Peek-a-Boo Lyrics

"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. Melody Maker described it as "a brightly unexpected mixture of black steel and pop disturbance". The song's peculiar sound is due to the recording of the instrumental portion of the song (mostly percussion and an accordion) being backmasked. The song started with a loop in reverse of a brass part that the Banshees previously arranged in 1987 for a cover of John Cale's "Gun". The band liked the sound of the song when played backwards, so they began with the percussion track from Gun and added melody, which was recorded by playing it in reverse. Once the instrumental parts were finished, the recording 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, reaching number 53. 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 film Jeepers Creepers in 2001.