Scissor Sisters

Scissor Sisters
Origin	New York, New York, United States
Genre(s)	Glam rock Alternative Pop
Years active	2000 - present
Label(s)	Polydor Universal Records ITV1 Warner Bros. Records Jive Records Nonesuch Motown
Website	http://www.scissorsisters.com/
Members
Jake Shears Babydaddy Ana Matronic Del Marquis Paddy Boom

The Scissor Sisters are an American alternative band who formed in 2001. Their style draws from disco, glam rock and pop of New York City.

Beginning

The group was named after a sex position between two women (tribadism). While experiencing only limited mainstream success in their native USA, the band has been hugely successful in Europe, Canada, Australia, and particularly in the UK (Which they often say is their "spiritual home"), where they have achieved a number of chart hits, as well as their debut album becoming the best-selling album of 2004 in that country. Their single "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" was the fourth best selling single in the UK in 2006 and stayed in the UK top 40 for 27 weeks.

Line-up

The members of the band:

• Jake Shears (born Jason Sellards) – vocals
• Babydaddy (born Scott Hoffman) – bass guitar, keyboards, vocals, guitar
• Ana Matronic (born Ana Lynch) – vocals, 'Mistress of Ceremonies'
• Del Marquis (born Derek Gruen) – guitar, bass guitar
• Paddy Boom (born Patrick Seacor) – drums, electronic drums, percussion

Live shows and performances have included John "JJ" Garden, son of Graeme Garden of The Goodies, on keyboards and guitar.

History

Early career (2001–2003)

The core of the band formed in 2000 when Shears met Babydaddy while visiting a friend in Kentucky. They began to play music together and were generally poorly received. After moving to New York City, the duo met Ana Matronic at a cabaret on Halloween, when she was dressed as an Andy Warhol factory reject, and Shears was dressed as a "late-term, back-alley abortion". The group soon began playing gigs, and they met Del Marquis while Jake Shears was still working as a stripper at a club called IC-Guyz. After becoming a quartet, the band was signed to independent record label "A Touch of Class", and recorded a single, "Electrobix", which had as its B-side a disco/glam cover of the Pink Floyd classic, "Comfortably Numb".^[1] Paddy Boom joined the band after they placed a classified ad looking for a drummer and, though a drum machine was used for the majority of the first album (much of it was completed before he joined), he now performs drums/percussion, live and on recordings.

Debut album and breakthrough success (2003–2005)

Their cover of "Comfortably Numb" became noticed in the UK when it was picked up by underground DJs in electroclubs. The Cock club night at London Queer alternative venue Ghetto staged their first British gig at this time. The song later came to the attention of British label Polydor, who signed them to a contract.

The group's first single for the label, "Laura", had a limited release in 2003 (reaching #54 in the UK Singles Chart), receiving little attention with the exceptions of British music paper New Musical Express, Channel 4's entertainment programme V Graham Norton and same channel's music programme Popworld for which they were interviewed. The track also garnered plenty of radio play in Australia. 2003 also saw the inclusion of the atmospheric "It Can't Come Quickly Enough" on the soundtrack of the film Party Monster; the song played over its ending credits.

Their first hit was in 2004 with the release of "Comfortably Numb" (reaching #10 in the UK), featuring Paul Leschen on piano and keyboards. This success was followed by fan favourite "Take Your Mama" (#17 in the UK), a re-release of "Laura" (#12 in the UK), the ballad "Mary" (#14 in the UK), and the gay/hedonist anthem "Filthy/Gorgeous" (#5 in the UK).

All the singles came from the eponymous debut album Scissor Sisters, which reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart and became the best selling album of 2004, beating Keane's Hopes and Fears by just 582 copies. As of 2006, it is the 10th biggest-selling album of the 21st century, and the 51st biggest-selling of all time in the UK.^[2] Several media outlets have noted that Scissor Sisters 'stick out like a sore thumb' on the list of artists who have sold over 2 million copies of an album in the UK in the 21st century — the others being James Blunt, Robbie Williams, Keane, Dido, Coldplay and Norah Jones — all artists considered 'mainstream' or 'middle of the road', as opposed to the Scissor Sisters' brash and controversial image.

