Shirley Manson...

Source: Q Magazine/June `00
Written by: Danny Eccleston
Transcribed/formatted: Garbage2.com

Shirley Manson is leaping up and down on the four-poster bed of a semi-plush Edinburgh dockside hotel. " I like it hard, " she says, meaning the mattress. Her luminous hair scraped back in the manner of a sci-fi helmet, skin porcelain white, she`s taller than you`d think, sports a 1920`s vintage crepe de chine petticoat ( £5 in a second hand shop ! And I know for a fact that it`s worth £50 ! ) and has an A-level in intimidation.

   In a few days` time, she heads back to Madison, Wisconsin, where Steve Marker, Butch Vig, and Duke Erikson await, primed to begin the next proper Garbage record. Next month there will be a Garbage B-sides, remix and rarities album on the shelves. In the meantime, Shirley Manson has to get used to being a rock star all over again.

   " This is feeling quite weird," she offers in her clear, mellifluous brogue, eyeing the paraphernalia of interview with suspicion. " I`ve had four months off and I`m out of pratice. Straight after the last tour I couldn`t speak for weeks---everyone thought I`d gone mad. Finally I`m beginning to loosen up, be me again...and now I can`t stop talking. God knows what I`m about to say."

   The ultra-red smear of lipstick parts and emits a loud, ringing laugh.

   Settling down to the inquisition, drink having indubitably been taken, Manson talks a salty blue streak.

" You fail ! You lose ! You don`t get 25 quid ! " she shrieks at invisible questioners, discriminating in favour of red-headed women and worrying about the abundance of sappy postcards depicting cats. Asked at one point if she could bring back a now-extinct " sweetie " from her childhood, which it would be,  she chooses not Old English Spangles or pre-Starburst Opal Fruits, but a young male school chum " who finger-fucked me when I was 13 ".  Clearly the Q readers will have to go some to top that.

It all went a bit mad during the making of Version 2.0, didn't it? What was the craziest occurence?
Ben Tomlinson, Sedgeley

I'd probably never reveal some of the things that went on 'cos it wouldn't be healthy for our group dynamic to tell tales.  But there were huge fights. Duke didn't speak to me for two months.  Furniture got thrown out of a window.  By whom ?  By one of the three gentlemen I work with. But men in general,  if you leave them in a room with each other,  they will start to eat at each other.  It's the nature of the beast.

This is a three-pronged, shit-on-cornflakes question. Did you really shit on your boyfriend's cornflakes?  Did you stand on a chair or put the bowl on the floor?   Did you use the bowl afterwards?
Oliver Gregory, Knowle

[ Wearily ]  Oh God, here we go again.  Right then... One,  yes,  I really really did it. Two,  neither, I held the bowl in my hand and squatted over it. Three, of course I used the bowl later - after cleaning it, naturally. OK, Oliver Gregory,   you can whack yourself off now...

What was the last record you bought ?
Victoria Charmian, London NW8

This is going to sound very pretentious, but it was Ravel, a piano concerto in G, the second movement of which is unbelievably divine. The last one before that was Primal Scream, Exterminator. And the next two I will get will be the Patti Smith one and the new Asian Dub Foundation.

Have you ever seen a dead person?
Tony Richardson,Newport, Gwent

[ Quietly ]  Yes. Yes I have. It was my grandmother. I touched her.

What's the most painful thing you've ever experienced?
Jim Wood, Isle Of Arran

Having a lump cut out of my breast.

What's been the most disappointing thing about rock stardom?
Paul Stevens, Cheltenham

There's no glamour. And I thought... Weeell, I don't know what I expected... but as I was explaining to a former bandmate on the phone the other day, nothing really has changed. Being in Garbage has been very similar to being in Goodbye Mr Mackenzie,   which seems ridiculous,  but it's true. We're still playing in front of people who don't know who we are, in toilets, getting dressed in the car we came in. So who's peddling the illusion of glamour?  Well, the media, and certain rock stars who believe that it's in their interests to maintain this illusion of grandeur and power.
   Just as an example: I was at the Grammys a couple of weeks ago, presenting an award with Moby,  and we were backstage and everything was cool and normal and down to earth and then suddenly that ludicrous Jennifer Lopez comes swanning around like she's the Queen of Sheba. Well,  I'm sorry Jennifer, but Moby has sold as many records as you have. I`ve sold as many records as you have.  Get off your fucking high horse and eat shit with the rest of us. A beautiful face, but I want to punch it nevertheless.

Tell us a nice story about Courtney Love.
Jan Poorvliet, Rotterdam

Oh, I love Courtney. I think she's fantastic and incredibly intelligent. She can encapsulate people in one word and and seems to read people in seconds. The first thing she told me, even before we spent much time together, was " You're a misanthrope ".  I`ve considered it subsequently and I think that she might be right... But the nicest thing about Courtney is the way she smells. She smelt of roses last time I met her.

