Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Shakespears Sister Ride Again with All The Queen's Horses

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Shakespears Sister is back to being the duo of Siobhan Fahey and Marcella Detroit. They haven't been a duo in 27 years! They are back with a new single, best-of album in July, and a UK tour in November.



Now if you aren't familiar with Shakespears Sister, we'll walk you through their history. Siobhan Fahey was an original member of Bananarama. She left during the promotion of their fourth album WOW! in 1988. She decided to go solo, but instead of using her name, she chose the name Shakespear's Sister (notice the misspelling of Shakespeare and the apostrophe, which would later disappear).


Sacred Heart in 1989

During recording her debut album called Sacred Heart, Siobhan met Marcella Detroit. Marcella was a singer/songwriter with a solo album under her belt. She had worked with many artists, one Eric Clapton who Marcella help write "Lay Down Sally." Siobhan and Marcella hit it off and started writing together. With Siobhan singing in her lower register, and Marcella singing with a very high voice, both complemented each other and Shakespear's Sister suddenly wasn't a solo project but a duo. Siobhan was the lead singer, Marcella played guitar and did backing vocals.

Their debut album featured the singles ...






"Heroine" in 1988


"You're History" in 1989 
(#7 in the UK , #8 in Sweden, #12 in Ireland, and #20 in Australia)


"Run Silent" in 1989 
(#54 in the UK and #47 in Australia)



"Dirty Mind" in 1990 
(#71 in the UK and #65 in Australia)


Hormonally Yours in 1992

During the recording of their second album, both Siobhan and Marcella were pregnant, thus they named the album Hormonally Yours. For most of the album, Siobhan sang lead vocals with Marcella on backing vocals. However, there was one song with Marcella on lead. It was called "Stay" and it was a #1 hit in the UK for 8 weeks, and their only top 10 hit in the US. The album contained the following singles (note: Most of the singles, the apostrophe was dropped from the band's name) ...




"Goodbye Cruel World" in 1991/1992
1991 release: #59 in the UK, 1992 re-release: #32 in the UK)



"Stay" in 1992

(#1 in the UK for 8 weeks, #1 in Ireland and Sweden, #2 in Switzerland, #3 in Australia and Germany, #4 in Austria and the US, #5 in New Zealand and #28 in The Netherlands)



"I Don't Care" in 1992

(#7 in the UK, #10 in Ireland, #11 in New Zealand, #18 in Australia, #28 in Switzerland, #29 in Austria, #34 in Germany, #38 in Sweden, #55 in the US, and #57 in the The Netherlands)




(#9 in Switzerland, #12 in Germany, #14 in the UK, #20 in Sweden, #27 in Ireland, #33 in The Netherlands, and #43 in New Zealand)




(#61 in the UK, #63 in Germany)

During the promotion of the second album, there were personal conflicts between Siobhan and Marcella. At the 1993 Ivor Novello Awards, the group won for Best Contemporary Collection of Songs. Marcella attended the event, but Siobhan didn't. When the award was given, Siobhan's publicist read Siobhan's acceptance speech on stage with Marcella in which Siobhan dismissed Marcella from the group wishing all the best for the future: "all's well that ends well."


Jewel in 1994

That didn't keep Marcella down. She quickly recorded and released a new solo album called Jewel in 1994. It contained 3 UK top 40 hits, one was even a duet with Elton John.




"I Believe" in 1994
(#11 in the UK, #10 in Australia)


"Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing" in 1994
(#24 in the UK)


"I'm No Angel" in 1994
(#33 in the UK)


"Perfect World" in 1995
(#134 in the UK)

In June of 1996, both Marcella and Shakespears Sister would have singles out. First up was Marcella with a track called "I Hate You Now." It was not a success. "I Can Drive" by Shakespears Sister was released about 2 weeks later and went to #30 in the UK.




(#107 in the UK)


(#30 in the UK)


Feeler in 1996

Marcella released another album that September called Feeler. It had 3 more singles, but none of them were hits: 








#3 from 1996

Even though Siobhan had recorded a new Shakespears Sister album called #3, the record label dropped her and the album was shelved until Siobhan got the rights to release it in 2004 on her own label.


Dancing Madly Sideways in 2001

In 2001, Marcella released an album called Dancing Madly Sideways, which featured the single "Lust For Like."

"Lust For Like" in 2001

In 2002, Siobhan released a single called "Bitter Pill" under her own name. It was an awesome electro song. The Pussycat Dolls later recorded it but they added the Donna Summer chorus and the title was called "Hot Stuff (I Want You Back)."


"Bitter Pill" in 2002

In 2005, Siobhan released 2 more singles under her given name ...




"Pulsatron" in 2005


"Bad Blood" in 2005


Songs From The Red Room in 2009

These 3 songs by Siobhan would eventually find their way onto the next Shakespears Sister album in 2009 called Songs From The Red RoomThe album would have a single out in 2010 called "It's A Trip."



"It's A Trip" in 2010

Marcella released a few more albums over the years. Poptastic Confessions has highlighted 2 of her songs from her album Gray Matterz, and her song with Parralox. 




"Drag Queen" in 2015


"Paradise" with Parralox in 2018

Cosmic Dancer in 2011

Siobhan also released some Shakespears Sister compilation albums, including a Best Of, and one called Cosmic Dancer. Also in 2011, she covered "Really Saying Something", which was also a song she sang with Bananarama in 1982.



Siobhan had a song out in 2016 with Titan called "Hell.A.", which was also featured in Poptastic Confessions.

Throughout the years, Marcella would try to reach out to Siobhan, but Siobhan wouldn't answer. The pair went 26 years without talking. In 2017, Siobhan reunited for a reunion tour with Bananarama. They actually wrote and recorded a new song for the reunion, but it was scrapped for some unknown reason. And no new music came out of the reunited trio. Bananarama decided after the reunion tour, that they wanted to continue as a duo as they already had their next album (In Stereo) finished.


Bananarama in 2017: Keren, Siobhan, and Sara

Perhaps it was the reunion with Bananarama that inspired Siobhan to finally reach out to Marcella. They met up and worked out their differences from 26 years ago, and fans have been speculating and comeback from the duo ever since.


Singles Party in 2019

Now, they are back together. They have a new song called "All The Queen's Horses" and a new best-of album called Singles Party, and a tour in November. So what is the new song like? Well, it's a bit of a western number with lyrics about the pair's relationship. The video was directed by Sophie Muller, who directed a lot of the previous Shakespears Sister videos. The new video shows Siobhan and Marcella haven't lost their sense of humor. Have a look ...



Wasn't that nice? "All The Queen's Horses" is out on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! And preorder the Singles Party collection. We've added the new song to our 2019 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. Enjoy!~



Cheers then,
—Davearama

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