Despite substantial chart success in the UK (which they refer to as their 'spiritual home')^[3], the band have had only a moderate impact on the public consciousness in their home country. "Take Your Mama" received popular radio airplay on US pop stations. "Filthy/Gorgeous" enjoyed a following in stateside gay clubs, and was featured in the soundtrack and ending cut-scene of Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.

The album was banned from the shelves of U.S. super chain Wal-Mart due to its "coarse language". The band have shown their dissatisfaction with the decision on a number of occasions, Jake Shears is even heard in a Spanish live performance on the band's DVD saying, "Wal-Mart won't stock our album...well, ya know what? Fuck Wal-Mart!"

Ta-Dah (2005–2007)

Recording of the second album, Ta-Dah, commenced in mid-May 2005; sneak previews of new songs were played at live shows, including "Everybody Wants the Same Thing", performed at the Live 8 concert, "Paul McCartney", "I Can't Decide", "Hybrid Man", "Forever Right Now" and "Hair Baby" (a title which refers to the phenomenon of tumours containing partially formed foetuses).

Jake Shears on tour in St. Louis, 2007

Recordings took place at Discoball, the band's studio. The band fulfilled one of its dreams: Elton John collaborated with them on "I Don't Feel like Dancin'" (as pianist and co-writer). The song reached #1 in the UK on September 10, 2006 and remained in the top spot for four consecutive weeks. "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" also peaked a number one on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and the Euro Hot 100. "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" became their biggest hit to date.

Elton John also contributed to the song "Intermission" on Ta-Dah.

The album was released on September 18, 2006 in the UK, and on September 26, 2006 in the USA. According to Jake Shears, the album is a combination of sixties-era psychedelia, glam rock and disco.

In 2006 they acted as an opening act for Depeche Mode's Touring the Angel Tour. Their first gig in the UK for promotion of the second album took place at the KOKO Club, Camden, London, on August 31, 2006 and was filmed for MTV. 2006 performances at the Bowery Ballroom and Siren Music Festival in New York, and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival have allowed for the band to showcase an array of songs taken from the new album. A free concert was given in Trafalgar square to 10,000 ballot winners on the September 16 in order to promote the Red charity.

The new album Ta-Dah leaked onto the Internet on September 10, 2006, five days before its release in the UK.

It reached number 1 in the UK Albums Chart in its first week of release, officially taking the top spot on Sunday, September 24, 2006, completing a historic first for the Scissor Sisters, a double consisting of a single and album at the top of the UK charts simultaneously.

The band has also been in the Latin America Top 40 Airplay. "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" is still charting and is so far their biggest hit to date in Latin America, reaching #23, charting mostly in South America, particularly Peru.

"Land of a Thousand Words" was released as the second single from the album, peaking at #19 in the UK. "She's My Man" was the third single released in February 2007, only peaking at #29 despite moderate airplay.

Kiss You Off was the fourth and final single released in May 2007 but failed to dent the Top 40, their first single since their debut Laura to do so. The "Kiss You Off" video centred around Ana Matronic in a futuristic beauty salon.

Forthcoming Album

At the end of the band's 2007 World Tour, the band confirmed that they would be taking two-years off to work on their next album. The band has been collaborating with Kylie Minogue and hopes to work on a song with Dolly Parton.

