We all loved to listen to Garbage back in the 90s. Like many iconic female singers of the 1990’s, Scottish singer, songwriter, and actress, Shirley Manson is best known for her outspoken demeanor and unique voice. As the lead singer of alternative rock band Garbage, she earned critical acclaim for her distinctive sound and rebellious attitude.
Before taking a break in 2006, Garbage toured worldwide and sold over 12 million albums. In 2010 they returned to the studio to write and produce material for both their 5th album “Not your kind of people” and 6th album “Strange Little Birds” respectively.
Manson’s earliest musical memories were of her mother, who sang with a big band when Manson was a child. Manson was exposed to classic jazz records as she grew up and work by Nina Simone, Cher, Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald. Early in Manson’s teenage years, she became a fan of Siouxsie and the Banshees albums The Scream and Kaleidoscope, and taught herself how to sing listening to those records, later stating “many of the songs of those two albums were massive loves of my life.”
Manson’s lyrics deal with darker themes, often in a mocking manner. She credits that to her Scottish psyche that leads to preferring depressing themes, and the fact she always felt like an outsider, even within Garbage – “I’m the odd one out by default. I’m the only girl, I’m younger than they are, they’ve all known each other for 40 years, or something crazy like that. So I always felt, like, off the center of things.”