Interview with Marcella Detroit, her brilliant album ‘Jewel’ being reissued this June

By creammagazine, April 20, 2024

Like them or love them (there would have been no sign of loathing), Shakespears Sister were a fantastic act. Siobhan Fahey’s transformation from Bananarama bimbette to glorious goth was a successful one in that it helped dispel tacky images of a blonde-streaked gal in bleached dungarees chanting ‘Na-na-na’ down hot summer streets while garnering kudos for Fahey who ultimately managed to score a cover of The Face. The transformation might not have worked so well, however, without the help of Marcella Detroit, the woman behind much melody and several squeals in songs like Stay, Heroine and You’re History.

 

Marcella possessed a sense of humour as black as Siobhan’s, and a pair of kohl-lined eyes to match. It helped, too, that she was a dab hand at songwriting, and being as much Shakespear as she was Sister in the duo. On that note, the band have always insisted their name be spelt without the final ‘e’ in Shakespear and sans the apostrophe – a kind of two-fingers-up to the English language itself, really, and this was eons before the internet.

In 1993, Marcella Detroit was let go from the band but went on to record a solo album in the form of Jewel, a crown of an album lined with gems like the gorgeous pop ballad I Believe, leftfield funk track Cool People, and operatic delight of Prima Donna.

This year, London Records is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Jewel’s release, reissuing the album to include live versions and remixes from the likes of The Beloved, Masters At Work, and Way Out West. That’s a lot for fans to get excited about.

The following interview was conducted in 1993, over coffees (and maybe one cocktail) at the Ritz-Carlton in Sydney’s Double Bay, just when Jewel was initially released.

Interview with Marcella Detroit by Antonino Tati

 

AT: Hello Marcella. You’ve had your hair cut.

MD: Actually, it’s changed. It’s standing up rather than flat on my head. It was weighing me down.

 

AT: So is the new style metonymic of other changes in your life?

MD: Yeah. I’m doing my own thing. I’m trying not to stay married to too many things from the past and am moving on; and enjoying my life.

 

AT: Should I be pronouncing your name Marcella [as in ‘cellar’] or Marcella [as in ‘cellist’]?

MD: Marcella [as in ‘cellar’]. The Italians pronounce it Marcella [as in ‘cellist’]. Are you Italian?

 

AT: My parents are. I was born in Australia. Are you of Italian upbringing?

MD: No, I’m Jewish. My mother just liked the name Marcella. [Note: the artist now primarily goes by the first name Marcy but since this interview is archival… Editor].

 

AT: And the Detroit part is obviously a pseudonym.

MD: Yeah. My real last name is Levy. Actually, now it’s Levy-Aston because I’m married.

 

AT: This lad you’re married to, is he English?

MD: Yeah, but we won’t hold that against him. [Fun fact: Marcella is married to Lance Aston, one-time member of the 1980 Eurovision outfit Prima Donna and brother of Bucks Fizz star Jay Aston].

 

“When I was little, I remember going to the playground and making this really funny, high noise, and these dogs that were around would kind of look at me. They’d turn their heads and cock their ears. It’s something to be proud of.”

 

 

AT: Let’s get to your music. Do you have any vocal training?

MD: Vocally, when I hit a certain plateau I would go get help. I have a great vocal trainer in LA. After I was pregnant and had my baby, I had to see him because it really changed my diaphragm position and the placement of my voice. It made everything really different and it really screwed me up. Plus, because I had a Caesarian – I’m gettin’ personal now – they had to actually cut through and it really weakened the muscles. So, I had to go back and get a refresher course on where I should place the notes.

 

AT: Interesting. I hear you have a five-octave range voice?

MD: Four-and-a-half.

 

AT: Wow, that’s pretty high. You’re probably raising automatic garage doors in some parts of the world. I heard Mariah Carey was doing so in Korea.

MD: Really? You know, when I was little, I remember going to the playground and making this really funny, high noise, and these dogs that were around would kind of look at me. They’d turn their heads and cock their ears. It’s something to be proud of.

