"Mittageisen" is a song by English rock bandSiouxsie and the Banshees. It originally appeared on the band's 1978 debut album The Scream as "Metal Postcard "; the track was re-recorded in 1979, this time with the lyrics sung in German, and released as a single in West Germany with "Love in a Void" on the b-side. Later in September of that year the single was given a UK release by record label Polydor.
Content and sleeve
The title "Mittageisen" is a word play based on the German words "Mittagessen" and Eisen. The title was inspired by antinaziGerman artist John Heartfield's photocollageHurrah, die Butter ist Alle!, which was also used as the single's cover art. Heartfield's photocollage was initially used on the front page of the German magazine Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung, published on 19 December 1935. The artist was an early member of Club Dada, which started in 1916 as Cabaret Voltaire in Zürich. The picture with the title "Hurrah, die Butter ist Alle! / Hurray, the butter is finished!" shows a family who eats various pieces of metal. The trigger for it was the following quote from Hermann Göring: "Iron always made a nation strong, butter and lard only made the people fat".
Writing and recording
"Mittageisen" was composed by Siouxsie Sioux, John McKay, Kenny Morris and Steven Severin; the lyrics were translated into German by their manager Dave Woods and a woman named Renate. The single was dedicated to John Heartfield. The B-side, "Love in a Void", was composed by Severin and previous Banshees guitarist Peter Fenton. The track was an early live favourite; it was also the first song of their first John Peel session, recorded in late November 1977. "Love in a Void" had not been recorded for Polydor until this release.
Release
"Mittageisen" was released in September 1979 as a single in the United Kingdom by Polydor Records. The record was promoted as a double A-side release at the time, but only "Mittageisen" charted on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 47. Nevertheless, "Love in a Void"—but not "Mittageisen"—was included on the band's 1981 singles compilation , which compiled all their A-sides up to that time, and later on the 2006 remastered edition of Join Hands. Putative A-side "Mittageisen" later appeared on the band's B-side compilation Downside Up.
"Mittageisen" was covered and sampled by Massive Attack as "Superpredators " in 1997 for the soundtrack to the film The Jackal. The b-side "Love in a Void" was heavily sampled by rapper Akala in a version retitled "Love in my Eyes" on the albumFreedom Lasso in 2007. "Love in a Void" was also covered by metal bandDarkthrone on the ep Too Old Too Cold in 2006, and was featured on the soundtrack of the 2016 film 20th Century Women.
Track listing
All tracks produced by Nils Stevenson and Mike Stavrou.
