Shakespear's Sister - Bath Forum, 14/11/19

Photo Credit: Arianna Cavalensi

The Bath Forum is in for a trip down memory lane, as 26 years after their split, Shakespear’s Sister are back.

Including an original member in bassist Clare Kenny, which is a nice touch, the goth-pop duo start off with Goodbye Cruel World from 1992 album Hormonally Yours then Heroin from 1989’s Sacred Heart. This gets you excited for what’s next; It’s a new one – Dangerous Game – from their comeback albumRide Again and the crowd seemingly know every word and every choreographed hand clap. The song is a dark version of girl power that sticks two fingers up to any fella who dares ‘fuck with them’, as Siobhan puts it while shaking her Iggy Pop style moves.

There’s a mix of old and new, with My 16^th Apology, The Trouble with Andre which is going down a storm and an excuse to give  C U Next Tuesday an airing, as they weren’t allowed to release it as a single due to the titles connotations potentially blocking airplay.

Marcella sticks with her trademark solemn stance, warbling her signature high notes. Siobhan is mesmerising to watch, all wide eyes and sinister smile, using every inch of the stage to strut some style.

It’s nice to see the pair haven’t lost the ‘good witch, bad witch’ vibes they’re famous for, with Marcella pretend shooting Siobhan with her guitar, before Siobhan sneaks behind her back and mocks her angelic vocal style with a demonic grin. 

Stay appears around four songs before the end; it’s the one we want to hear and is an emotional moment for a teary Marcella, but lacks the power it once had. 

With rehearsed banter and choreographed moments that crave that edge they had 26 years ago, you can’t help but think there’s still some distance between the two. They talk of loving each other and burying the hatchet (but not into each other), but there seems to be a missing spark.

It’s all a bit of fun and if you’re looking for nostalgia mixed with noir and a bit of underworld magic, then this is for you. Fair play to SS for getting out there and doing their thing. They were 8 weeks at number one once, remember?