Shirley Manson

Shirley Manson

Shirley Ann Manson (born August 26, 1966) is a Scottish musician, the lead vocalist of the band Garbage.

Early life

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Manson is the second of three daughters. She has an older sister, Lindy-Jayne and a younger sister, Sarah. Her father is a geneticist and her mother is a former big band singer. At age seven, Shirley began learning the piano, later attending the City of Edinburgh Music School where she also joined the school's theatre group.

At school, she was regularly bullied, and inflicted self harm. Children teased her because of her red hair and large, popping eyes. She sometimes returned home after school bloody and bruised from the bullying. The incessant teasing and bullying led her into a deep depression and drove her to cutting.

Her first experience with music was with the bands Autumn 1904 and Wild Indians. When she was 16, Shirley joined Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie [1], where she sang backup vocals and played the keyboards. She remained in the band for a decade until they split in 1992. After the split, Shirley and two other members of the band formed Angelfish, another band where Shirley sang lead vocals. Angelfish released a self titled album and one single, 'Suffocate Me'.

Music

Garbage

Manson performing with Garbage in 2005.

After seeing 'Suffocate Me' on MTV, Steve Marker was impressed and wanted Shirley to front his band Garbage. After two auditions, Shirley became the lead singer in 1994.

Manson immediately set about re-writing the lyrics to the band's already written songs. The resulting collaborative efforts became Garbage, the band's debut album, which would go on to sell five million copies worldwide, earning double platinum certifications in UK, US and Australia. The album produced hit singles and breakthrough hits such as "Queer", "Stupid Girl", "Only Happy When It Rains" and "Vow".

By the time their second album, Version 2.0, was being recorded in the band's own studio, Manson had become the band's primary lyricist, but was still regarded by many as simply the face of Garbage. As a regular musical contributor and guitarist (her orange Fender Stratocaster is named 'Rita'), she felt great disappointment at the general perception of her role in the group.

After her brief role as a model for Calvin Klein and the confidence that composer David Arnold had shown her while co-producing the theme for James Bond film "The World Is Not Enough", Shirley began to write more self-reflective lyrics, which ended up on the band's third album, beautifulgarbage.

Garbage briefly dissolved in 2003 due to in-fighting. After resolving their problems, they reformed to record their fourth album, Bleed Like Me, which was released in April of 2005. The album reached the top five in the US, and overall sold well around the world.

As of October 2005, Garbage is on an indefinite hiatus due to the fact that the band has been constantly producing and promoting albums and touring for the past decade. According to Manson the current situation between the band's members is "good"[2].

On the 6 July 2006 Garbage concert broadcast on PBS's SoundStage she said: "Thank you, girls! Now go and start some bands, okay?" -- to the young female fans in the front row (who sang and danced along to all the songs).

A curious thing about Shirley is that her speaking voice is completely in a heacy Scottish accent, yet her singing voice is extremely strong in both American vernacular and accent. This has become an annoyance for many European listeners of music.

Solo

Since Garbage is currently on an indefinite hiatus, fans have speculated whether or not Manson will record a solo CD. This issue was finally confirmed on 1 March, 2006, when record producer David Arnold's official website announced that "David has just completed writing and producing with Shirley Manson, lead singer of Garbage, for her new upcoming project". Later, the fan site Garbage Disco Box reported that this project was the writing and recording of a song [3]. Billboard.com reported that she intends to record a solo album but she insists that Garbage has not broken up.

Manson revealed to the Sunday Times in 2 July 2006 [4] that she had contacted Paul Buchanan of Scottish group Blue Nile to write with her for her solo album. "I thought he’d be very moody and introverted, but he’s not like that at all. He’s quite outgoing and charming. Neither of us has ever written with anybody else before. It’s going to be strange. We’ll see how it goes — it could be a complete unmitigated disaster.”

Manson had previously stated on her online journal [5] that "there's nobody quite like Paul Buchanan to bring the bleakness out in me".

Trivia

• Shirley Manson was briefly a model for Calvin Klein's 1999 celebrity musician campaign, which also featured Melissa Auf der Maur and Kim Gordon. It was the first time she would appear in public without makeup.

• On 7 September 1996 Manson married the sculptor Eddie Farrell. They separated in 2001, which led Shirley to cut her hair short and dye it blonde. They are now divorced.

• In 2000, she revealed that she had the condition body dysmorphia, and used to inflict self harm as a teenager [6].

Shirley Manson performing live

• She actively participates in various AIDS charities: one notable occurrence was her appearance alongside Elton John and Mary J. Blige in the MAC Cosmetics' Viva Glam campaign. She is also a patron of the Edinburgh-based charity, Waverley Care, and co-hosted a fundraiser for it in January 2004.

• Manson includes Siouxsie & the Banshees and Frank Sinatra amongst her musical idols, as well as Debbie Harry - with whom she performed in September 2004 at a breast cancer benefit in Los Angeles. They performed two duets - Wayne Wonder's "Bounce Along", and Blondie's "Call Me".

• She spends much of her time at the band's base in Wisconsin, although she does own a house in her native Edinburgh.

• For most of Garbage's career, Shirley Manson was not actually signed to Mushroom/A&E Records - she was still signed to Radioactive Records, home of Angelfish and Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie.

• She supports Hibernian F.C.

• Has no relation to Charles Manson or Marilyn Manson. However, Marilyn and Shirley, met at a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert, and covered Human League's song "Don't You Want Me" which has not been released in any of their respective band's records.

• Manson is close friends with singer Gwen Stefani.

• In 2003, Manson underwent potentially risky surgery to remove a cyst from her vocal cords, which she came through without complications. By the end of the 1990s, she also successfully had a lump removed from one of her breasts.

• Manson is a die-hard fan of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.

• Her father was a member of the research team which cloned Dolly the sheep.

• Shirley appeared in She Wants Revenge's music video, "These Things"

• She delivered the introduction speech for the 2006 induction of Blondie into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

• Will perform at the VH1 Classics event for The Pretenders.

• Interviewed for the upcoming documentary CUT: Teens and Self Injury, by Wendy Schneider.

• Says her favourite album is The Beatles' "The White Album," because she was being masturbated by a close friend when she first heard it.

• Appeared in the show Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "66 Curses" where Space Ghost eats each guest and then his cast but passes on eating Shirley.

External links

• Official Website Garbage
• Shirleyworld - Unofficial Forum
• Shirley Manson at IMDb
• Shirley Manson discography at MusicBrainz
• The Independent:Interview, March 2005