It Was the Reunion No One Ever Thought They'd See But, 26 Years After A

he 1993 Ivor Novellos should have been one of the greatest moments of Marcella Detroit’s life. The singer-songwriter, one half of the mega-selling pop group Shakespears Sister, was on-stage to collect the band’s Ivor for Best Contemporary Collection Of Songs for their smash hit album, Hormonally Yours. Sadly, the other half of Shakespears Sister, former Bananarama member Siobhan Fahey, had other ideas. Fahey did not Tattend the ceremony, but her publisher, 2005 Music Week Strat Award winner Peter Reichardt of EMI, read out a statement that made it clear the band was finished and wished Detroit “all the best for the future”, before declaring: “All’s well that ends well”. The trouble was that, while Detroit knew all was definitely not well between her and her musical partner, this was the first time she’d heard that the band was officially over. “Getting that confirmation was very emotional for me,” says Detroit, 26 years later. “I have to admit I went back to the table and sobbed silently to myself…” Yes, as splits go, Shakespears Sister’s was as messy and public as humanly possible. But, as with most things to do with this most intriguing of pop groups, there was more to it than met the eye. And now that they are, against all odds, back together (“Hell froze over and pigs have flown!” declares Detroit), it’s time to get to the bottom of it all, once and for all… eeting Siobhan Fahey and Marcella Detroit at their manager’s office in 2019, on the day Shakespears Sister’s return is formally announced, you’d never know they didn’t speak to each other for 25 years. While there’s still Mclearly a little unresolved tension, they finish each other’s sentences, trade in-jokes and regularly sing each other’s praises, as if they’d been working alongside each other harmoniously ever since. Yet, after that Ivors ceremony, there was no contact at all – bar a few tentative emails from Detroit that met with a non-committal response from Fahey – until last year, despite the band being one of the biggest-selling UK acts of its generation. Hormonally Yours is certified double platinum by the BPI, while their single Stay was No.1 for eight weeks, still a record for an all-female band. Yet their name had fallen almost completely off the grid in the intervening years, despite Fahey occasionally returning to it as solo artist. No one was expecting a reunion, but few were clamouring for it either. The man who made it happen was Fascination Management founder Peter Loraine. As Bananarama manager, he brokered Fahey’s equally unlikely return to the fold for a tour in 2017. And, when that failed to turn into a permanent reunion (“That was hard for me,” says Fahey, “Because it was very emotional going back to Bananarama”), he pondered whether she’d be open to a reconciliation with Detroit. Having moved to Los Angeles and “doing a lot of work on my ‘spiritual growth’”, Fahey decided she was. A few emails to Detroit’s husband later It was the reunion no one ever thought and the pair – who had actually been living as near-neighbours in LA – met up for coffee. It had been so long, Fahey initially mistook another they’d see but, 26 years after a messy split, diner for her erstwhile bandmate (“I was like, ‘No, I’m right here’,” laughs Shakespears Sister are back together, and Detroit). So, what do you say to someone you haven’t spoken to in a quarter of a century? back on the also-reformed London Records. “‘Well, this is weird’ might have been the opening gambit,” giggles Fahey. “But it was a real learning curve for me, how communication is Music Week catches up with Siobhan Fahey healing. All the misunderstandings and misconstruings that had gone on between us were cleared up that day and all the ill-feeling went in, and Marcella Detroit as they try to adjust to literally, a puff of smoke.” the modern age (and each other)… “I didn’t really know what to expect, but it was good because we cleared the air,” adds Detroit. “We were able to clarify any misconceptions that each of us had. I was grateful for that.” ------ BY MARK SUTHERLAND ------- Shakespears Sister’s later years had been marked by resentment over their roles in the band (particularly Detroit’s starring vocal turn on the soaring Stay, which became their biggest hit, despite Fahey being perceived as the band’s frontwoman), while their final tour was musicweek.com 03.06.19 Music Week | 23.

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