Shakespears Sister
| Shakespears Sister | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Pop, synthpop, rock |
| Years active | 1988–1996, 2009–present |
| Labels | FFRR/London (1988–1996) SF (2009–present) |
| Website | shakespearssister.co.uk |
| Members | |
| Siobhan Fahey | |
| Past members | |
| Marcella Detroit (1989–1993) | |
Shakespears Sister/Shakespear's Sister (both spellings are in use, as detailed below) is a British-based synth-pop-rock band formed by Irish-born singer–songwriter Siobhan Fahey in 1988, with plaudits including a BRIT Award and Ivor Novello Award. It was Fahey's first musical outing since leaving Bananarama, and initially a solo project. American backing vocalist and guitarist Marcella Detroit began working with Fahey in 1989 which led to a partnership and Shakespear's Sister became a duo as of their 1989 hit single "You're History". After a string of hit singles and two successful albums, tensions between Fahey and Detroit led to a split in 1993. Fahey resumed as the sole member until 1996. In 2009, after a 13-year hiatus, Fahey resurrected the band to release a new album, Songs from the Red Room.
Contents |
[edit] Name
The band's name was adapted from the title of the song "Shakespeare's Sister" by The Smiths, which was in turn a reference to Virginia Woolf's work A Room of One's Own. The precise spelling and punctuation of the band's name has evolved over the years, initially losing the final "e" from "Shakespeare" when a friend made a woodcut logo for Fahey with the name carved as "Shakespear", a once common spelling of Shakespeare's name. The apostrophe, originally appropriately placed, was used on the cover art of early releases including the album Sacred Heart and reappeared on the later Best of compilation; although it has often been dispensed with since, both versions of the band's name (i.e. with or without apostrophe) may be found in official documentation pertaining to the band, including cover artwork.
[edit] History
[edit] 1988–1990: Sacred Heart
Originally conceived as a Fahey solo project, Shakespear's Sister's first release was the double A-sided single "Break My Heart (You Really)"/"Heroine" in October 1988. In 1989, with Shakespear's Sister now presented as a duo of Fahey with Marcella Detroit, the next single, "You're History", became a top-ten hit in the UK. The debut album, Sacred Heart, also went top ten, though two follow-up singles "Run Silent" and "Dirty Mind", both remixed for release, were less successful.
[edit] 1991–1993: Hormonally Yours
Shakespears Sister returned in October 1991 with the release of the single "Goodbye Cruel World", which peaked at number 59 in the UK Singles Chart. However, in January 1992, the duo released what would become their biggest hit single, "Stay". The single reached number one in the UK, and remained there for eight weeks. It was also a six-week number one in Ireland, and became their biggest US hit, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The success of the single was enhanced by a campy, futuristic music video directed by Sophie Muller.
The duo released their second album, Hormonally Yours, in February 1992. The album, named so because both women were pregnant during its recording, was a critical and commercial success, peaking at number three in the UK Albums Chart (and spending approximately one year on the chart altogether). Further singles "I Don't Care", "Hello (Turn Your Radio On)", a re-release of "Goodbye Cruel World" and "My 16th Apology" were also released from the album. The album itself was re-released in late 1992 with slightly different mixes of certain tracks. The album was certified Double Platinum by the BPI in February 1993 for selling over 600,000 copies.
After a year-long worldwide tour throughout 1992, Fahey cancelled further European touring due to physical and emotional exhaustion and subsequently admitted herself into a psychiatric unit with severe depression.[citation needed] Following this, Shakespear's Sister were nominated for several BRIT Awards, including best group, best album, best video, best single and best female artist (for Fahey). They won Best Video for "Stay", which was voted for by the British public. At the 1993 Ivor Novello Awards it was announced that Fahey and Detroit had split. Fahey was not present at the awards due to personal problems[citation needed], however Detroit was present and was unaware of the split until the public announcement. According to Detroit, the pair have occasionally been in touch via e-mail since, but have not met in person since 1993.[1]
[edit] 1994–1996
Fahey continued as Shakespears Sister by herself, and in 1994 she recorded "Prehistoric Daze" for the soundtrack to the film The Flintstones as well as "Waiting" for the Sadie Frost/Jude Law film Shopping.
In 1996, Fahey resurfaced again as Shakespears Sister with "I Can Drive", a single picked by the record company from her forthcoming third album, instead of Fahey's choice of "Do I Scare You". After the single peaked at number 30, London Records declined to release the full album. Fahey later parted company with the label, and the album remained unreleased for almost a decade. 1996 also marked Fahey's divorce from Dave Stewart, whom she had married in 1987.
