Scissor Sisters
The Scissor Sisters are a five-piece American rock music band strongly influenced by the gay-club scene of New York and named after a lesbian sex position. The group was formed with the full name Dead Lesbian and the Fibrillating Scissor Sisters in 2001 by lead vocalist Jake Shears (born Jason Sellards) and bass guitarist Babydaddy (born Scott Hoffman). The other members are Ana Matronic (born Ana Lynch, vocals), Del Marquis (born Derek Gruen, guitar), and Paddy Boom (born Patrick Secord, drums). The lyrics of their songs, largely written by Shears and Babydaddy, are known for their mixture of wit and tragedy.
Their first single "Laura" had a limited release in 2003 (reaching #54 in the UK singles chart), but received little attention except from British music paper New Musical Express. The group came to prominence in 2004 with the release of "Comfortably Numb" (reaching #10 in the UK), a disco-style cover of the Pink Floyd song. This 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 randy "Filthy/Gorgeous" (#5 in the UK). All the singles came from the self-titled debut album Scissor Sisters, which reached #1 on the UK albums chart and became the best selling album of 2004, beating their closest rival Keane by just 582 copies. In late 2004, Shears and Babydaddy co-wrote and produced the hit "I Believe In You" for Kylie Minogue.
At the 2005 Brit Awards, the group won all the awards they were nominated for: International Group, International Breakthough, and International Album. 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.
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".
They have received a lot of attention in the United States by VH1 and magazines such as Entertainment Weekly. So far in the U.S., two videos have received play: the "Take Your Mama" clip and the second "Laura" clip. They have also been interviewed on VH1's website and Del Marquis had been interviewed by the music section of IGN.com. As their early successes have been almost exclusively in Europe, they are often mistaken in the U.S. for an import band despite their New York roots. 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", "Bicycle of the Devil" and "Monkey Baby".
Their music is evidently influenced by Elton John (Shears' singing, particularly, sometimes sounds uncannily like Elton), the Bee Gees, Duran Duran ("the reason we got into music"), Supertramp, and various other dance, rock, and funk acts, and they are the first to point out that their music in general is hard to categorize. They are renowned for strong live performances, and count David Gilmour of Pink Floyd and Elton John among their fans. They were the opening act for Duran Duran's 2004 reunion tour.
Scissor Sisters' CDs, records, and DVDs feature artwork by an English illustrator named Spookytim, who has a studio in Brighton called Studiospooky. 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.
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.
Discography
Albums
- Scissor Sisters - (2004) #1 UK, #7 US
Singles
From Scissor Sisters:
- "Laura" - (2003) #54 UK
- "Comfortably Numb" - (2004) #10 UK
- "Take Your Mama" - (2004) #17 UK
- "Laura" (re-release) - (2004) #12 UK
- "Mary" - (2004) #14 UK
- "Filthy/Gorgeous" - (2005) #5 UK
DVDs
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart