Budgie from Siouxsie and the Banshees announces memoirs, ‘The Absence: Memoirs of a Banshee Drummer’
Budgie, the former drummer with Siouxsie and the Banshees, has announced details of his upcoming memoir, The Absence: Memoirs of a Banshee Drummer.
Budgie, real name Peter Edward Clarke, first rose to public prominence as a member of Big in Japan and The Stilts, before joining Siouxsie and the Banshees. Initially, Clarke was only brought in to perform with the band for a tour, but his time with the band would go on to define his life and career. Significantly, he later married Siouxsie Sioux in 1991 until 2007.
The press release explains the emotional theme that runs throughout The Absence: Memoirs of a Banshee Drummer: “Growing up in working class St Helens in the 1960s, Peter Clarke lost his mum as a young boy and it’s her ‘absence’ that haunts the pages of this book. Disenchanted with art school in Liverpool, Peter became Budgie and befriended the likes of Jayne Casey, Holly Johnson, Pete Burns, Bill Drummond and other luminaries of the legendary Eric’s’ Club, before taking off for London and the big city heat of punk.”
Clarke’s story also focuses on the substance abuse issues that have marred his life, as the synopsis explains, “The beating heart of this painfully honest and frank account of a life often sabotaged by substance abuse and alcohol is, of course, his long-term position as Siouxsie and The Banshees’ drummer and co-writer alongside ex-lover, and ex-wife, Siouxsie Sioux.”
In a statement, Budgie admitted he is somewhat scared of sharing the unflinchingly honest account of his life, remarking, “Damned if you do, denied if you don’t. To remember, revisit and to write, was traumatic and cathartic. To be published? Terrifying! I prepared my apologies, and anticipated rejection. I received mostly love, understanding, and affection. To those still hurting from the way things were, I can only empathise.”
Meanwhile, publisher Lee Brackstone of White Rabbit said: “The Absence is Budgie’s story: a native of St Helens, a crucial figure on the Liverpool scene, the only man in The Slits and then, of course, the beating heart of Siouxsie and the Banshees in their Imperial Phase in the Goth-Pop Eighties. An insider’s account of life inside a band that left a legacy like no other, this is a book that hits as hard as its author did on their most celebrated tracks and required reading for anyone with an interest in the band and their extraordinary legacy.”
The Absence: Memoirs of a Banshee Drummer will be published in June 2025 via White Rabbit and will be available in hardback and ebook. It’s available to pre-order here.
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