You're talked about suffering from low self-esteem. But what do you like most about yourself?
Sally Stirling, Orrel

[ As if this has never occured to her ] Ohhh... I bake really good cakes and I give great head... Ha ha ha !  That's a pretty good start, right ?

If you went to prison, would you  " go gay " ?
Andy Hodge, Dartford

[ Thoughtfully ]  I don't know. It depends on how handsome my warders were.   I guess I would have to see what the overall selection was like,  then make my decision.  And I suppose it would also depend on the lenght of the sentence.  [ Trying not to laugh ]  Never say never,  as they say.

Your Dad's in genetics,  or so I read. Meddling with nature or improving the world ?
Brandon Jefferies, Burlington, Vermont

[ Wrinkling forehead ]  A bit of both, and I think my father would agree with that. There are serious ethical questions that have been thrown up by the research but I think genetic engineering has done some incredible things for human beings and the world.   I think the response to GM has been knee-jerk --- it's a case of a little knowledge being dangerous -- but it's the nature of scientists to leap forward without looking where they're going, so it's an ongoing battle. They have to be careful.

What is your favourite cheese?
David Gibson, New York

Jarlsberg.  It's a good all-rounder.  Very good with peanut butter and carrots.  I like the fact that it looks like a cartoon cheese.

Go on, ask the Q journalist a question that  he/she has to answer...
Kerry Travers, Barnstaple

Will you tell the truth ?  Truth-telling isn't specified by the question ? Coward !  OK,  hmmmm... [ twinkles evilly ]  Have you ever masturbated over my picture ?  No ?  Boo, hiss !  You could at least have lied.  Dear readers, he is blushing...

Chrissie Hynde's Gap Protest :  justified and reasonable or the actions of a mad old woman ?
Rodger Simons, Bristol

Well, if you feel strongly about something you should stand up and do something about it regardless of whether people think you're crazy or not. I'm sure her actions can be seen in a ludicrous light if you care to think that way,  but I admire her because she's prepared to risk her personal reputation for what she believes in.  And she's far from crazy,  as you'd find out if you're ever lucky enough to meet her. And she's more vulnerable than she'll ever let out in public.  There are certain private battles being waged.

Is it ture that you don't have eyebrows in real life ?  If not why not ? How do you feel when you see Liam Gallagher ?
Jack The Hat, Boston,Lincs

[ Thrilling at the very thought ]  Oooh, I love Liam Gallagher's eyebrows. I think they're sooo cute.  He's been blessed with iconic rock star looks. He's very primitive.  He's raw,  and people respond to that lack of guile. Him and Courtney,  they're like animals,  true and pure,  whether you like it or not.  No,  but I do have eyebrows,  they've grown back.  For a while I plucked them because I wanted to have Star Trek eyebrows,  but I got bored of that,   and in the course of my four-month break they've gone all unruly... It's an urban myth about eyebrow hair not growing back.

Dear Shirley,  I am a redhead,  and get really mad when people like Frank Dobson make fun of redheads.  Have you ever wished your hair was a different colour and how do you cope with people taking the piss?
Patricia Chapman, Portsmouth

[ Urgent ]  You must make sure Patricia gets £25.  Well,  firstly,   when clowns like Frank Dobson are backed into a corner they'll always sink to the lowest depths.  But yes,  I have often wished my hair was a different colour,   particularly when I was a teenager.  Later you get to an age when all of a sudden you're delighted to have red hair,  because so few people have red hair and also because your pubic hair is so beautiful.  In this business you're always having stylists say,  You have to change your image,  you have to change your hair colour.  But I want to be a redhead. It's been the motivating factor in my life. And I hate stylists.  Most of them are just jumped-up shoppers. They come in with their fucking Face magazine saying,  What I'm going to put you in... and I'll go,   Stop right there,  don't touch me,  don't touch my shit, don't you fucking dare tell me what I'm going to be wearing!  That's so rude!  [ Insensed ]  Fuck them ! Fuck stylists of the world !

What was the best selling item at Miss Selfridge when you worked there,  did you go on any training courses and do you shop there still or are you too posh now ?
Jane Drummond, Bury St Edmunds

I'm not too posh to shop at Miss Selfridge.  I go in there regularly.  The best-selling item when I worked there was a metallic purple lipstick called Iron Lady and I didn't go on any courses,  because a monkey could do what I did in the shop.

