Shakespeare's Sister biography
Shakespears Sister/Shakespear's Sister (both spellings are in use) are a British-based synth-pop-rock band formed by Irish-born singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey in 1988, with plaudits including a BRIT Award and Ivor Novello Award. It was Fahey's first musical outing since leaving Bananarama, and initially a solo project. American backing vocalist and guitarist Marcella Detroit began working with Fahey in 1989 which led to a partnership and Shakespear's Sister became a duo as of their 1989 hit single "You're History". After a string of hit singles and two successful albums, tensions between Fahey and Detroit led to a split in 1993. Fahey resumed as the sole member until 1996. In 2009, after a 13-year hiatus, Fahey resurrected the band to release a new album, Songs from the Red Room.
Name
The band's name was adapted from the title of the song "Shakespeare's Sister" by The Smiths, which was in turn a reference to Virginia Woolf's work
A Room of One's Own. The precise spelling and punctuation of the band's name has evolved over the years, initially losing the final "e" from "Shakespeare" when a friend made a woodcut logo for Fahey with the name carved as "Shakespear", a once common spelling of Shakespeare's name. The apostrophe, originally appropriately placed, was used on the cover art of early releases including the album
Sacred Heart and reappeared on the later
Best of compilation; although it has often been dispensed with since, both versions of the band's name (i.e. with or without apostrophe) may be found in official documentation pertaining to the band, including cover artwork.
History
1988-1990: Sacred Heart
Originally conceived as a Fahey solo project, Shakespear's Sister's first release was the double A-sided single "Break My Heart (You Really)"/"Heroine" in October 1988. In 1989, with Shakespear's Sister now presented as a duo of Fahey with Marcella Detroit, the next single, "You're History", became a top-ten hit in the UK. The debut album,
Sacred Heart, also went top ten, though two follow-up singles "Run Silent" and "Dirty Mind", both remixed for release, were less successful.
1991-1993: Hormonally Yours
Shakespears Sister returned in October 1991 with the release of the single "Goodbye Cruel World", which peaked at number 59 in the UK Singles Chart. However, in January 1992, the duo released what would become their biggest hit single, "Stay". The single reached number one in the UK, and remained there for eight weeks. It was also a six-week number one in Ireland, and became their biggest US hit, reaching number four on the
Billboard Hot 100. The success of the single was enhanced by a campy, futuristic music video directed by Sophie Muller.
The duo released their second album, Hormonally Yours, in February 1992. The album, so named because both women were pregnant during its recording, was a critical and commercial success, peaking at number three in the UK Albums Chart (and spending approximately one year on the chart altogether). Further singles "I Don't Care", "Hello (Turn Your Radio On)", a re-release of "Goodbye Cruel World" and "My 16th Apology" were also released from the album. The album itself was re-released in late 1992 with slightly different mixes of certain tracks. The album was certified Double Platinum by the BPI in February 1993 for selling over 600,000 copies.
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