 

AT: The album Jewel is brilliant, particularly the title track. It starts off with compressed vocals…

MD: Yes, kind of like a telephone voice.

 

AT: Like Madonna used in the chorus of her song Bye Bye Baby.

MD: Oh really?

 

AT: Yeah. It’s a tad experimental. Can you see yourself getting further experimental in the future?

MD: Definitely. There are a few tracks on this record that are not as experimental as I wanted them to be. But the next record which I’m already writing for, I’m hoping to step away from that kind of pop thing. You know, I’ve been writing pop songs for a long time and I want to break away from it slightly. [Fun fact: Marcella co-wrote Eric Clapton’s popular hit Lay Down Sally].

 

AT: You sure have been writing pop songs for a long time, co-writing with the likes of Eric Clapton and Philip Bailey. And then as the other half of Shakespears Sister. Do you think it’s about time people realised the solo talent of Marcella Detroit?

MD: I don’t know. That’s not very important to me. It’s just what I’ve done, and all that has made me a part of who I am today. Whether they know it or not, whatever.

 

AT: Did you ever feel overshadowed in the presence of Siobhan in Shakespears Sister?

MD: Shakespear was her thing. I was there when she decided to leave Bananarama, and I knew what was happening from the very beginning. It was up to her. She changed her image completely and invited me along. It was her puppy and her concept. It was her thing and she was obviously gonna be the focal point because of where she came from.

 

“I am very emotional and whenever I feel what I feel, I’m very demonstrative; I don’t hold it back.”

 

 

AT: You both came across as headstrong women, both with your own ideals. Was there any arguing?

MD: We didn’t argue about trivial things. If we did have fights, it was about serious stuff. We’re just very different people, fundamentally. I’m not saying one is right and one is wrong; it’s just the way it is. I mean you and I could be different.

 

AT: Of course.

MD: With Siobhan, we were from two different cultures. Musically, my background is quite vast and hers is completely different to mine. But we met on certain levels. I understood punk ’cause I was into punk before punk was cool. I was into T-Rex; and even the Motown thing – all the stuff that she really liked. That’s we’re we met. I brought The Beatles and another kind of sensibility to it. It’s like in a marriage. They say opposites attract. Well yeah, for a while, but it doesn’t always last very long.

 

AT: And is it the end of Shakespear?

MD: Yeah.

 

AT: Do you intend to get back together ever?

MD: No. I am so tired of working with other artists. I’ve been working with other people my whole life and helping other people do their thing. With Shakespear, I was this kind of girl in the background with this quirky voice. I wasn’t taken seriously as a singer. That’s not what I’m about. I’ve got more depth than that. [For the record, in 2019 Fahey and Detroit reunited as Shakespears Sister, touring and releasing a beaut EP in Ride Again).

 

AT: Is it difficult being a woman in a male- dominated industry?

MD: Yeah it is, because I am very emotional and whenever I feel what I feel, I’m very demonstrative; I don’t hold it back. And people can’t handle that, especially men. They don’t know how to react. I think more and more women are becoming that way – free with how they feel.

 

AT: Is the real Marcella Detroit a glamour girl or a hippy at heart?

MD: I’m both but I’m kind of sick of the grunge thing and more into glamour.

 

 

AT: There’s a song on the Jewel album called Cool People and in it you mention Jackie O. This came out a short while before she died. Did you feel you put a curse on her?

MD: God no, it’s not my responsibility. Please. But I felt like shit. Yet she was the height of glamour and cool. I wasn’t saying she was horrible; I quite admired her. No matter where she was or what she did, she always looked so confident and together, and I always wished I could be like that.

 

AT: Tell me, what’s the worst thing about being a musician-cum-celebrity?

MD: When people look to you like you’re some kind of alien and treat you like you’re not of this earth.

 

AT: And the best thing?

MD: I get to do what I love and get paid for it. Not many people can say that. I’m very fortunate.

 

Marcella Detroit’s ‘Jewel’ is being reissued on sapphire blue vinyl and on expanded 2CD and digital set, available June 21, 2024 and available on pre-order here.