Although Shirley had a "perfect upbringing," she was still "desperately unhappy." She was basically tortured at school, being called "posh," bloodhound," and "frog-eyes." She would even come home from school bruised and beat up.
Shirley says "I was convinced I was the ugliest creature that ever lived, that everybody hated me, and the only way to deal with it was to be as unpleasant as possible." By the time she was just ten years old, Shirley had become a nightmare to her parents. She was "an unhappy, angry child" and has said, "I was a horrible child. I was really vile. I was very bad-tempered and sullen and not a very pleasant, cute child. I was aggressive."
As a way to rebel, Shirley went out pursuing men with her friends wearing short skirts and a lot of make-up. Her father tried to stop her. She says, "He was trying to terrorize me to make me stop, but I got tired of empty rebellion very quickly, anyway. And then, all I wanted to do was have a boyfriend. Sex took over."
Shirley lost her virginity at 15 years old to a much older man. She had joined a drama group outside school and started drinking heavily. She had sex with her music teacher of the drama group. She says, "The actual event was ghastly. We did it in his grotty bachelor friend's house while the friend was asleep on the couch down below. There were porno mags all over the bedroom and socks were on. Vests were on. A super low-fi bachelor pad with dirty pants and half-eaten bowls of cereal around the bed. It lasted 40 seconds."
Shirley left school at 16 years old.
Shirley joined the group Goodbye Mr. MacKenzie in 1985, because she wanted to sleep with the lead singer, Martin Metcalfe. She soon got what she wanted, but they broke up after she learned of his infidelities. However, she still stuck with the group because of her love for music.
The band consisted of Metcalfe on guitar, Fin Wilson on bass, Derek Kelly on drums, and Rona, Big John Duncan, and Shirley on keyboards, guitar, and other needed instruments. After a bit of success and a harsh split with Rona and Big John, the remaining members re-named themselves Angelfish.
Angelfish recorded their debut album in Connecticut in 1994. The band's biggest hit is probably "Suffocate Me," which received a single video showing on MTV's 120 Minutes. This video is what sparked the interest of Butch Vig, Steve Marker, and Duke Erikson in Shirley.
Shirley got married to Edward Farrell, a sculptor, on September 7, 1996. Shirley first met Eddie when her mother awoke her in the middle of the night because she thought Shirley's dad was dying. It was on a family holiday on a farm in rural France. Shirley panicked to get to a public phone, fell over a wall, and ended up being up to her neck in water. That's when she met Eddie: "the light from the cottage was shining behind his head and there was literally a halo shining above his head, a full circle, an absolute halo. I stretched my hands up and he stretched down and our fingers just touched, just enough, and I think it was because I had so much adrenaline in my body that I propelled myself, literally, out of the water. Straight up, honestly, just whoosh! So, I felt that Eddie had saved me. One of the most incredible experiences of my life." She says that "he's my partner, somebody who makes you feel totally comfortable and isn't threatened by anything you do or feel. He's absolutely my best friend."
Shirley still gets depressed: "I battle with self-loathing every single day of my life. Not in such as destructive a way as I did when I was younger. I thought I was this weird, hideous little thing… I continue to struggle with that to this day. I feel vile, most of the time. Sometimes I look at photos and think, 'Wow, they've made me look really lovely.' But in real life, I don't feel particularly gorgeous. I don't think I'm the ugliest creature in the world-except when I'm depressed, but I deal with it."
Shirley's favorite food is mayonnaise. She says, "I have it on everything."
Butch eventually met Duke and Steve. They formed the band Garbage. So, why on Earth would anyone want to name their band Garbage of all things? Butch says, "This friend came to the studio to play some percussion on the remix of a Nine Inch Nails track, and, when he saw all the loops that I had going around the desk, he said, 'Man, this fuckin' shit looks like garbage to me. Do you know what you're doing?' So I said, 'I'm not too sure, but we're gonna turn this garbage into a song at some point.' We kind of liked the name because it could just be a blend of all sorts of trash and stuff."
Most of his high school career was spent in Mamaroneck, New York (which lies north of Manhattan). Steve then attended the University of Wisconsin as a film student.
While hanging out at clubs, he met Duke and Butch. He then began to record Spooner's songs. The three guys (Butch, Steve, and Duke) eventually formed Garbage.
Shirley flew from Scotland for an audition. The audition bombed and she returned to Scotland. However, she listened to the tapes and began to like them. She called up Garbage for another shot. The second audition went great and the guys were very impressed.
In 1994, Garbage landed a major record deal with Almo Records. Garbage released their debut album in November of 1995. That album sold well over five million copies. They quickly gained popularity with the album and gained even more popularity as the opening act for the Smashing Pumpkins in their 1995 tour. Nearly three years later, they released their second album, Version 2.0, on May 11, 1998. Both albums are great.
"I think Pamela Anderson is attractive... in a cartoon sense. She reminds me of my Sindy doll (the British Barbie). I want to play with her. I mean, I bet she's got no pubic hair."
"My first wish is for the complete and total destruction of the Spice Girls. I want them ritually humiliated in the streets. I want them tarred and feathered. I can't stand the fact that they've tied themselves to the flag of 'girl power' while all the time being managed by men, written for my men, and manipulated by men. As far as I can see, they've done not one tiny thing for 'girl power.'"
Shirley on Natalie Imbruglia: "In all those videos, it's 'Oh, I look so beautiful and wouldn't you like to fuck me?' God knows she is beautiful, but you know full well that she wouldn't be as great a shag as Courtney [Love]. Hoo hoo hoo!"
"It makes me feel good when someone says I sing my heart out. That's what music's about--freedom."
