Garbage is an American rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1993. The group consists of Scottish soloist Shirley Manson and such American musicians as: Duke Erickson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig.
The band members are involved in songwriting and producing. Garbage has sold over 17 million albums worldwide.
History of creation and early years (1993-1994)
Duke Erickson and Butch Vig were members of several bands including Spooner and Fire Town (with engineer Steve Marker). In 1983, Vig and Marker formed Smart Studios in Madison. And his production work caught the attention of Sub Pop. Spooner reunited in 1990 and released another album. But in 1993 it broke up.
In 1994, Vig became "kind of jaded making really long records". He teamed up with Erickson and Marker. And they started doing remixes for U2, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, House of Pain.
The remixes used different instruments and often highlighted new guitar hooks and bass sounds. This experience inspired the three people to form a band where they "wanted to take that remix sensibility and somehow translate it into all the possibilities of the band's setup."
The initial work of the all-male group led to a general desire for a woman to lead them. Vig stated that "they want to find a female vocalist like Debbie Harry, Patti Smith, Chrissie Hynde and Siussi Sioux because everyone thought they were really strong, unique individuals."
There were many views of the members, but they got caught on video (by manager Shannon O'Shea) and saw singer Shirley Manson. When contacted, Manson did not know who Vig was and was asked to check the credits on Nevermind.
The first meeting of the members of the future group
On April 8, 1994, Manson first met Erickson, Marker, and Vig in London. Later that evening, Vig was informed of the suicide of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
Erickson, Marker and Vig visited Metro Chicago. And Manson was invited to Madison Square Garden to audition for the band. It didn't go well, but Manson was very outgoing. And they realized that they had a similar taste in music. Later, Manson called O'Shea and asked to audition again, feeling that everything would work out.
And so it happened, the first songs were versions of the songs Stupid Girl, Queer and Vow. They led to Manson's extraordinary lyrics. She had never written a song before this record. However, this time she was invited to join the group.
Garbage sent demos without a bio and soon signed with Mushroom UK worldwide (except North America). The only potential song for release was Vow. Because it was the only song the band was 100% sure of. After the release of Vow, it was played on XFM radio by Radio 1 DJs Steve Lamack, John Peel and Johnny Walker.
On March 20, 1995, the Mushroom label released Vow in a limited 7" vinyl format via Discordant. This is a label created only to launch the Garbage band. Commercial alternative radio became popular in the US. And the musicians began to receive wide rotation throughout the country.
Vow debuted on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks at number 39. It gradually climbed over the following weeks before spending two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, staying at No. 97.
Garbage (1995-1997)
In August 1995, the band released the album Garbage, which was preceded by the first single Vow in March 1995. This album was an unexpected success. More than 5 million copies have been sold. It has achieved double platinum status in the UK and the US.
It also received excellent reviews from critics and was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. They released five singles from this album: Vow, Only Happy It Rains, Queer, Stupid Girl and Milk. On August 7, 1995, the single Subhuman was released.
In 1996 the band released a short VHS and Video CD Garbage Video. It included promotional videos for the band Garbage filmed up to that point.
In 1997, the Garbage group got into the nominations (Grammy Award): "Best New Artist", "Best Rock Duo Performance" or "Group with Vocal", "Best Rock Song" for Stupid Girl. A remixed version of #1 Crush was featured on the soundtrack to William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. It was also nominated for "Best Song from a Movie" at the 1997 MTV Movie Awards.
Version 2.0 (1998-2000)
The musicians devoted more than a year to working on the Version 2.0 album. It was released in May 1998. Ranked #1 in the UK and #13 in the US. It was supported by six singles: Push It, I Think I'm Paranoid, Special, When I Grow Up, The Trick is to Keep Breathing and You Look So Good.
The Push It music video contains state-of-the-art effects and costs over $400. Version 2.0 has sold over 5 million copies.
In 1999, the band performed a song for the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. Then the musicians wrote the song When I Grow Up in the Adam Sandler film Big Daddy. Version 2.0 received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album. And Special got into the nominations "Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group" and "Best Rock Song".
In October 2001, Garbage released their third and most popular album, Beautiful Garbage. It was preceded by the single Androgyny in September 2001. Four singles were released: Androgyny, Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!), Breaking Up the Girl, Shut Your Mouth. They were successful. This album took the 6th position in the top 10 albums of the year (Rolling Stone). On a world tour from October 2001 to November 2002. Butch has health problems.
Garbage on the verge of breaking up
The group tried to stay together and nearly disbanded in 2003 before returning with their fourth album Bleed Like Me in April 2005, peaking at No. 4 in the US. The album was promoted by four singles: Why Do You Love Me, Sex Is Not The Enemy, Bleed Like Me and Run Baby Run. Garbage have suspended their 2005 world tour and have announced an indefinite hiatus.
The band released the greatest hits album and DVD Absolute Garbage in July 2007. The collection includes: a selection of singles, the new single Tell Me Where It Hurts. As well as a remixed version of It's All Over But the Crying. The DVD includes most of the music videos and a documentary about the band.
In 2008, a new track, Witness to Your Love, was released on a US charity compilation. Shirley Manson recorded a solo album, but her label refused to release it, saying it was "too noisy". That same year, she began starring in the American television show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Not Your Kind of People (2010-2014)
On February 1, 2010, Shirley Manson's official Facebook page confirmed that she had spent a week in the studio with her bandmates. In the post, Manson wrote, “Guess who I just spent a week in the studio with? Would you be happy if I told you that one of them was called Steve, and the second was Duke, and the third was a Grammy-winning producer? In October 2010, it was officially confirmed that Garbage had recorded their fifth studio album.
The band hit Billboard with their fifth studio album. It was released independently of major label support. On January 6, 2012, the band announced they had entered Red Razor Studios in Glendale, California. She recorded material for the album. She confirmed on Twitter that she is working on five tracks, including What Are Girls Made Of?.
Not Your Kind of People was released on May 14, 2012 to positive reviews. The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200 and number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. The band performed in support of the album during the Not Your Kind of People World Tour. The song Not Your Kind of People was used in the trailer for the video game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
In 2014, Manson confirmed that the group was working on a book. And noted that the next entry will be her "romantic novel." On January 23, 2015, the band confirmed on Facebook that they had completed two songs for Record Store Day 2015. On April 18, 2015, The Chemicals was released with vocals by Brian Oberth (Silversun Pickups). The band performed at the Pa'l Norte Rock festival in Monterrey (Mexico) on April 25, 2015.
On October 2, 2015, the band released a 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. During the 20 Years Queer tour, Vig announced that the album would be completed by February 1, 2016. And that his "promotion" will be facilitated by a world tour, which will begin in the summer.
Strange Little Birds (2016-2018)
On February 6, 2016, Garbage stated on their Facebook page that the mixing was almost complete: "Our new album is one inch away, just one inch from the finished one. And I mean one inch away from full completion. Recorded. Mixed. And soon it will be mastered!
Vig also confirmed the title of the new song, Although Our Love Is Doomed. Three days later, the Garbage band announced that they had finished the Strange Little Birds album. The band's sixth studio album was released on June 10, 2016.
Garbage group now
The band announced that they will be releasing the 2018th anniversary edition of their second album Version 20 in May 2.0. The album was released on June 29 and the band went on tour to celebrate the album.
In March 2018 Garbage also worked on a new studio album. It came out in 2020.
