Shirley Bio

Shirley Manson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on August 26, 1966. Her father is a lectuer in poultry genetics and her mother is an ex-jazz singer. She grew up the middle child of three girls.

Shirley had a rough childhood, suffering from depression and an addiction of cutting herself. She sought refuge in music, joining her first band, August 1904, in 1982, singing back-up vocals. Then in 1983 she again sang back-up for the Wild Indians. In 1985 she joined Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie. After Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie lost its record deal, Shirley became the lead singer of the band Angelfish, composed of the four members from Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie that wanted to stay together. In 1994, tha band's first single, Suffocate Me, aired on MTV's 120 Minutes. Steve Marker was watching 120 Minutes and knew Shirley was the singer he, Butch Vig, and Duke Erikson were looking for for their project they called Garbage.

In one day, Shirley left Angelfish and became the lead singer for Garbage. Their first album, self-titled, was released in 1995 and their follow-up, Version 2.0, was released in 1998.

Shirley resides in Edinburgh, Scotland, with husband Edward Farrel. They got married on September 7, 1996.