[edit] 2003–2005: #3, The Best of Shakespear's Sister and Long Live the Queens!
In 2003, Fahey regained the master tapes for the unreleased album #3, which had been recorded in 1995–1996. The album was finally given an independent release in 2004 on Fahey's own record label, SF Records. A greatest hits CD–DVD retrospective (The Best of Shakespears Sister) was also released in late 2004, containing all of the group's singles and music videos, as well as tracks intended for the #3 album. An additional compilation album, Long Live the Queens!, featuring a track listing of remixes and B-sides, was released in late 2005.
[edit] 2009–present: Songs from the Red Room
Fahey began writing new songs with former Shakespears Sister backing band members Clare Kenny and Stephen Gallifant in 2000, with the intention of creating her first solo album under her own name. The album was originally due to be released in 2000, and then again in 2005 with the title 'Bad Blood'.[2] However, both releases were cancelled.
The album was announced again on Fahey's official MySpace in February 2008,[3] and a release date was given in October 2009, along with the album's track list[4] It was also revealed that the album would be released under the Shakespears Sister name instead of Fahey's own name.
Now titled Songs from the Red Room, the album was finally released on 16 November 2009, on Fahey's own label, SF Records.[5] Fahey performed her first live show in over a decade as Shakespears Sister in Hoxton, London on 20 November 2009,[6] and she concluded a short UK tour in April 2010.[7]
The first Shakespears Sister single since 1996 ("It's a Trip") was released on 29 March 2010. It was released in EP form and included several remixes, as well as special bonus tracks. A physical release of Songs from the Red Room in the U.S. went ahead on 12 April 2010, followed by a deluxe edition double-CD with 8 bonus tracks on 3 May in the UK.[8]
A DVD accompanying the album, titled S.F.T.R.R: Videos, featuring promo clips and live tracks, was released in November 2010, and limited to only 100 copies and sold exclusively via Fahey's official website.
In November 2010, Shakespears Sister's biggest hit "Stay", re-entered the UK Chart nearly 19 years after its original release, it had been performed on The X Factor and reached No 12 on the UK Official Chart and went into the Top 10 in Ireland.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Bananarama, the Shakespears Sister version of "Really Saying Something" was released as a limited edition single and digital download. During the same week, a new EP entitled "Dancing Barefoot" was released which includes a cover of the Patti Smith song of the same name along with other previously unreleased tracks.
In September 2011 Shakespears Sister's third album #3 was remastered and expanded and re-released through the Shakespears Sister official website as a limited edition. To commemorate the re-release of #3, the single "Do I Scare You?", a collabration with the late Billy Mackenzie of the Associates was released. Fahey confirmed that the fifth Shakespears Sister studio album would be released in time for Christmas 2011.[citation needed] The new album is titled Cosmic Dancer and consists of studio tracks recorded over the last several years.
[edit] Discography
[edit] References
- ^ "faq Marcella Detroit". Marcella Detroit. http://www.marcella-detroit.com/info/faq.html. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ^ "Message Board - Album Tracklisting". Siobhanfahey-realm.proboards.com. http://siobhanfahey-realm.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=talk&action=display&thread=411. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ^ "long time coming - MySpace-blog | van Shakespears Sister". Blogs.myspace.com. 2008-02-27. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=29292239&blogId=361981837. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ^ "Songs From The Red Room by Shakespears Sister @ Cargo Records". Cargorecords.co.uk. 2009-11-16. http://www.cargorecords.co.uk/release/9913. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ^ "Shakespear's Sister on Spoonfed - Things to do in London". Spoonfed.co.uk. http://www.spoonfed.co.uk/spooners/gina-louise-5191/shakespears-sister-1662/. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ^ —Tim Blanks (2009-11-24). "Siobhan Fahey’s Back And Better Than Ever: style file: daily fashion, party, and model news". Style.com. http://www.style.com/stylefile/2009/11/siobhan-faheys-back-and-better-than-ever/. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ^ Shepherd, Fiona. "Interview: Siobhan Fahey - 'Why should you stop if you're still inspired?' - The Scotsman". Thescotsman.scotsman.com. http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/Interview-Siobhan-Fahey--39Why.6004492.jp. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ^ "The Return Of Shakespears Sisters". Entertainment Focus. 2010-02-13. http://www.entertainment-focus.com/news/the-return-of-shakespears-sisters. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
[edit] External links
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