Kiss Them for Me (4:38)

“Kiss Them for Me” is a song written and recorded by English rock band Siouxsie & the Banshees and produced by Stephen Hague. It was released in 1991 as the first single from the band’s tenth studio album Superstition.

Melody Maker praised it at its release : “it’s gorgeous, wicked, glamourous and utterly self-aware. Pretty in pink”.

The song presented a change in musical direction for Siouxsie & the Banshees — adopting a much more straightforward pop-oriented feel than previous efforts, due in large part to Hague’s production work. It is a mid-tempo track with an uplifting melody and South Asian instrumentation, which had become popular in the UK club scene due to the growth of bhangra. The song uses a sample of Schooly D’s “PSK What Does It Mean?” as a background. Even with its positive sound, Siouxsie Sioux’s cryptic lyrics are an ode to actress and sex icon Jayne Mansfield — using the actress’ catchword “divoon”, referring to her heart-shaped swimming pool and her love of champagne and parties, and to the grisly automobile accident which claimed her life in 1967. Kiss Them for Me was also the name of a 20th Century Fox motion picture made in 1957 starring Mansfield and Cary Grant.

“Kiss Them for Me” is Siouxsie & the Banshees’ biggest hit in the United States. It became their second (and to date, last) entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and their first single to hit the top-forty, peaking at number twenty-three. It also became the band’s second chart-topper on the U.S.