Shirley Manson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shirley Manson FRSA
Manson performing with Garbage in Italy, July 2019
Background information
Birth name	Shirley Ann Manson
Born	(1966-08-26) 26 August 1966 (age 58) Edinburgh, Scotland
Origin	Stockbridge, Scotland
Genres	Alternative rock electronic rock dream pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter musician actress
Instruments	Vocals keyboards guitar
Years active	1984–present
Labels	Radioactive Mushroom Almo Sounds Interscope A&E Warner Bros. Geffen Stunvolume

Shirley Ann Manson FRSA (born 26 August 1966) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. She is best known as the lead singer of the Scottish-American rock band Garbage. The band has toured all over the world and sold more than 17 million records. Shirley is known for her strong personality, rebellious style, and unique deep voice. She has been nominated for many awards, including two Brit Awards and seven Grammy Awards.

Shirley's music journey started when she was a teenager. She began by singing backing vocals and playing keyboards for the band Goodbye Mr Mackenzie. Later, a record label wanted her to start a solo career, and she recorded an album with her band Angelfish. In 1994, she joined Garbage. The band became very popular with their first album, Garbage (1995), and their second, Version 2.0 (1998). They also performed the theme song for the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough (1999) and released their third album, Beautiful Garbage (2001).

After their fourth album, Bleed Like Me (2005), Garbage took a break. During this time, Shirley started working on solo music in 2006, but these songs were not released. Instead, she tried acting, playing Catherine Weaver in the science fiction TV show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008). Garbage got back together in 2010 and has since released three more albums: Not Your Kind of People (2012), Strange Little Birds (2016), and No Gods No Masters (2021). Shirley also hosted a music podcast called The Jump with Shirley Manson from 2019 to 2021.

Shirley's Early Life and Education

Manson was born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland

Shirley Ann Manson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 26 August 1966. Her mother, Muriel Flora, was a big band singer, and her father, John Mitchell Manson, was a university lecturer. Shirley was named after her aunt, who was named after the novel Shirley. She has two sisters, Lindy-Jayne and Sarah. They grew up in the Comely Bank and Stockbridge areas of Edinburgh.

Shirley attended Broughton High School. Her early education was influenced by the Church of Scotland, where her father was a Sunday School teacher until she was 12.

First Performances and School Activities

Shirley's first public performance was at age four in 1970. She performed with her older sister in an amateur show at the local Church Hill Theatre. At Flora Stevenson Primary School, she learned to play the recorder, clarinet, and fiddle. She also took ballet and piano lessons from age seven. Shirley was a member of Girlguiding UK as a Brownie and a Girl Guide.

She attended the City of Edinburgh Music School at Broughton High School. There, she was active in the drama group, performing in plays like The American Dream and The Wizard of Oz. She also sang with the Waverley Singers, a local girl choir. In 1981, a play she was in, Maurice the Minotaur, won an award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Dealing with Challenges and First Jobs

While Shirley enjoyed primary school, she faced bullying in her first year of secondary school. This made her feel sad and anxious. The bullying stopped when she started hanging out with a rebellious group, which led her to become more rebellious herself.

Shirley wanted to be an actress as a teenager but was not accepted into the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Her first job was volunteering in a hospital cafeteria. Then she worked as a breakfast waitress at a hotel. After that, she spent five years as a shop assistant at Miss Selfridge. She started at the makeup counters but was moved to the stockrooms because of her attitude. She became well-known in Edinburgh's clubbing scene and styled hair for local bands using free samples. She also briefly modeled clothes for Jackie magazine.

Shirley's Music Career

Starting Out with Bands (1987–1994)

Shirley Manson's first music experiences included singing briefly with local Edinburgh bands like The Wild Indians and Autumn 1904. While performing, she was asked by Martin Metcalfe to join his band, Goodbye Mr Mackenzie. Shirley and Martin were a couple at first, but she stayed with the band even after they broke up. She became an important member, playing keyboards, singing backing vocals, and helping with the band's business.

