Shirley Manson
Shirley Manson
Shirley Ann Mansonis a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She is the lead singer of the alternative rock band Garbage. For much of her international career Manson commuted between her home city of Edinburgh and the United States to record with Garbage; she now lives and works in Los Angeles. Manson gained media attention for her forthright style, rebellious attitude and distinctive voice...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth26 August 1966
CityEdinburgh, Scotland
I don't think I have seen a single green vegetable in three months, so I just need to get my life into some sort of sense of control,
I don't really see where I fit into that group, but I'm very flattered. I think, though, all of us women, regardless of how different we are as artists, come from a similar place in terms of how we view our role as a female musician. All of us are pretty feisty. And I think that that's what people identify with. Because there seem to be so few women right now who are interested in having an opinion. Having something to say. Trying to do things a little differently. Refusing to take our clothes off to further our careers.
I don't think we feel Garbage will ever be completely over. It's part of our lives, we still all get on well and love each other. We're taking a hiatus, I don't know if we're calling it a day. I don't think I'll ever make music with another band.
Being a singer, being a performer, you have tricks, somehow, to calm yourself when things feel a little overwhelming. I don't do breathing exercises, per se, but I definitely have to have a sort of internal word with myself before things got completely out of hand and I fainted on the floor.
It is so hard for musicians when they step into acting is they're not coming in as a blank slate, they're coming in with a real set idea of who they are, where they're coming from, what their politics are, what their tastes are.
Here's the tragedy of the modern record business: It's radio. If you're not on radio, nobody really is going to hear you or see you or care about you.
Everybody's trying to be the biggest, because if you're not the biggest, you don't survive.
I've always been an outsider. I am an outsider in Garbage. I'm the odd one out by default.
Obviously, from the experience you get from making videos, you understand where the camera is and how some of the actual technicalities work and so on and so forth.
We should never listen to our feelings. They lead us astray.
I'm 41, I'm a woman not a kid. I have no interest in making silly pop music.
I was always embarrassed because my dad wore a suit and my mother wore flat pumps and a cozy jumper while my friends' parents were punks or hippies.
I wanted to put out a solo record because I was stuck on a major label and sick of it.
I've got a lot of stamina and I enjoy people, so having lots of people around doesn't freak me out.