Scissor Sisters

As far as lesbian/bisexual female artists are concerned, we still have the 70s, 80s and 90s to do. We'll be returning to them shortly. Now, it's time to revisit the 21st Century. We begin with a band that was 3/5 gay and was very popular in the 00s.

Scissor Sisters is an American pop group formed in 2001. Forged in the gay nightlife scene of New York, the band took its name from a sexual act that our lesbian friends will sometimes perform, often referenced in Glee by the Brittana couple. They were originally named Dead Lesbian and then the Fibrillating Scissor Sisters, then they were no longer Fibrillating, remaining just the Scissor Sisters.

In 2000 friends Jake Shears and Scott "Babydaddy" Hoffman (who had met in 1999 in Lexington) both moved to New York City, enjoying its open and gay-friendly ethos. They began producing music together, with Babydaddy composing music and Shears writing lyrics. On a trip to Disneyland, the pair met Ana "Ana Matronic" Lynch, who by late September 2001 was a member of the band. They were soon joined by Derek "Del Marquis" Gruen on lead guitar, who had known Shears from when they both worked at the IC Guys club where Shears had been a stripper. They completed the lineup with Patrick "Paddy Boom" Seacor on drums. Seacor and Lynch were the only straight members of the band.

Their first single Electrobix dealt with the obsession of many gay men with working out, but proved to be less popular than its B-side, a cover version of Pink Floyd's Progressive Rock classic Comfortably Numb. Matronic commented, "It's one of those songs that people were either gonna love or hate, and that's really, really powerful, because it basically means you're evoking a reaction in everyone. The first time I heard it, I thought that if it doesn't make us famous, it'll make us infamous because somebody will shoot us!" Their version of Comfortably Numb became a hit in many dance clubs and, after sending Pink Floyd themselves a copy, the Scissor Sisters received positive remarks from the song's original writers Roger Waters and David Gilmour. The song proved to be particularly popular in the UK, where various record labels soon took an interest in the band. In 2003, they decided they would tour Europe where they believed audiences would be more receptive of them and their music than their native US.

Here's Electrobix:

Here's Comfortably Numb:

And here's the original Comfortably Numb, by Pink Floyd:

After Comfortably Numb, which reached #10 in the UK, the follow up, an Elton John influenced coming out song called Take Your Mama, made #17.

A re-release of their first UK single, Laura, followed: it made #12 in the UK and #17 in Ireland.

Their next single, the more somber Mary, made #14 in the UK. It deals with Shears' shock from the death of his best friend Mary.

Their fifth single off the album, the trans-related hedonist anthem Filthy/Gorgeous, was their biggest hit to date: it made #5 in the UK, #13 in Ireland and #1 in the US Dance chart.

Their first album, released in 2004 with their name as the title, made #1 in the UK, selling in excess of 2.7 million copies. It was also #1 in Ireland, #7 in Australia and #18 in Denmark. It contained all five singles, as well as other great songs, including the sad and poetic Return to Oz, dealing with drug abuse within the gay community.

... As well as the funny and naughty Tits on the Radio:

Their next single was their biggest hit ever: I Don't Feel Like Dancin', sounded like the Bee Gees singing Leo Sayer. Elton John was on piano. The song reached #1 in the UK, Germany, Australia, Austria, Sweden and Belgium. It peaked at #2 in Ireland and the Netherlands and #4 in Italy. It also made its way in their second album, Ta-Dah (2006). The album again went to #1 in the UK (almost 1.5 million sales), also in Ireland and Australia. It made the Top 10 in most major European markets and #19 in the US.

The followup singles from Ta-Dah weren't as successful: Land of a Thousand Words made #18 in Italy and #19 in the UK:

She's My Man failed to make the Top 20, anywhere. Its highest position was #23 in Italy.

Kiss You Off only made #43 in the UK:

Another notable track from this album was named after one of my favorite artists, Paul McCartney:

Finally, from this album, here's a study on mortality, The Other Side:

After touring the world in 2007, the band had a short hiatus in order to work on their next studio album. At this time, drummer Paddy Boom amicably parted ways with the band. He was replaced by Randy Schrager.

Scissor Sisters spent much of 2008 and early 2009 in the recording studio. However, after working on new material for approximately 18 months, the band decided to shelve their third album. They returned to the studio and began to work on new tracks in June 2009, which made it onto their replacement third album, Night Work. The album was less successful in Europe, not making the Top 10 anywhere but the UK, where it made #2, selling eventually around 157 500 copies (a tenth of what their previous album had sold). First single, Fire with Fire, did just OK: #11 in the UK, #16 in Ireland and #1 in the US Dance chart:

Any Which Way, despite guest vocals by Kylie Minogue, only made #81 in the UK and no chart action anywhere else:

Their next single, Invisible Light, even with Sir Ian McKellen as a guest, did nothing, nowhere.

Their last album, Magic Hour, was released in 2012. It made #4 in the UK, #15 in Ireland, #27 in Australia and #35 in the US. First single, Only the Horses, had a decent chart run: #5 in Italy, #12 in the UK and #5 in the US Dance chart:

Their last single, the fun-filled Let's Have a Kiki made #1 in the US Dance chart, but only #119 in the UK.

On October 23, 2012, Scissor Sisters announced an indefinite hiatus.

Their music can be generally described as a mixture of Glam Rock, Disco and Alternative music, with influences from all sorts of artists, mainly from the 70s and 80s. They, in turn, influenced a lot of acts that came after, especially LGBT ones. We'll have to wait and see whether they'll record together again.