Her first release with Goodbye Mr Mackenzie was "Death of a Salesman" in 1984. The band signed a deal with Capitol Records in 1987. They released their first album, Good Deeds and Dirty Rags, and had one song, "The Rattler," reach the UK top 40. In 1990, their contract moved to Parlophone, another record label. However, after two singles didn't become hits, Parlophone decided not to release their second album, Hammer and Tongs.

Gary Kurfirst, who managed famous bands like Talking Heads, bought the Mackenzies' contract. He released their second album through his own label, Radioactive Records. After another single failed, the band was encouraged to leave Radioactive. Goodbye Mr Mackenzie continued to write music, and Shirley also got to sing lead vocals on some songs for their third album. Even though the label wasn't interested in the whole band, they liked Shirley's voice. Kurfirst signed Shirley as a solo artist, with the other Mackenzies playing as her backing band.

Shirley and the band recorded an album under the name Angelfish. They used some new songs and an older Mackenzie song. The album Angelfish was recorded in Connecticut with Talking Heads' Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. A song called "Suffocate Me" was sent to college radio and became popular. The Angelfish album and a second single, "Heartbreak to Hate," came out in 1994. Angelfish toured in Europe and the U.S., supporting the band Live in North America.

The music video for "Suffocate Me" was shown once on MTV's 120 Minutes. Producer Steve Marker saw it and thought Shirley would be a great singer for his new band, Garbage. This band also included producers Duke Erikson and Butch Vig.

Success with Garbage (1995–2005; 2010–Present)

Manson during the Version 2.0 era with Garbage, (c. 1998–99)

Butch Vig invited Shirley to his studio, Smart Studios, to sing on some songs. Her first audition wasn't successful. Shirley felt nervous singing for Vig, who had produced bands she admired like Nirvana. Vig also said that communication was hard because of her Scottish accent. After her band Angelfish broke up, Shirley returned to Smart Studios for a second try. She started working on some early song ideas, and the band asked her to join full-time to finish their album. She helped write and produce the whole album with the band. In August 1994, Shirley's record label allowed her to work with Garbage.

Garbage's first album, Garbage, was released in August 1995. It sold over 4 million copies, with popular singles like "Only Happy When It Rains" and "Stupid Girl." Shirley quickly became the public face of the band during their tour, which lasted until the end of 1996.

Shirley became the main songwriter for Garbage's next album, Version 2.0, which came out in May 1998 and was just as successful as their first. During the two-year tour for this album, Shirley also modeled for Calvin Klein. The band recorded the theme song for the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough. Shirley became the third Scottish woman to sing a Bond theme. In the music video, she played a robot assassin.

For their third album, Beautiful Garbage, recorded in 2000, Shirley was one of the first famous artists to write a blog online. She also worked on improving her guitar playing for the band's next tour. This album featured Shirley's most direct and personal lyrics. While it didn't sell as well as their previous albums, Garbage had a successful world tour to support it. During a concert at the Roskilde Festival, Shirley's voice gave out. She later found out she had a vocal fold cyst and needed surgery.

Shirley's lyrics became more political for Garbage's fourth album, Bleed Like Me, released in 2005. After the success of the single "Why Do You Love Me," this album reached some of the band's highest chart positions. Garbage took a long break starting in October 2005. During this time, in 2007, Garbage reunited for a short performance at a charity show. They also shared song ideas online, recorded new music, and filmed a music video for their Absolute Garbage greatest hits album.

Garbage returned to the studio in 2010 to write and record their fifth album, Not Your Kind of People, which came out in May 2012. This ended the band's seven-year break from recording.

Manson performing live in 2021

In 2021, Garbage supported Alanis Morissette's World Tour, which had been delayed due to COVID-19. Shirley often wore "Garden Witch Overalls" during these shows, a style made popular by poet Kate Baer. On March 30, 2021, Garbage released "The Men Who Rule the World," the first single from their seventh album, No Gods No Masters, which was released on June 11, 2021. The album's title track and "Wolves" were also released as singles. The album was supported by a concert tour with Alanis Morissette in summer 2021. This tour became the most successful female-fronted tour of the year, selling over 500,000 tickets.

