Shirley Manson recalls “devastating” moment in Garbage’s career
Shirley Manson, lead singer of alternative rock band Garbage, recently discussed a moment of tension following the release of Bleed Like Me that saw their label opting to invest in another popular group over them.
Speaking about this specific chapter in a new interview, Manson shared details about the “devastating” moment that she found out their label decided to support No Doubt instead of them.
According to the musician, the move to support No Doubt was first revealed to her on a flight from Los Angeles to London, where she experienced a “a fortunate or unfortunate incident” involving a “really famous rockstar” who accidentally mentioned Interscope’s decision to invest elsewhere.
“I shan’t name [said rockstar] because I don’t want to cause too many ruptures,” Manson told NME. She recalled the conversation with the person on the flight, explaining that he had been at an Interscope meeting “where our future as a band had been discussed and there was a vote taken at the table where they decided if they were going to spend money on No Doubt or on Garbage. They decided to invest in No Doubt.”
Manson assured that “this has no bearing on [No Doubt] whatsoever” as they “are friends of ours”, but that it was difficult to hear the news from “a well-known and highly-regarded rockstar”. After learning the “devastating” news, the Scottish singer states “it was war” and she decided she “wasn’t going to do fuck all for that record label ever again.”
This unfolding of events lead to Manson forming a strange relationship with 2005’s Bleed Like Me due to it being released “at a time of immense strife within the band, and dwindling interest from our record label and the general public.”
It also occurred during a time when it was more difficult to make it as a female-fronted rock band, when radio stations already decided to give airplay to No Doubt. According to Manson, this sparked a “domino effect” that caused the band members of Garbage “to turn in on each other because we were so frustrated.”
Following the reissue of Bleed Like Me, the band are set to embark on a UK and European tour beginning in June and starting in Milan. They will then wrap up at London’s Wembley OVO Arena towards the end of July.
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