CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Can we get out of here? Jake Shears asks me as I meet him in the lobby of his West Hollywood, Calif., hotel on the day of the Scissor Sisters last show of their U.S. tour. The digs are nice, but the caf upstairs where Id planned on talking to him is, admittedly, a little stuffy. Shears, lead singer of the New Yorkbased band, is justified in being tired of hotels and tour busesand interviews, for that matter. With only a few minor breaks here and there, the Sisters have been touring constantly through the United States and Europe for over a year and a half. At times their schedule has been so grueling that last winter Jake found himself coughing up blood from exhaustion. Frequently, he, vocalist Ana Matronic, band co-mastermind Babydaddy, guitarist Del Marquis, and drummer Paddy Boom were sleeping only every 48 hours. Wed play a gig at night, get on a plane or the bus, arrive in the morning, do press during the day, get ready, and do another show that night. Its crazy.
But at this moment, Shears, dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved black button-down shirt with metallic threads, looks rested. Its a good thing, too, because he has another full day ahead of him. After lunch with me, the band members are headed to The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson to tape a performance of their single Take Your Mama (I wanted to play Laura, says Jake, but they insisted) and are then off to the Wiltern Theatre to play their biggest show in Los Angeles thus far.
Less than a year ago, when I first met the band, they were about to play a considerably smaller venue in Los Angeless Silver Lake neighborhood, with a capacity of about 200. Theyd come off an amazing series of shows in the United Kingdom, where they were quickly becoming major stars, opening for Elton John and Duran Duran, and playing enormous venues like Wembley Stadium. Since then, their disco cover of Pink Floyds Comfortably Numb was nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Recording, their self-titled debut albumthe top-selling album in the United Kingdom last yearwas nominated for and won three Brit Awards in February, and they released a DVD of concert footage and music videos. In the States theyve appeared on Live With Regis and Kelly, Late Night With Conan OBrien, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the ultimate live TV gig, Saturday Night Live. A river of ink has been spilled over the albums anthem-like perfect pop songs, the bands outr fashion sense, Shearss ambivalent relationship with clothing when performing (he likes flashy costumes, but they dont stay on long when hes onstage), and the fact that three members, Shears, Babydaddy, and Marquis, are openly gay.
While Shearss stage performance is certainly riveting, up close its even easier to see why fans and the press have been taken with this lithe, shaggy-haired, 26-year-old former go-go dancer. His wide eyes and frankness are disarming, almost flirtatious.
Yet, while the band is clearly flourishing stateside, Scissor Sisters have yet to see their phenomenal success in the United Kingdom repeated here. Various band members have attributed the discrepancy to American radio politics (Shears has called it fascist) or to the presss pigeonholing the band as making gay music. Jake says U.K. audiences dont give a fuck about the band members sexuality. From little kids to teenagers to full-on grandmas, he says, sipping a giant caf Americano in the French bistro on Melrose Avenue where we ended up. They love the music and they love us and they dont really concern themselves with it, I dont think. But here at home, where the prevailing cultural climate is considerably more conservative? He admits he doesnt read much of the press on the band but says that music, no matter what its necessarily saying, transcends sexuality. Performing, he says, is like putting on an outfit. I would feel absolutely comfortable singing a love song to a girl with gender-specific pronouns. Even though in a certain way Im lying when Im singing it, I can still be honest and tell that story and be totally comfortable with it.
Because of the bands sensational accomplishments in the United Kingdom (where theyve sold in the neighborhood of two million albums), offers have been pouring in for Shears and Babydaddy to work with other artists. Theyve discussed collaborations with Elton John, and Shears has received an invitation from Andy Bell of Erasure to sing a duet on Bells upcoming solo album.
Babydaddy and Shears also wrote a new song, I Believe in You, for Kylie Minogues greatest hits collection Ultimate Kylie. Shears even confessed to Minogue his desire to write a movie musical vehicle for her. Oh, yeah! he says, visibly excited about the idea. God, wouldnt it be fun? I have fantasies about a psychedelic Kylie Minogue rock musical. That would be just sick!
To read more about Jake Shears, pick up the April issue of Out.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
38 Male Celebs Who Did Full Frontal Scenes
November 17 2023 5:18 PM
These are all the celebrities Who came out as LGBTQ+ in 2023
December 31 2023 12:19 PM
29 LGBTQ+ celebs you can follow on OnlyFans
April 18 2024 1:00 PM
26 actors who showed bare ass in movies & TV shows
February 28 2024 1:50 PM
16 times male celebrities had to say they weren't gay
April 17 2024 11:57 AM
21 LGBTQ+ reality dating shows & where to watch them
April 03 2024 4:01 PM
15 Unforgettable Gay Kissing Scenes From TV & Movies
February 14 2024 10:20 AM
14 queens who quit or retired from drag after 'RuPaul's Drag Race'
April 04 2024 12:56 PM
40 steamy celebrity Calvin Klein ads we'll always be thirsty for
January 04 2024 10:54 AM
The 15 Best LGBTQ+ Movies of 2023
December 04 2023 10:32 AM
Watch Now: The Daily
Trending stories from our video partner Advocate Channel.
For more videos and shows go to advocatechannel.com.
Trending stories from our video partner Advocate Channel.
For more videos and shows go to advocatechannel.com.
Latest Stories
Jonathan Bailey joins 'Heartstopper' as the celebrity crush of our dreams
April 25 2024 10:36 AM
10 times Kehlani had our heads spinning with her iconic looks & style
April 24 2024 8:41 PM
Andy Cohen's alleged Bravo exit & 'Housewives' legal drama—here's what we know
April 24 2024 8:11 PM
10 iconic fictional pop stars in film & TV that we're still stanning
April 24 2024 7:22 PM
A TikTok ban in the U.S. is now even more likely—here's why & what it means
April 24 2024 6:41 PM
10 cringeworthy LGBTQ+ characters in film & TV that had us squirming
April 24 2024 6:22 PM
Kim Petras just dropped out of upcoming concerts — and here's why
April 24 2024 5:43 PM
Daniel Bedingfield opens up about his sexuality for the first time
April 24 2024 3:34 PM
Meet the 11 hot singles looking for love on BBC's 'I Kissed a Girl'
April 24 2024 2:58 PM