Shakespears Sister is an alternative pop and rock musical duo based in the United Kingdom that was formed in 1988 by singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey, a former member of Bananarama. The name was adapted from the title of the song “Shakespeare’s Sister” by The Smiths, which was in turn a reference to Virginia Woolf’s work A Room of One’s Own. According to Fahey, the spelling began with an accidental misspelling on a woodcut sign. She decided to keep it because “It made it sort of my thing, as opposed to the song by The Smiths”. Fahey has described the meaning of the name being “Siobhan Fahey is the mother, the sister, the daughter, it’s not the artist. The artist is Shakespears Sister.”
Fahey began writing and recording work for the project with their record producer Richard Feldman. Several other musicians were involved in the songwriting, one of whom was Feldman’s friend and colleague Marcy Levy, a veteran of live and studio work with Eric Clapton. Fahey suggested that Levy — who had previously tried and failed to get a couple of solo albums released – take on a new professional name in order to gain a new lease of artistic life. Levy agreed and restyled herself as Marcella Detroit, a name she has used throughout her time with Shakespears Sister and afterwards. The debut Shakespears Sister single was “Break My Heart/Heroine” had been intended to differentiate Fahey’s solo artist persona from her past work with Bananarama. David A. Stewart (Fahey’s then-husband) had been impressed by the musical chemistry between Fahey and Detroit in the recording studio. Seeing potential benefit in turning Shakespears Sister from a solo project into a band, he suggested that Fahey and Detroit should unite as a duo. It was a suggestion that was backed by Feldman, Fahey’s management, and her record company, London Records.
The second Shakespears Sister single, “You’re History”, gave the project its breakthrough hit. The song displayed the effectiveness of the vocal pairing of Fahey and Detroit, setting the former’s sly, murmuring contralto against the latter’s R&B-influenced soprano and falsetto parts. “You’re History” reached the top 10 in the UK in the summer of 1989, as did the debut Shakespears Sister album, Sacred Heart, which was certified Gold. In October 1991, Shakespears Sister released a new single, “Stay”, marked Shakespears Sister’s first and only No. 1. It remained at the top of the UK Singles Chart for eight full weeks, achieved similar success on international charts, and won “Best British Video” at the 1993 Brit Awards.
Notably the song foregrounded Detroit, who sang the majority of the lead vocals and featured prominently in the video. This allegedly led to tension with Fahey; Detroit later claimed that Fahey felt sidelined as the project’s instigator and usual lead vocalist, didn’t consider the song to be representative of the band, and had opposed its release as a single. Hormonally Yours was released the following month. The album sold well on the strength of “Stay”, eventually being certified double platinum by the BPI. The duo continued to enjoy success with further singles “I Don’t Care” peaked at No. 7, “Hello (Turn Your Radio On)” at No. 14, and “Goodbye Cruel World” at No. 32.
Although Fahey and Detroit seemed at first to have resolved their differences, Fahey was struggling with personal issues. That led to the cancellation of what would have been the band’s highest profile concert (at the Royal Albert Hall) and Fahey’s temporary hospitalization for depression. The duo decided to put Shakespears Sister on hiatus, and Detroit began working on a solo album (something which had already been agreed and scheduled around band work). During this time Fahey decided to end her partnership with Detroit but chose not to discuss this with her directly. Instead, Detroit was publicly dismissed at the 1993 Ivor Novello Awards ceremony. Detroit and Fahey did not speak to or see each other for over 25 years before eventually meeting up and reconnecting again in 2018.
