Time moves fast when you’re the Scissor Sisters. It’s been 24 years since the band came alive, in the sequinned musical Petri dish of New York’s queer underground. Twenty years since their self-titled debut album tore through the UK music charts, with brash, exuberant hits such as “Filthy/Gorgeous” and “Take Your Mama”. Twelve years since they sashayed off stage for the last time, leaving behind an empty dancefloor, still vibrating to their infectious glam-pop beats. It’s only a matter of days, however, since I heard the news: the Scissor Sisters are back.
To mark the 20th anniversary of Scissor Sisters, the inimitable pop group have reformed as a trio, and are today announcing a tour of the UK and Ireland next May. The three returning members of the band – Jake Shears (aka Arizona-born singer-songwriter Jason Sellards), Babydaddy (instrumentalist and songwriter Scott Hoffman) and Del Marquis (guitarist/bassist Derek Gruen) – sit before me on Zoom. Shears is in the back of a cab, holding his phone camera aloft; Babydaddy and Marquis are in their respective homes, the latter backdropped by a wall of guitars. But in spirit, at least, they are together at last.
