After every gig on Garbage’s current tour, Shirley Manson says farewell to the city she’s in – as she doesn’t know if she’ll ever play there again.
The frontwoman has been one of rock music’s most dynamic performers for more than 30 years, but the Edinburgh native is aware of the passing of time.
“Life is so precious,” she says, speaking from her band’s latest stop in Barcelona.
“The older I get the more I enjoy life, I understand time is running out on me and it has allowed me to enjoy a sense of urgency, to harness it and put into my work. I don’t know how much longer we can go on and do this.
“I’m the youngest member of the band and I’m turning 58 in a couple of weeks. So we are just enjoying every moment right now.”
That does not means Garbage are riding off in the sunset just yet though.
The quartet – Shirley, Butch Vig, Duke Erikson and Steve Marker – intend to bring out a new album next year, and this Friday they will be one of the top acts at Glasgow’s TRNSMT festival.
A headline gig in Edinburgh follows on Sunday, and although Manson has lived in America for more than three decades, her Scottishness remains undimmed.
“My dad’s still alive so I come back to Scotland a lot,” she says. “I’ve still got a home in Edinburgh so I never feel like I’ve left per se.
“I’m in a no-win situation because in America I’m not considered American, but when I come home to Scotland everyone says I’ve left. I’m a person of no fixed address.
“But I’ve always believed Scotland to be my home.”
Living in America has been less comfortable for the singer in recent years.
Manson feels the country, and in particular the Republican party, is “waging a war on women”, pointing to the overturning of the Roe v Wade abortion law.
She believes that attitude feeds down to the rest of society, including in the music business.
“In the 90s it felt like things were changing and there was a lot more opportunity for women,” she said.
“There is still a lot of opportunity for women in the music business if you are willing to play the game. That means if you’re pleasing, if you’re sexy and you’re willing to mind your mouth and your manners then you can flourish very well.
“But for any women that’s an alternative – it’s still very, very hard to be seen and supported, and that disappoints me.”
