Shirley stars as a Dominatrix
Los Angeles dance-rock duo She Wants Revenge have hired Shirley Manson to appear in their next video as a dominatrix.
Garbage might be on hiatus, but Shirley Manson has found her fix of filth elsewhere.
The Scottish singer just finished filming a starring role in She Wants Revenge’s “These Things” video — playing a dominatrix.
“The song is sick On The Set Of She Wants Revenge’s “Tear You Apart” Video and a bit twisted, and I really like that,” Manson said on the set. “They sound like a lot of bands that I was into growing up in Scotland. There’s elements of Joy Division and the Cure, and I love the way the guitars sound.”
It wasn’t the Los Angeles dance-rock duo, however, that brought Manson on board but the video’s director, Sophie Muller, whose credits include seven Garbage videos.
“I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to be doing, but the director’s a good friend of mine and asked me to come and be a dominatrix, and beyond that, I don’t know much else about it,” Manson said. “Sophie wanted to keep things strictly on the down low, so she’s just throwing it at me as we hit each scene.”
That explains why no treatment was available, but from the looks of the footage, the video appears to be a love story of sorts involving Manson’s dominatrix and She Wants Revenge singer Justin Warfield. Like the band’s Joaquin Phoenix-directed clip for “Tear You Apart,” it’s got sex, violence and a lot of red (see “From Acting To Helming Music Vids, Phoenix Is Rising”).
“We never really like talking about the concepts of our videos,” Warfield said. “It’s like explaining a movie or a song. It’s just that people can take what they want from it. It’ll be quite beautiful, and it tells something of a story. And, thematically and stylistically, it definitely fits with the other things we’ve done, be it music videos or artwork or songs (see “Videos In Graveyards, Songs About S&M — She Wants Revenge Say ‘We’re Not Dark’ “).”
Muller, herself a bit mysterious (camera crews visiting her sets are not allowed to shoot her), came to the band with a concept and atmosphere, and Warfield and DJ Adam 12 added a few ideas of their own.
“Working with this type of director, you admire their work and their passion and you put your faith in them that they’re going to do something that’s beautiful and special,” Warfield said.
“Sophie’s an incredible director and really inspiring and really good fun,” Manson added. “She’s a no-bullsh– kind of person. She’s not snotty, and she’s real creative and allows you to be creative with her.”
The video marks Manson’s first work since Garbage announced a break last fall (see “Shirley Manson On Garbage Hiatus: ‘I’m Burnt, I’m Done, I’m Toast’ “).
As for She Wants Revenge, their schedule is anything but open. They’re headlining a club tour to be followed by an opening stint for Depeche Mode and a few festivals, including Coachella this weekend. And it looks like the singles will keep coming.
“People that we meet out when we do shows are letting us know that ‘This is the record not only can I listen to the whole thing through, but this song is something that I’m going through right now and I’m really happy you guys, like, did this type of music,’ ” Adam 12 said. “It’s really been amazing all the reactions we’ve been getting from all the people.”
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