BANDS ‘TREATED LIKE GARBAGE’
SHIRLEY FUMES AT THE GOVERNMENT FOR ABANDONING AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF MUSICIANS IN THE PANDEMIC
GARBAGE star Shirley Manson has vented her ‘red-headed rage’ over the lack of government help for bands during the pandemic – warning that young musicians are being forced to give up on their dreams.
The Stupid Girl singer said acts are now scrambling to find venues in the struggle to stay afloat. Talking to Guilty Pleasures in support of this weekend’s
National Album Day, the flame-haired Scot fumed: ‘It’s crazy. There’s a backlog of two years of bands wanting to get out and play in front of people.
‘I don’t even know if the venues will be available. It’s going to be a bit of a land grab for so many.
‘I feel bad for the young British music scene. Musicians have been royally screwed. Most occupations got furlough, but musicians got thrown to the wolves and it makes me so angry. We’re at risk of losing an entire generation of young musicians as a result of this nightmare.’
The 55-year-old grunge legend’s own plans have been thrown into doubt by Covid. ‘We will have to wait and see,’ Shirley said. ‘Next year we will be recording and touring, God willing. That’s the problem, you have no idea what the future holds as a musician right now.’ She admitted the current state of affairs has left her filled with ‘red-headed rage’, adding: ‘I’m always out for revenge.
‘There is something innate in my personality that allows me to never really lose fire. I am a Viking and I carry fire in my veins.
‘A lot of people get despondent when they get kicked into the gutter. I bounce right back up and go, “How dare you!” That’s the Viking gene.’ As the band reissue their classic 2001 album Beautiful Garbage, Shirley has a bone to pick with the new generation of stars.
‘I’m not a big fan of the current sort of pretence that goes on,’ she said. ‘Everyone is pretending to be bigger than they are, to be more famous than they are, more successful, more beautiful, more sexy. I find it pitiful frankly.
‘You can’t always see through it and when you do, it just smacks of sadness. I don’t think it’s very powerful. The more honest you are, the less the world can f*** with you.’
Everyone is pretending to be bigger than they are, to be more famous than they are, more successful, more beautiful, more sexy... I find it pitiful, frankly.