style of rock music * Goth subculture, developed by fans of gothic rock * ''Goth'' (2003 film), an American horror film * ''Goth'' (2008 f ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band formed in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, England, in 1983, taking their name from the

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

novel ''

The Soft Machine ''The Soft Machine'' is a 1961 novel by American author William S. Burroughs. It was originally composed using the cut-up technique partly from manuscripts belonging to '' The Word Hoard''. It is the first part of ''The Nova Trilogy''. Title a ...

''.

Early years

Siiiii was formed in the 1983 when singer Paul Devine answered an ad in ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' to join Mark (guitar) and Angie Holmes (bass) of Sheffield bands Fatales and Surface Mutants as well as Wayne Furniss, drummer and guitarist for

Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...

. Siiiii quickly became known in the UK goth scene, gigging with influential bands such as Skeletal Family,

The March Violets The March Violets are an English post-punk/gothic rock band formed in 1981 in Leeds, incorporating male & female singers, drum machine rhythms and echo-laden electric guitar, much in the style of fellow Leeds band the Sisters of Mercy. Seven Ma ...

, Inca Babies, and

The Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of bassist and vocalist Mark Burgess (now known as Vox), guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer Jo ...

. During this time, Siiiii attracted the attention of

Mick Mercer Mick Mercer (born Michael Mercer, 19 July 1957) is a journalist and author best known for his books, photos and reviews of the goth and punk scenes. Life and work Mercer is primarily a writer focused on the Gothic rock scene that emerged fro ...

, who was then editor of

ZigZag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...

. Mercer wrote favorably of the band and documented them in photographs, which would later appear in his book "Gothic Rock Black Book". Siiiii recorded several tracks and gained favorable reviews for their performances, however, they were unable to attract a label and disbanded in 1986. Mark Holmes went on to perform and record with

The Anti-Group The Anti-Group Communications (often referred to as The Anti-Group or T.A.G.C.) is an open-membership collaborative art and information project formed in 1978 by Adi Newton and Steven Turner. The T.A.G.C. acronym refers to the four different t ...

2005–present

In 2005, the band regrouped to compile ''Ancient'', an archival release of demos recorded during the band's initial period of activity. This compilation was released originally on their own King Sol Records label. Following the release of Ancient, Siiiii played the last ever Drop Dead Festival in New York, then followed up with a number of European shows. A live album, ''Ein Verdammtes Versprechen'', was recorded in Germany in 2008 and given a limited release on the band's King Sol Records. In 2014, Siiiii released ''Modern'', a studio album of new material, recorded in Manchester, Sheffield and Glastonbury.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official websiteMickmercer.comAnteriorresearch.comSiiiii biography on Discogs.com
English punk rock groups English gothic rock groups English post-punk music groups Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups from Sheffield