On September 7, 2022, Garbage announced their third greatest hits album, Anthology, released on October 28. This album has 35 newly improved songs celebrating three decades of their career, including "Witness To Your Love". In early 2022, Garbage began writing for their upcoming eighth studio album. In February 2023, Garbage announced a North American tour with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. In March 2024, Garbage announced a UK and European tour, their first UK tour in five years. This tour includes dates in Germany, Italy, France, Denmark, and a show at Wembley Arena in England. They also confirmed two dates in Shirley's home country of Scotland: at the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow and at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh.

Solo Music and Other Projects (2006–2012)

Manson in 2009 during her solo era

In March 2006, Shirley Manson confirmed she had started working on a solo album. She worked with musician Paul Buchanan, producer Greg Kurstin, and film composer David Arnold. She said she had "no timetable" for finishing it. In 2007, Shirley also worked with Rivers Cuomo from Weezer.

In 2008, Shirley showed some of her solo work to Geffen Records. They thought it was "too dark" and not suitable for radio. So, Shirley and Geffen ended their contract. Shirley explained that the label wanted her to have international radio hits and be like "the Annie Lennox of her generation." She said she made a "quiet, very dark, non-radio-friendly record" because she wasn't interested in writing "nursery rhymes for the masses."

Shirley continued to write music even without a record deal. She talked with David Byrne and Ray Davies about possibly working together. In 2009, she shared three demo songs on her Facebook page: "In the Snow," "Pretty Horses," and "Lighten Up." "Pretty Horses" was later used in the TV show Conviction.

In 2009, Shirley announced she was stepping away from music. She said she was tired of the music industry and found acting more exciting. She thought about leaving music in 2008 when her mother became ill and later passed away. Shirley said, "I didn't want to make music, didn't feel creative. I could barely function." Later that year, she changed her mind after friends asked her to sing David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" at their son's memorial. She realized how much music helps people and decided to continue.

Shirley also worked with other artists. She recited a part of a long poem for a Chris Connelly album. She also co-wrote and recorded a duet with Eric Avery for his first solo album, featuring Debbie Harry. She performed on stage with bands like The Pretenders, Iggy Pop, Incubus, and Kings of Leon. Shirley also sang vocals on a song called "The Hunger," written by Serj Tankian for the rock musical Prometheus Bound.

In January 2012, Shirley confirmed that her solo album project was canceled. She said it was "dead and buried" but had become a "beautiful corpse."

Other Projects and Interests

Acting Roles

Manson at a promotional event for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Shirley Manson was cast in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles in May 2008. The show's creator, Josh Friedman, asked her to audition. She appeared in the second season's first episode, "Samson and Delilah," as Catherine Weaver, the CEO of a technology company. At the end of the episode, it's revealed that Weaver is a liquid-metal T-1001 Terminator. Shirley also performed a rock and blues version of the song "Samson and Delilah" for the episode's music.

In 2009, Shirley entered the video game industry. She appeared as an avatar of herself in Guitar Hero 5. She is a character you can unlock in the game, which also features a Garbage song.

The next year, Shirley was a guest on the children's show Pancake Mountain. In a segment called "Around the World with Shirley Manson," she talked about music from different countries. She filmed five segments, but only one, about Germany, was released. It included an original theme song sung by Shirley.

In 2019, Shirley traveled to Santiago, Chile, to be part of Peace Peace Now Now. This is a documentary that tells "stories of women who challenged armed conflicts around the world." The first season of the documentary was released on November 23, 2022, on Star+.

Hosting a Podcast

From 2019 to 2021, Shirley Manson hosted the music podcast The Jump with Shirley Manson. It was made by Mailchimp Presents and Little Everywhere. In each episode, Shirley interviewed a guest musician about a special song that marked a big moment in their career. The podcast explored "the moments in an artist’s career where they decide to take a leap into something new."

Three seasons of the podcast were made, with a total of 28 episodes. Shirley isn't sure if the show will have a fourth season. She says the podcast helped her grow as an artist and an interviewer. Some episodes also inspired songs for Garbage's seventh album, No Gods No Masters.

Charity Work

Shirley Manson donates £51,000 to Waverley Care on behalf of MAC AIDS Fund.