Can you now say what the enormous lie was that you told when you were 15 that made everyone stop speaking to you ?
Simon Routledge, Leeds

No,  I'm too fucked up by it.  But I am going into therapy, so I'll let you know by the end of it.  I have a therapist lined up who specializes in anger management. So I'm [ giggles nervously ]  " going into therapy ",  I'm ashamed to say.  It's very un-Scottish of me,  but it's time to do some mature thinking,  as Liz Fraser once sang.

I used to see Goodbye Mr Mackenzie in the '80s, mainly because of Big John Duncan,   because I used to be a fan of The Exploited.  A mate of mine who roadied for The Exploited and he says Big John was disgusting when he was on tour.  Was he like that when he was in a band with you,  and if so,  what did he do ?
Frank Anderley, Guernsey

John is disgusting but he is a drama queen and he likes to perform.  His whole modus operandum is to digust and shock and draw attention to himself,  he's an artist at it,  and I love him so much I can't even begin to say.  He's a paradox: a hardcore fucking nutter who you do not cross and at the same time a sweet loving artistic darling. I've seen him eat sick and I've seen him be physically violent... But the worst thing... he once ate shit and then told me about it.  He said that because shit is food that can no longer be broken down by the enzimes of your body,  and specifically saliva,  it doesn't change form when you put it in your mouth.  It's like peanut butter,  it just [ smacks lips creepily ] sits there.  That knowledge sort of fascinated and delighted me but,  no,  I shan't be eating any poop.

How repulsive was Gene Simmons out of Kiss when you met him? Be honest now.
Paul Geary, Pinner

I think he's kind of sexy actually.  Gene Simmons on the outside is a caricature,   but there is something about him that's totally disarming and charming,   self-deprecating and in some ways down to earth.  The last time I saw him he was with two young women, we were in the Ivy in Los Angeles and I said," I see you're with some beautiful women again Gene," and he goes, "Yeah,  you're next." Now,  that's a joke.  He knows he's not going to take me to bed.   But Gene's enjoying the rock'n'roll privilege of sleeping with people far younger and sexier than him. He appreciates that and doesn't feel guilty about it.  Maybe we think it's repulsive and pathetic but he's putting his dick in some beautiful girl's pussy... so who's got the last laugh ?

What did you get for Christmas?
Katy Allen, Bromley ?

Oh,  I can't remember.  I hate Christmas. [ Long pause ]  Oh I got a painting,  a beautiful painting by a friend.  And I got driving lessons. Driving is wonderful.  If I was male I would have a full-scale hard-on every time I went out in the car.  It's totally changed my life.  I just want to drive myself, and I want and Audi A6.

Billy Corgan thinks you fancy him.  Is he right ?
Gary Moore, Christchurch, Dorset

Yes. [ lapses into sexual reverie ]  Ooooh,  I love Billy.  Billy's teeth.  His amazing razor teeth are beautiful. Yes Billy,  I fancy you.   Excuse me,  I have to go into a rant about Billy Corgan.  Billy Corgan is difficult and he doesn“t make life easy for anyone around him,  but that“s half the reason why I love him so much,  because why should he ?
He's an incredibly gifted musician and an incredible songwriter and he's a truly unique and individual artist.  He's not swayed by anything but his own visceral instincts and I think that's so rare and pure.

At your ( fantastic ) concert in Edinburgh for the opening of the Scottish Parliament,  you played Don't Let Me Down and dedicated it to the new MSPs.  How do you think they've done so far?
James Taylor, Edinburgh

It's too early to tell.  You can't build a nation in eight months.

I made you laugh in a record store in Athens, Greece. Do you remember what I said?
Derek Graham, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

I can't remember what you said, but if you made me laugh in Athens, Greece last year you were doing really well because I was having a major trauma.  So I have to thank you from the bottom of my heart and send you big love.

You're known to have been violent in the past. If you could inflict pain on any one person,  who would it be and how would you go about it ?
Anna Dorward, Edinburgh

I'm no longer violent.  I don't agree with violence. Oh, alright then, I would stab Margaret Thatcher through the eyes.

Whose idea was it to bring out a range of Garbage cosmetics ?        Is it just a money-spinning gimmik ?
Steven Phillips, Oldham

Spell gimmick properly and I might answer this question. Oh, alright... One,  it was my idea.  Two,  the money that's made goes to cancer charities and we've raised quite a vast amount of money for two cancer units - one in Scotland and one in New York.  Which product would I particularly recommend ?  [ Adopts simpery saleswoman voice ]  The orange nail polish.  It was fine quality, hard-wearing and came in a really cool little canister.

Your energy onstage is blistering.  What do you after the show to come down ?
Lionel Lodge, via e-mail

Weep, usually.  Then I wipe the sweat from my brow  [ insane laughter ] , change my clothes and eat a Chinese curry.  But thank you for your kind words.