Shakespears Sister (sometimes written with the apostrophe) was a band consisting of Siobhan Fahey and Marcella Detroit. The band formed in 1988, the same year that Fahey left Bananarama, and were named after a song by The Smiths of the same name.

Detroit exited the band in 1993, and Fahey admitted herself into a psychiatric unit with severe depression.

The name is taken from the title of a song by The Smiths, which in turn refers to a section of Virginia Woolf's feminist essay A Room of One's Own in which she argues that had William Shakespeare a sister of equal genius, as a woman she would not have had the opportunity to make use of it.

The band's single "Stay" is their best known work, achieving number one in both the UK (for eight weeks) and Ireland singles charts. It was their highest entry in the UK charts, being the only time they entered the top five. The single also became their biggest U.S. hit, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1992. The accompanying music video was also a hit, if not controversial. In it, Siobhan and Marcella fought over the fate of a dying man in an allegory of life and death that mirrored internal struggles inside the band. The controversial subject nature saw the video banned in Germany.

As a duo Shakespears Sister released the albums Sacred Heart and Hormonally Yours, the latter recorded at Friar Park, in George Harrison's home studio. #3, recorded in 1995-1997 by Fahey after Detroit's departure, was finally given an independent release in 2004.

A greatest hits CD/DVD retrospective (The Best of Shakespear's Sister) was also released in 2004, containing all of the group's singles and videos, as well as tracks intended for the #3 album. A new compilation, titled Long Live the Queens!, features a tracklisting of rarities and unreleased material including remixes and b-sides. This was issued in late 2005.

Discography

Albums

• 1989 Sacred Heart #9 UK, #22 AUS
• 1992 Hormonally Yours #3 UK, #5 Ireland, #56 USA, #20 AUS
• 2004 #3
• 2004 The Best of Shakespear's Sister
• 2005 Long Live the Queens!

Singles

• 1988 "Break My Heart (You Really)" / "Heroine"
• 1989 "Heroine" (US and Canada only)
• 1989 "You're History" #7 UK, #20 AUS, #28 NZ
• 1989 "Run Silent" #54 UK, #47 AUS
• 1990 "Dirty Mind" #71 UK, #65 AUS
• 1991 "Goodbye Cruel World" #59 UK
• 1992 "Stay" #1 UK, #1 Ireland, #4 US, #3 AUS, #5 NZ
• 1992 "I Don't Care" #7 UK, #55 US, #18 AUS, #11 NZ
• 1992 "Goodbye Cruel World (reissue)" #32 UK
• 1992 "Hello (Turn Your Radio On)" #14 UK, #97 AUS, #43 NZ
• 1993 "My 16th Apology" #61 UK
• 1996 "I Can Drive" #30 UK

External links

• Official Siobhan Fahey site
• Official Marcella Detroit site
• "Shakespears Sister Info File"(previously): http://www.neilnet.force9.co.uk/

British musical groups | Rhythmic Top 40 acts | All-women bands

Shakespear’s Sister