''#3'' is the third studio album released by British pop-rock music project

Shakespears Sister Shakespears Sister is an alternative pop and rock musical duo based in the United Kingdom that was formed in 1988 by singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey, a former member of Bananarama. Shakespears Sister was initially a solo act, but became a duo ...

, and the first to be released since the departure of

Marcella Detroit Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit "Lay Down Sally" and released her debut al ...

in 1993. Originally scheduled for release in 1996, the album was shelved after the project's sole member,

Siobhan Fahey Siobhan Maire Fahey (; born 10 September 1958) is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the US number one hit single "Venus". She later ...

, was dropped by

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

. London Records eventually gave the full rights of the album to Fahey in 2004, and the album was released through her website. Musically, ''#3'' is a departure from the project's more pop-oriented previous albums, featuring a more

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

-influenced sound. The album artwork was designed by

Sarah Lucas Sarah Lucas (born 1962) is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged during the 1990s. Her works frequently employ visual puns and bawdy humour by incorporating photography, collage and found objects. ...

, and in 2011, a two-disc expanded edition was released through major retailers. The album spawned the top 30 single, " I Can Drive".

Background

After the departure of

in 1993, Fahey continued as Shakespears Sister's sole member and began work on ''#3'' in the same year with Robert Hodgens and Dave Stewart. After the mediocre performance of the album's lead single, Fahey was dropped from London Records in 1997. ''#3'' was not released until 2004, independently through Fahey's website. Fahey spoke on the circumstances surrounding the album's release in an interview:

"I tried to fight for '#3''but you cannot win against the giants. I managed to get it through the back door and somehow, miraculously, they put pen to paper and gave it back. It was just sitting there on the shelf and someone said: 'Oh, give her back her record. She just wants to release it to the fans.' It's now out in its original form and features a duet with
Billy Mackenzie William MacArthur Mackenzie (27 March 1957 – 22 January 1997) was a Scottish singer and songwriter, known for his distinctive high tenor voice. He was the co-founder and lead vocalist of post-punk and new wave band the Associates. He also h ...
Associates.html" ;"title="Associates_(band).html" ;"title="f The Associates (band)">Associates">Associates_(band).html" ;"title="f The Associates (band)">Associates That was the last thing he recorded before he died."

Fahey has stated she was not dropped because of the lacklustre performance of "I Can Drive", but due to her label thinking the album to be "too alternative for a woman of [my] age". The album was released through major retailers in November 2012, in a new "Expanded Edition" of the album, featuring unreleased tracks, B-sides, and remixes. The album cover, featuring a cut-out of Fahey sitting in a room with a tiled carpet and a wall made of newspaper articles, differed slightly between releases. The physical edition featured the artist and album titles written on the wall behind her, whilst the digital edition did not. Both the physical and digital editions of the Expanded Edition had the original titles and "Expanded Edition" written on the wall. The album's lead single, " I Can Drive" was released in June 1996 to a modest commercial reception, peaking at No. 30 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The single was not released internationally. Following this, Shakespears Sister were dropped from London Records, making it their last release with the label. In September 2011, "Do I Scare You?" was released as a special promotional single exclusively through Shakespears Sister's website.Siobhan Fahey & Shakespears Sister on Facebook (Blocked URL)

Track listing

Release history

a Released exclusively thorough Fahey's website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:#3 (Shakespears Sister album) 2005 albums Shakespears Sister albums Albums produced by Flood (producer) Albums produced by Alan Moulder