The two artists turn the 1977 punk classic into an orchestral ballad, and you can only hear it if you watch a commercial for Magnum bars

Enigmatic goth icon Siouxsie Sioux has released her first new recording in nearly a decade โ€” a new cover of Iggy Popโ€™s โ€œThe Passenger,โ€ recorded as a duet with Iggy, for an ice cream commercial.

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Siouxsie is of course plenty familiar with โ€œThe Passenger,โ€ covering the song in 1987 with Siouxsie and the Banshees. The new version is unlike either the bandโ€™s horn-fueled cover, or Iggy Popโ€™s thrumming punk original; instead, itโ€™s a moody, downtempo ballad that erupts with cinematic and orchestral splendor as Siouxsie and Iggy deliver fittingly dramatic vocal performances.

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If you want to hear this new version of โ€œThe Passengerโ€ though, you wonโ€™t find it on any streaming services. For now, itโ€™s only available on YouTube, in the elaborate ad for Magnum ice cream barsโ€™ new โ€œPleasure Expressโ€ campaign. (Get it โ€” express, like a train, passenger, things of that nature?)

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In a press statement, Iggy Pop heaped praise on Siouxsie, saying she โ€œcan sing like a bird,โ€ and adding: โ€œIโ€™ve always thought she was a great lady. Her version of the song was already special, but what happened here, singing together, is really unique. Like โ€˜Volare,โ€™ the orchestral treatment and marriage of voices flies free, in a spirit of joy.


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