Only last week God is in the TV speculated that Shakespears Sister might reunite, 26 years after Marcella Detroit was publicly sacked at the Ivor Novello Awards by Siobhan Fahey, who wasn’t even there. That was indicative of the dire state of their professional and even personal relationship at the time.
But ‘time is a great healer’ as they say and that speculation (in the ‘Inarguable Pop Classic’ Series, https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2019/04/26/inarguable-pop-classic-42-shakespears-sister-hello/) was picked up by people in the Shakespears Sister fan club who insisted that a reunion was quite possible, and soon. A couple of days later came newspaper reports that a tour was on the cards and today, 7th May, an official announcement which confirms much more – and certainly more than their fans could have expected.
Firstly, their reunion is ‘official’.
Secondly, a new single will be released on 15th May, titled ‘All The Queen’s Horses’.
Thirdly, that song will be one of two new ones on an album of past singles which will be released on 19th July, titled ‘Singles Party’. (The other is ‘C U Next Tuesday’). The album will contain remastered versions of classics such as ‘Stay’, ‘You’re History’, ‘Hello (Turn Your Radio On)’, and ‘I Don’t Care’ as well as a classic solo effort by Fahey, the strings and brass infused, Beatles and Mott the Hoople-like, ‘I Can Drive’ which for some unknown reason bombed when it was released. They were always a little too far ahead of their time.
The deluxe version of the album features another unreleased track ‘Cat Worship’ and remixes of ‘You’re History’ and ‘You Made Me Come To This’ remixed by Catz ‘n Dogz and HMD Pulsatron respectively.
Fourthly, they will embark on the ‘Shakespears Sister Ride Again’ tour this October and November playing an extensive run of UK shows, including a night at The London Palladium. Full tour dates are listed at the end.
Speaking about the reunion, Siobhan Fahey and Marcy Levy (as she is once again known) said:
Fahey: “Neither of us wanted to go into it if there was anything apart from friendship and unity. We did not want a repeat of 1992. Life’s too short. So I think we just explored it slowly. I realised what a perfect writing partner she is for me…there’s some sort of weird fusion of energies that feels fated. It’s like this third entity exists that is neither me nor her, it’s the two of us”
Levy: “There was no stopping this. It was like this snowball that just kept on gathering more and more speed. I think we’ve come to a point where we respect and understand each other more than we ever could have back then. That’s the simplest way to put it. We’ve come to a mutual understanding of and respect for who each other are. It’s just about acceptance – acceptance of who we both are, for each other and to each other”
Hm, it’s called growing up.
Previously, Shakespears Sister sold over a million albums, won a Brit award for best video for ‘Stay’ and an Ivor Novello award for Outstanding Collection of Songs for the band’s second album, 1992’s ‘Hormonally Yours’. The pair went onto headline the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury in 1992 and supported Prince at Celtic Park at Prince’s personal request.
For all that, whether Levy, at 66, can still get that F6 note on ‘Stay’ remains to be seen and will be anticipated greatly in Nottingham on October 31st.
UK tour dates:
31/10/19 – Royal Concert Hall – Nottingham
01/11/19 – New Theatre – Oxford
02/11/19 – Empire – Liverpool
04/11/19 – City Hall – Sheffield
05/11/19 – Palladium – London
08/11/19 – Royal Concert Hall – Glasgow
09/11/19 – The Sage – Gateshead
11/11/19 – Bridgewater Hall – Manchester
13/11/19 – Pavilion Theatre – Bournemouth
14/11/19 – The Forum – Bath
15/11/19 – Regent Theatre – Ipswich
17/11/19 – Cliffs Pavilion – Southend
19/11/19 – Symphony Hall – Birmingham
20/11/19 – Dome Concert Hall – Brighton
