Released today in 1983: Punish Me With Kisses

Wonderland SHE5

The Glove was a collaboration between Robert Smith and Steve Severin of Siouxsie of The Banshees. The Glove lasted for just one album, Blue Sunshine, from which two singles were taken, all these releases being rather overshadowed by those of Siouxsie and The Banshees and Smith’s other band, The Cure. Just after Blue Sunshine was released, The Banshees had their first Top 10 single for five years when their cover of Dear Prudence reached #3; a few weeks later, The Cure had their first Top 10 hit with The Love Cats. The Glove’s first single was their only hit 45, only making it to #52, and their album was in and out of the charts within a month.

With their Banshees colleagues Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie engaged with their project The Creatures, Smith and Severin recorded demos of songs for The Glove early in 1983. For contractual reasons Smith was unable to take the lead vocals on the commercial recordings of the songs and so a different lead singer was hired to front The Glove. The first single, Like An Animal, received disappointing reviews, but there was greater appreciation for the album Blue Sunshine: “On first hearing I yawned, but now I can’t stop playing it… titles like Punish Me With Kisses indicate much of the feel of Blue Sunshine, with images of blood, masks of grotesque make-up, of illicit tumbles between dirty sheets. Somehow though they escape the dread label ‘pretentious’, probably because the music is so addictive,” ran the review in Record Mirror. “Hear it a few times and see if it doesn’t get you in the same way. It’s really very strange.”

NEW SINGLES on sale from Nov. 18
1983
The GLOVE (Robert Smith) Punish Me With Kisses (Wonderland SHE5)
Howard JONES What Is Love? (WEA HOW2)
MADONNA Holiday (Sire W9405)
PRETENDERS 2000 Miles (Real ARE20)
1985
BRONSKI BEAT Hit That Perfect Beat (Forbidden Fruit BITE6)
Nik KERSHAW When A Heart Beats (MCA NIK9)