Content of music

The lyrics of their songs, largely written by Shears and Babydaddy, are known for their mixture of wit and tragedy. The songs on their debut album dealt with a number of subjects and issues in a variety of styles, from drug abuse within the gay community ("Return to Oz"), to Jake Shears' deep platonic love for his best friend in real life, Mary ("Mary"). Mary died of a brain aneurysm in April 2006, news that devastated members of the band.^[4]

Their music can be generally described as a mixture of glam rock, disco, and alternative music. They appear to have been heavily influenced by Elton John (Shears' singing, particularly, sometimes sounds uncannily like John). However, Shears has gone on record as not having been very familiar with John's work prior to the release of their record, although he's stated he's since become a big fan. The band echoes not only Elton John, but also ABBA, the Bee Gees, KC and the Sunshine Band, Duran Duran ("the reason we got into music", as Ana says), Supertramp, Siouxsie and the Banshees (Ana said at the 2005 BRIT Awards that "she wouldn't be here without Siouxsie"), David Bowie, 70's era Kiss, Queen, Chic, Richard O'Brien and various other dance/disco, rock, and funk acts, and they admit that their music is hard to categorize. They somewhat prefer not to be specifically labeled as a "gay band". In an interview featured on the We Are Scissor Sisters... And So Are You DVD, Jake states, "The fact that some of us are gay affects our music the same amount as it does that some of the members of Blondie are straight".

The band count David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who, U2, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Billy Joel, Elton John, TJ Stolk, M. de Groot and Anderson Cooper among its fans. They were the opening act for Duran Duran's 2004 reunion tour and opened for U2 on some of their UK dates for the Vertigo Tour. They also supported Depeche Mode on some of their dates of Touring the Angel.

Awards and press

At the 2005 BRIT Awards, the group won all the awards they were nominated for: International Group, International Breakthrough, and International Album (Ana asked Siouxsie to present this award). It was the first time in the Awards history that an act won all three International categories. They also opened the show with "Take Your Mama", on a set made by The Jim Henson Company. At the 2007 awards, the group did not win any awards, but opened the ceremony with a rendition of "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'."

In 2004, the gay members of the band, Jake Shears, Babydaddy, and Del Marquis, were honored in the Out 100, Out magazine's List of the 100 Most Intriguing Gay People of the Year. The band won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Music Artist on March 28, 2005. On July 2, 2005, the group performed at Live 8. Their set included the previously unheard song "Everybody Wants the Same Thing".

In November 2006, they won the German media award Bambi in the category "Shooting Star".

They have received a lot of attention in the United States by VH1 and magazines such as Out and Entertainment Weekly. They have also been interviewed on VH1's website and Del Marquis has been interviewed by the music section of IGN.com. It is a little known fact that there are several tracks recorded by the band before their eponymous debut which were never released; these tracks have entered the fan community and, although sometimes difficult to find, can be obtained freely. These songs include "Someone to Touch", "Doctor (I'm Only Seeing Dark)", "Bicycling with the Devil", "Electrobix", "Monkey Baby", a Billy Joel-Elton John-esque cover of Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out", as well as demo versions of "Laura", and "Filthy/Gorgeous".

Visuals

The visuals for Scissor Sisters' self-titled first album and its singles feature artwork by an English illustrator named "Spookytim" (Tim), who has a studio in Brighton called Studio Spooky. The artwork is created by a wide variety of techniques and mixes traditional paper-based processes with digital and photographic elements in order to reflect the multi-referential nature of the band's music.

Popular impact

• Several fan societies have sprung up in the official forums. These include the "Jake Groupies", "Ana Matronic Appreciation Society", and the "Scissor Sisters Party Bus", the latter two having spilled over to their own sites. The band have a close relationship with the fan community, even holding a small private gig for select forum members on August 14, 2005, at which a number of new tracks were previewed, and fans had the opportunity to meet the band and give birthday cards and presents to Ana Matronic. In the fan community, those fans who hold a special affinity for Ana are known as "nuns".

• In late 2004, Shears and Babydaddy co-wrote and produced the hit "I Believe in You" with Kylie Minogue, which featured on the Ultimate Kylie compilation. They also wrote the unreleased "(Everything) I Know", which leaked online in November 2004 and "Ooh (The Blues)", of which Kylie's version remains unreleased. The Scissor Sisters would go on to co-write a new song for Kylie entitled "White Diamond", which was showcased in her Showgirl Homecoming Tour that kicked-off in Australia in November 2006. "White Diamond" will be included on Kylie's 10th studio album due late 2007. At present the live version is available on the Showgirl Homecoming Live 2-CD release.

