The moment that almost inadvertently destroyed Garbage: “My band failed”
The biggest fear that all bands and artists face after a period of high-profile success is crashing back down to earth and having to fight for their popularity again. For Shirley Manson and Garbage, the success of their first two albums may have put them in an untouchable position, but the unthinkable can always prove itself to be possible.
The release of their self-titled debut and its follow-up, Version 2.0, at the end of the 1990s, were met with widespread acclaim, and it seemed as though they’d tapped into a winning formula, merging together the dying embers of the grunge movement with a new approach to alternative rock that was becoming popular.
Fronted by the Scottish-born vocalist Manson, and with noted producer Butch Vig also a key member on drums, the Wisconsin-based outfit were seemingly on their way to becoming one of the biggest bands of the period, but given how fickle the music industry and the world can be, things unfortunately didn’t continue on that path.
Global events can have a gigantic domino effect on other industries in the world, and the music world is never exempt from suffering as a direct result of socio-political phenomena.
When Brexit took place in 2016, it created a massive obstacle for all UK-based bands to overcome. The effects are still present in how it prevents acts from touring without harsh restrictions in place. Similarly, a major event that happened in the US, as Garbage were set to release their third album, Beautifulgarbage, would be something they’d have to overcome.
“When my band failed publicly, everything changed,” Manson told Noisey in 2016. “You know, you really, really have to dig deep to try and pull yourself out of what you feel is this massive failure.” However, the revelation that the band found themselves scrambling to recoup their popularity was something that they could never have prepared for, and left the world in a state of shock.
“When September 11th hit, it was the day that we were about to set out and promote our third record,” the singer continued, referring to the terror attacks that hit the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in 2001. “We were due to fly out to Europe, and everything was cancelled, and of course, the world changed that day.”
Manson elaborated on how this then had an effect on the band and the wider music industry. “All of a sudden, radio wasn’t interested in playing our record for the first time,” she added. “We’d had literally a slew of 16 singles that all got banged on the radio all over the world, and all of a sudden, no zone wanted to touch us. That was the moment we failed, and it was dark. You really have to do a lot of work to try and figure out, ‘OK, where do we go now?’”
While the album came out only a month after the attacks, the world was still shaken as a result, but that also doesn’t mean that Beautifulgarbage would have been better received had it come out at a different point in time. Contemporary reviews stated that the album was nowhere near the same level of quality as their previous efforts, and given that other albums were also being released to acclaim around the same time, it may be that they had let their own standards slip at a time when it hurt them most.
