When Shirley Manson speaks, you should listen. The Garbage frontwoman is one of rock’s most entertaining and eloquent figures and back in 2021 she told this writer that a huge part of who she is was down to what she’d learned from watching her heroes. Asked to pick just one, Manson homed in on legendary New York punk-poet Patti Smith.
“Someone like Patti Smith continues to be a beacon in the darkness and has remained inspirational and brave and hard as nails and soft as a kitten’s belly,” Manson said. “I’m in awe and I’m in her thrall.”
