Shirley Manson's songs of purpose

Do you remember the first time you heard Garbage? I do. It was 1995. Their debut single Vow. That opening guitar line, the stereo panning, and then Shirley Manson’s voice coming in. They exploded, in full flight, onto the scene. Grunge was well on the way out, and in it’s wake Garbage offered a high res view of the future, sounding like nothing we’d heard before.

This combination of three producers contributed to the mess of sounds, but they would be nothing without their frontwoman. For 26 years, Shirley Manson has been an icon. Releasing 7 albums with Garbage, touring non stop, and along the way stepping into Hollywood as well.

Her outspokenness has made her a feminist icon, and when she’s not fighting the equality fight, she’s giving her time to other issues of social justice, her voice to those who need it most.

It’s interesting that Garbage have never been an overtly political band, but that’s changed on their newest album. The gloves are off, there’s no hiding of their intentions on Gods and Masters, and out front is Shirley, roaring about it all. They say that this is the album they had to make, and on the day they unleashed, Shirley Manson joined me to Take 5. Across genres and time, hear about the songs of purpose for this living legend.

'At Seventeen' - Janis Ian

'Strange Fruit' - Billie Holiday

'I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier, Mama' - John Lennon

'Black Boys on Mopeds' - Sinéad O'Connor

'Who we Be' - DMX