Shakespears Sister were an alternative[1] pop and rock musical duo that was formed in 1988 by Irish singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey, a former member of Bananarama.
Shakespears Sister was initially a solo act but became a duo by 1989, with the addition of American musician Marcella Detroit.
[4] In 2019, Fahey and Detroit reunited as Shakespears Sister for a tour and released the singles "All the Queen's Horses" and "When She Finds You", and the EP Ride Again.
[5] Shakespears Sister was conceived as a solo project by Siobhan Fahey, a one-time punk turned chart-pop singer who had left the successful British/Irish girl-group Bananarama in 1988,[6] due to disillusionment with the group's musical direction.
[7][8] 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.
[6] 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 (with whom she had written "Lay Down Sally"),[6] Leon Russell and Bob Seger as well as a songwriter for artists including Jennifer Rush, Chaka Khan and Patty Weaver.
An accomplished singer and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, harmonica and keyboards), Levy also made vocal and instrumental contributions to the sessions, staying on as a prominent 'hired hand'.
During this time, Fahey suggested that Levy — who had previously 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.
[6] "Break My Heart" had been intended to differentiate Fahey's solo artist persona from her past work with Bananarama.
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.
[3] Despite initial reluctance from both women (both of whom wished to retain their independence and avoid band commitments), Detroit was invited to become "a 50% member" towards the end of the recording sessions.
[6] 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 on the UK Singles Chart in the summer of 1989, as did the debut Shakespears Sister album, Sacred Heart,[6] which was certified Gold by the BPI.
[13][14] Two further singles were released from the album, "Run Silent" and "Dirty Mind", though both failed to peak within the Top 50 of the UK chart.
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.
[4] The relative failure of "I Can Drive" prompted London Records to cancel the release of Shakespears Sister's completed third album, #3.
Fahey would later claim that Shakespears Sister was dropped not because of "I Can Drive"'s commercial performance, but due to London Records thinking that the album (which had a notably darker and rockier tone than its predecessors) was "too alternative for a woman of my age".
In 2004, The Best of Shakespear's Sister was released, compiling the group's hits and B-sides as well as including a number of tracks from the unreleased third album.
Also in 2005, a second compilation album, Long Live the Queens!, collected various Shakespears Sister rarities, remixes and unreleased tracks.
"Bitter Pill" and "Pulsatron" were originally intended to appear on Fahey's post-Shakespears Sister solo album, Bad Blood.