Shirley Manson has used her fame and Garbage's platform to help raise awareness and money for different causes. She created a Garbage-branded lipgloss that was sold online. All the money from sales went to Grampian Children's Cancer Research and cancer treatment centers in Scotland and New York.

In 2001, Shirley became an ambassador for the M•A•C AIDS Fund. She led their fourth two-year charity lipstick marketing campaign with Elton John and Mary J. Blige. This started with the launch of the VIVAMAC IV lipstick in March 2002. All money from the lipstick sales goes to help AIDS charities. While on tour, Shirley visited several AIDS charities in different cities to donate over $300,000 on behalf of the M•A•C AIDS Fund.

By 2007, the VIVAMAC campaigns had raised over $100 million. As a former ambassador, Shirley accepted a check for £51,000 for the HIV charity Waverley Care from the M•A•C AIDS Fund on April 10, 2008. Shirley became a patron of Waverley Care in October 2002. She also hosted a fund raiser auction in January 2004, which raised £45,000. A Fender guitar owned by Shirley sold for £1,050. Other items were donated by Elton John and Kylie Minogue.

Shirley has also adopted a rescue dog, a terrier-mix named Veela, after the veelas from the Harry Potter books.

In 2008, Shirley got involved with The Pablove Foundation. This charity was started by Dangerbird Records head Jeff Castelaz, whose son Pablo passed away from cancer. Shirley had become friends with Jeff's family in the 1990s. Jeff asked Shirley to sing "Life on Mars?" at his son's memorial. The Pablove Foundation raises money for childhood cancer research and programs for families dealing with childhood cancer. Shirley reunited Garbage to contribute a song, "Witness to Your Love," to a charity album for the Foundation. She also signed a Pablove poster for an auction and hosted a fundraiser. She performed acoustically at another fundraiser with Butch Vig and Laura Jane Grace, and with Greg Kurstin.

In 2010, Shirley donated two hand-decorated T-shirts to an online charity auction called "Crafts for a Cause." This auction raised money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The two T-shirts raised a total of $1522.00, which was given to the Artists for Peace and Justice organization.

In January 2015, Shirley headlined Pablove 6, the sixth annual fundraiser for the Pablove Foundation. She made a special appearance with a David Bowie tribute band called Sons of the Silent Age.

Shirley's Artistic Style

Voice and Music Style

Shirley Manson, with Garbage, has an alternative music style. It mixes different types of music like electronic rock, industrial rock, punk, grunge, trip hop, and shoegaze. Even though she was trained as a soprano in a choir as a child, Shirley doesn't see herself as one. She says, "I don’t think I’m a soprano. I don’t know what the hell I am."

Music critics agree that she has a contralto vocal range. Her voice is known for being unique and for how well she expresses feelings. Elysa Gardner from the Los Angeles Times said that Shirley's vocals "can convey a multitude of emotions without ever coming across as melodramatic."

Reviewing a live Garbage show, Jon Pareles of The New York Times said, "Temptress, lover, sufferer, scrapper – those have been Ms. Manson's personae since Garbage started in 1995." He also noted that "In the course of each song she let her voice rise in anger, contempt or passion." Green Left Weekly described Shirley's voice as "powerful, which soars and dips like a bird. It can plead or demand. It can sound dreamy or psychotic." Catherine Gee of The Daily Telegraph noted that Shirley "remains a striking performer whose distinctive contralto snarl can still raise the hairs on the back of your neck."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described Shirley's voice as "thin and airy." Mike Diver of the BBC said Shirley had "a snarl in her voice but [was] equally capable of a purr to melt away any resistance." He added that "even at her most vulnerable, Manson maintains her controlling condition."

Influences and Impact on Others

Shirley's earliest music memories are of her mother, who sang with a big band. Growing up, Shirley listened to classic jazz records by artists like Nina Simone, Cher, Peggy Lee, and Ella Fitzgerald. At 14, she became a fan of Siouxsie and the Banshees albums The Scream and Kaleidoscope. She taught herself to sing by listening to these albums. She later said that Siouxsie Sioux was a big inspiration for her throughout her career.

