Scissor Sisters

Scissor Sisters' larger-than-life music came from the cutting edge of New York's nightlife and LGBTQ+ culture, but they achieved mainstream popularity without sacrificing any of their authenticity. As they continued the tradition of Elton John, Chic, David Bowie, and other artists with an abundance of wit and glamor, they forged a style all their own, thanks in part to the elements of burlesque and drag that electrified their live shows. After transforming Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" into a Grammy-nominated club anthem, they brought that same creativity to 2004's Scissor Sisters, which became the U.K.'s biggest-selling album that year. The band leaned into glam rock and disco on 2006's Ta-Dah, focused on dance music on 2010's Night Work, and embraced forward-thinking pop sounds on 2012's Magic Hour. Despite the lengthy hiatus that followed, Scissor Sisters' 2025 reunion shows proved they never lost their flair for turning fantasies into reality.Scissor Sisters grew out of the friendship between singer/songwriter Jake Shears and songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Babydaddy. Born Scott Hoffman, Babydaddy met Shears (a.k.a. Jason Sellards) through a childhood friend. After they each moved to New York City -- Babydaddy to study writing and music production at Columbia University and Shears to study fiction writing at the Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts -- they began making music together in 2000. The pair performed at the city's underground clubs where the electroclash scene was taking shape. One of these venues was the Slipper Room, where singer Ana Matronic booked acts for her cabaret event Knock Off. When Shears and Babydaddy appeared at the Slipper Room, Matronic joined them onstage and soon became a permanent member of the band. Del Marquis, a friend of Shears from their time as go-go dancers at the IC Guys club, signed on as guitarist. Paddy Boom, who recorded two albums in the '90s with his previous band the Sloane Rangers, became Scissor Sisters' drummer. The band released its first single, "Electrobix/Comfortably Numb," in 2002 on the New York label A Touch of Class. Though the A-side didn't gain much traction, Scissor Sisters' neon-bright reimagining of the iconic Pink Floyd song resonated with clubbers in the U.S. and the U.K. (and was even received favorably by Roger Waters and David Gilmour). "Comfortably Numb"'s success led to a deal with Polydor in the U.K., with the band's first single for the label, "Laura," reaching number 54 on the U.K. Singles Chart in 2003. The response they received from European and U.K. audiences led them to play frequent shows in those regions for the rest of the year.In January 2024, Scissor Sisters officially released "Comfortably Numb" as a single; it soon became a Top Ten hit in the U.K. A month later, the band issued its self-titled debut album. Created as a cohesive set of songs rather than a collection of singles, Scissor Sisters nevertheless spawned three more hits ("Take Your Mama," "Mary," and "Filthy/Gorgeous"). It was the best-selling album of the year in the U.K., where it was eventually certified platinum nine times. Scissor Sisters was released in July 2004 in the U.S., peaking at 102 on the 200 Albums Chart and reaching number one on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart. The band launched its first U.S. tour in May 2004 and returned to Europe in June and July. These dates included two gigs supporting Scissor Sisters' spiritual and musical godfather, Elton John, as well as appearances at festivals such as Glastonbury, T in the Park, Roskilde, and the Montreux Jazz Festival. Late that year, Scissor Sisters were nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Record for "Comfortably Numb." Around this time, members of the group began working on outside projects. Shears and Babydaddy wrote the single "I Believe in You" for Kylie Minogue's Ultimate Kylie in 2004, and Matronic appeared on New Order's "Jetstream" from the 2005 album Waiting for the Siren's Call. Scissor Sisters won Best International Album at the 2005 BRIT Awards, and the band kept busy that year with touring, producing remixes, and working on new music. The first single from their second album, "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'," was a collaboration with Elton John that topped the U.K. Charts soon after its release in August 2006. In September, Scissor Sisters issued the full-length Ta-Dah, which featured contributions from Paul Williams and Van Dyke Parks as well as John and added touches of psychedelia to their glam rock and disco. The album debuted at number one in the U.K. and went on to be certified quintuple platinum there. Globally, Ta-Dah went platinum in five countries and gold in five others, while it cracked the Top 20 in the U.S. and reached number one on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart. Scissor Sisters spent the rest of the year and much of 2007 touring, with performances that ranged from three nights at London's Wembley Arena to an appearance on the U.S. soap opera Passions. Also in 2007, Shears and Babydaddy co-wrote "White Diamond," the title track from Kylie Minogue's documentary, with the singer. Scissor Sisters began work on their third album in 2008, during which time the band parted ways with Paddy Boom. Recording continued with new drummer Randy Real, but these sessions were ultimately scrapped. During this time, Del Marquis issued a series of solo EPs with guests such as Joan As Police Woman and Basement Jaxx, while Shears and frequent collaborator J.J. Garden wrote the lyrics and score to a musical adaptation of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City novels. The band returned to the studio in mid-2009 with co-producer Stuart Price. Preceded by the power ballad "Fire with Fire," June 2010's Night Work peaked at number two in the U.K. and became Scissor Sisters' second Top 20 album in the U.S. Along with touring the world as a headlining act, the band also opened for Lady Gaga in early 2011. The group returned to the studio quickly, recording in New York and London and working with Pharrell Williams, Calvin Harris and Azealia Banks among others. April 2012's Harris-produced single "Only the Horses" reached number 12 on the U.K. Singles Chart prior to the May release of Magic Hour. Described by Shears as "beat-driven future-pop," Magic Hour reached number five in the U.K. and number 35 in the U.S. Thanks to its viral video, the album's third single "Let's Have a Kiki" topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs Chart. At an October 2012 show at the Camden Roundhouse, Scissor Sisters announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus. In the years that followed, Shears collaborated with artists such as Minogue, Cher, and Amadou & Mariam, released the solo albums Jake Shears (2018) and Last Man Dancing (2023), and returned to the theater, performing in the 2018 Broadway production of Kinky Boots and writing the award-winning biographical musical Tammy Faye with Elton John and playwright James Graham. Matronic appeared on The Voice UK and Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, and worked as a commentator on the 2013 and 2014 Eurovision Song Contests. After writing the 2015 book Robot Universe: Legendary Automatons and Androids from the Ancient World to the Distant Future, she presented the BBC Radio 2 show Dance Devotion, contributed to the 2024 BBC/PBS documentary Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution, and hosted the podcast Good Time Sallies. Babydaddy concentrated on songwriting and production, and Marquis founded Slow Knights, a musical collective that released the albums Cosmos (2013) and Living in a Dark World (2015).Scissor Sisters first reunited to work with MNDR on 2017's "Swerlk," a single recorded to honor the victims of the 2016 Orlando night club shooting that benefitted the LGBTQ+ nonprofit the Contigo Fund. In 2025, Shears, Babydaddy, Marquis, and Real reunited for a tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of Scissor Sisters' release. The shows included a date at that year's Glastonbury Festival with cameos by Beth Ditto, Jessie Ware, and Ian McKellen. A deluxe version of the group's debut album appeared that July, with B-sides and remixes among the bonus material.
© Heather Phares /TiVo