Scissor Sisters on tour in St. Louis, 2007

• In 2006, Babydaddy remixed Louisville band VHS or Beta's "You Got Me". VHS or Beta are huge fans of the Scissor Sisters and the two bands have toured together.

• The group were one of the headlining acts at the British V Festival in 2005, where they collaborated on stage with Scottish rock group Franz Ferdinand to perform a cover version of David Bowie's "Suffragette City".

• Also in 2005, "Filthy/Gorgeous" was licensed by Activision and appears in Neversoft's Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.

• 2005 also saw DJ Earworm's hit mashup "No One Takes Your Freedom", combining "Take Your Mama" with The Beatles' "For No One", George Michael's "Freedom '90" and Aretha Franklin's "Think". ^[5]

• September 10, 2006 saw them headline the Bestival festival on the Isle of Wight. They closed the three day event with the most spectacular show the island has seen for years. The band took to the stage at Robin Hill dressed as clowns, and by the encore — "Filthy/Gorgeous" — they had been joined by dancers in 10-foot-high clown costumes. Singer Jake Shears ended the set bare-chested and covered in fake blood. They succeeded in thrilling a capacity crowd, although they spectacularly failed to observe the "don't dress as clowns" advice, which had been introduced for the annual fancy dress parade, so as not to deter people with coulrophobia (fear of clowns) from attending the festival.

• The Scissor Sisters ended their first UK tour at Wembley Arena, London, from the 24th to the 26th of November, 2006, supported by new artist Lily Allen, who performed during the three days there.

• On September 15, 2006 the group were invited to the BBCs Maida Vale studios to perform different songs on every show broadcast on BBC Radio 1. [1] The event, dubbed "Scissor Sisters Day," culminated in them actually standing in for presenter Pete Tong and hosting his three hour slot themselves. The show took an unexpected turn when a woman in labour telephoned the show to share her experience with the band and they played "Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa for her. Several performances, interviews, and a humorous jingle that was written in an hour, were filmed and edited into a special seven-day, looped broadcast on BBCi.

• The group was the main event during the New Year's Eve celebrations for 2007 in Berlin.

• On February 8 and February 9, 2007, the group appeared on the American daytime soap opera Passions.^[6] They performed "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" and "Land of a Thousand Words", from the album Ta-Dah.

• In the Doctor Who episode "Last of the Time Lords", the song "I Can't Decide" was used in a scene of the Master singing along to it in a mocking fashion towards the Doctor. Subsequently, the song debuted at #64 on the UK Singles Chart, despite not officially being released as a single.

Discography

Albums

Singles

• ¹ ^  not released as single but entered in chart despite not officially being released as a single

DVDs

• We Are Scissor Sisters... And So Are You (2004)^[7][8]
• Hoorah - A Year of Ta-Dah (2007)^[9]

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

External links

• Official Site
• Famous Article by Dutch Simmons
• # 1 UnOfficial Fansite, Forum & Community - www.idontfeellikedancin.com
• Spin Magazine piece on new album, June 2006
• Manfred Prescher reviews "I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’" in EVOLVER.at
• Scissor Sisters at inthemix.com.au
• Underground Illusion - The Ultimate Scissor Sisters Database
• A Scissor Sister on The Hour

Interviews

• musicOMH.com Interview with Scissor Sisters
• KEXP Interview and Live Performance
• Shear Madness Out magazine interview.
• Out.com interview with Scissor Sisters
• Out.com interview with Jake Shears
• Exit Fest 2006 Interview with Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters
• Out magazine interview with Jake Shears and Baby Daddy, September 2006 by Tom Donaghy
• Scissor Sisters interview at elevenmagazine

References

Donate to Wikimedia