At 19, Shirley discovered Patti Smith and her album Horses, which had a "strong impact" on her. Shirley was inspired to learn guitar by Chrissie Hynde. She also admired the styles of Toyah Willcox and Debbie Harry. Most of Shirley's influences were female musicians, but she also mentioned David Bowie as an inspiring male musician. Shirley also grew up listening to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Frank Sinatra, The Clash, The Sugarcubes, Cocteau Twins, Iggy and the Stooges, Echo & the Bunnymen, and The Velvet Underground.

Shirley's lyrics often deal with darker topics, sometimes in a teasing way. She believes this comes from her Scottish background, which tends to prefer serious themes. She also felt like an outsider, even within Garbage, because she was the only girl and younger than the others.

Shirley has been recognized for inspiring many female artists who came after her. These include Amy Lee, Florence Welch, Taylor Momsen, Skylar Grey, Paramore's Hayley Williams, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Peaches, Marina and the Diamonds, and Lana Del Rey. Shirley is also seen as a style icon, influencing fashion designers and other female artists.

Shirley's Personal Life

Family and Marriage

Shirley Manson was married to Scottish artist Eddie Farrell from 1996 to 2003. In 2008, she got engaged to record producer and Garbage sound engineer Billy Bush. They were married at a Los Angeles courthouse in May 2010. They live in Los Angeles, and Shirley also has a second home in Joppa, a suburb of Edinburgh.

Beliefs and Health

Shirley has moved away from organized religion but has always been interested in spirituality. She remembers being very interested in church as a child. She stopped going to church but continued to have discussions about beliefs with her father. She became disappointed with organized religion but still has an interest in spirituality. She identifies as an atheist.

Shirley identifies as a feminist and is seen as a feminist icon.

Shirley has asthma. She stopped smoking in the early 1990s, when she was around 25. In 1998, she had a harmless lump removed from her breast. She continued touring after the surgery, even though it was painful.

Voice Challenges

During the Beautiful Garbage tour, Shirley started having problems with her voice. She completely lost her voice at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on June 30, 2002. She thought it was due to tiredness or stress and kept touring. Then Gwen Stefani suggested she see a vocal specialist. The specialist found a large cyst on one of her vocal cords, which was also damaging the other vocal cord.

A specialist warned Shirley that surgery could permanently harm her singing. So, she waited. She finally had surgery in 2003 after seeing another doctor in New York. She recovered her voice after three weeks of rest, including a week of complete silence. Shirley described this experience as "torture." She felt like she had "lost [her] personality" and felt "invisible."

Mental Well-being

Shirley has spoken about dealing with depression. This was made worse by media attention and negative comments she faced during Garbage's early success. She sought psychiatric help during the making of Garbage's third album, Beautiful Garbage, while also going through a divorce. She said the psychiatrist "saved [her] life" and taught her "how to turn all the noise down and allow a healthier voice to emerge."

Shirley has learned to manage her condition over time. She says, "It’s a constant dialogue, and you just learn to be more powerful than that other voice." She also said that a photo shoot for Calvin Klein in 1999, where she wore no makeup, helped her face her own self-perception. She told Glamour magazine in 2001 that it helped her feel like there was "nothing to hide."

Injuries

At the first show of the Garbage tour for Strange Little Birds on May 14, 2016, Shirley fell off the stage while singing "Special." She quickly got back up and seemed fine, continuing the performance. However, in November 2022, she revealed that she injured her right hip in that fall. This caused her "so much pain" and required hip replacement surgery, which happened on January 16, 2023.

Where Shirley Lives

For most of her career, Shirley Manson traveled between her home city of Edinburgh and the United States to record with Garbage, which started in Madison, Wisconsin. She now mainly lives and works in Los Angeles but still has a second home in Edinburgh.

Discography

Goodbye Mr Mackenzie

• Good Deeds and Dirty Rags (1989)
• Hammer and Tongs (1991)
• Five (1994)

Angelfish

• Angelfish (1994)

Garbage

• Garbage (1995)
• Version 2.0 (1998)
• Beautiful Garbage (2001)
• Bleed Like Me (2005)
• Not Your Kind of People (2012)
• Strange Little Birds (2016)
• No Gods No Masters (2021)

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Shirley Manson para niños

• List of awards and nominations received by Garbage