Israel (Siouxsie and the Banshees song)

"Israel" is a song by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released as a stand-alone single in 1980 by Polydor Records.

While touring in Europe in autumn 1980, the band wanted to write a Christmas song to be released on time for December of that year. They composed it on the road, which was quite unusual for them. It was the first time that Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin composed a single with guitarist John McGeoch and drummer Budgie.

The song was co-produced by Nigel Gray: it prominently featured a 30 singer Welsh choir on backing vocals. It soon became a classic of their repertoire and was regularly performed during encores at each of their tours.

The song was a favourite of several artists including Air's composer Jean-Benoît Dunckel who selected as one of his 10 all-time favourite songs, and the band Ride who selected it as a song of their intro tape on tour. Producer Howie B. (a frequent collaborator of Björk and Tricky in the 1990s) included it in a list of songs, representing the music he listened to when he grew up in Glasgow.