Synopsis

"Red Light" presents Siouxsie and the Banshees in a stark, theatrical studio setting shaped by photography and darkroom imagery. Siouxsie dominates the frame with dramatic makeup and a vivid red-and-yellow appearance, while the band performs against a backdrop of horizontal blinds and shadowy lighting. Superimposed images, camera references, flashes and abrupt visual shifts create the impression of a fashion shoot turning claustrophobic. The performance style mirrors the song's fixation on exposure, voyeurism and the reduction of a person to an image.

Factoids & Trivia

• The promotional video was made in 1980 for the band's third album, "Kaleidoscope," even though "Red Light" was not released as that album's third single.

• The video was filmed on the same day and on the same set as the promo for "Christine." The set was also used for the visual world associated with the "Kaleidoscope" era.

• John McGeoch played guitar on "Kaleidoscope," but he does not appear in the video because he was not yet signed to Polydor at the time. The footage instead presents the lineup of Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin and Budgie.

• The song's recording incorporates a Roland rhythm-machine beat and the sound of a camera-shutter motor rewinding. Those elements are echoed visually through the video's emphasis on cameras, flashes and photographic exposure.

• "Red Light" is one of the more overtly electronic tracks on "Kaleidoscope," with Severin using synthesizers and Budgie building the drum part around the programmed rhythm.

• The song later influenced Santigold's "My Superman," which uses an interpolation of "Red Light."