Peek-a-Boo (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Peek-a-Boo


Artist = Siouxsie & the Banshees
from Album = Peepshow
B-side = "False Face", "Catwalk"
Released = July 11, 1988
Format = 7" single, 12" single
Recorded = 1988
Genre = Alternative rock
Length =
Label = Polydor (UK)
Geffen (U.S.)
Writer = Siouxsie & the Banshees Harry Warren Johnny Mercer
Producer = Siouxsie & the Banshees
Last single = "Song from the Edge of the World" (1987)
This single = "Peek-a-Boo" (1988)
Next single = "The Killing Jar" (1988)

"Peek-a-Boo" is a song written, produced and recorded by English rock band Siouxsie & the Banshees. It was released in 1988 as the first single from the band's ninth studio album "Peepshow".

The song's unique instrumentation (mostly percussion and an accordion) is a result of much of the track's instrumentation being backmasked. The Banshees learned to play the song backwards and then, once recorded, the track was played back in reverse and Sioux sang her lyrics over it. "Peek-a-Boo" has become one of Siouxsie & the Banshees' most recognizable and popular singles and it also was the first time the band entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song was very popular on alternative rock radio and received heavy play on MTV.

"Peek-a-Boo" became Siouxsie & the Banshees' fifth top-twenty UK hit, peaking at number sixteen in the UK singles chart. In September 1988, "Billboard" magazine premiered a new Modern Rock Tracks chart which measures radio airplay on U.S. modern rock stations. "Peek-a-Boo" was the chart's first number-one song.

A minor controversy ensued after the single's release as the lines to the chorus "("...Golly jeepers / Where'd you get those peepers? / Peepshow, creepshow / Where did you get those eyes?...")" were found to be too similar to the lyrics in the 1938 song "Jeepers Creepers". To remedy the situation and to avoid legal action, Siouxsie & the Banshees gave co-songwriting credit on "Peek-a-Boo" to Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer, the creators of "Jeepers Creepers".

Sir Mix-a-Lot used a sample of "Peek-a-Boo" in his song "The (Peek-a-Boo) Game" from his 1989 album "Seminar".The song also appeared briefly in the movie Jeepers Creepers in 2001.

Charts