THIS WEEK IN 1992
1 Stay Shakespears Sister
2 Goodnight Girl Wet Wet Wet
3 Remember The Time Michael Jackson
4 I’m Doing Fine Now The Pasadenas
5 My Girl The Temptations
6 I Wonder Why Curtis Stigers
7 I Love Your Smile Shanice
8 Twilight Zone 2 Unlimited
9 For Your Babies Simply Red
10 It’s A Fine Day Opus III
The fourth biggest-selling single of 1992, ‘Stay’ gave Shakespears Sister their first and only number one in the UK. A global hit, the song topped the UK charts for eight consecutive weeks and reached number 4 in the US, making it far and away their biggest hit Stateside.
Originally a solo project of former Bananarama member Siobhan Fahy, Shakespears Sister eventually evolved into a duo with Marcella Detroit. She quit in 1993 but Fahey continued on as the only full member of the group. A total of four studio albums, five compilation albums, one EP and 17 singles have been released under the Shakespears Sister name,
‘Stay’ was written by Fahey, Detroit and Fahey’s then husband David A Stewart of Eurythmics fame. It was a first Irish number one for Fahey whose parents both hailed from Tipperary and who lived in Dublin for a couple of years before the family emigrated to England. Fahey had previously enjoyed two top five hits in Ireland with Bananarama: ‘It Ain’t What You Do (It’s The Way That You Do It’ with Fun Boy Three in 1982, and ‘Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye’ in 1983.
‘Stay’ and director Sophie Muller claimed the 1993 BRIT Award for Best Video. In it, Marcella Detroit is shown on a spaceship caring for a dying man (played by Dave Evans, former boyfriend of Fahey’s Bananarama bandmate, Keren Woodward). Siobhan Fahey, playing the angel of death, comes to take his soul, and a struggle ensues.
The video was banned in Germany after critics deemed it ‘too frightening’ for viewers.
Fahey and Detroit had a very acrimonious split less than a year after the release of ‘Stay’. When asked in a BBC interview if there were any songs she can’t listen to because of unpleasant memories, Fahey replied: ‘Stay. Having a number one single does not make you happy.’
In 2019 Fahey and Detroit announced they were reuniting with a UK tour, EP, compilation album and a couple of new singles, including ‘When She Finds You’, a collaboration with Richard Hawley.