"Stay" is a song by UK-based pop act

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 ...

, released by London Records in January 1992 as the second single from their second album, ''

Hormonally Yours ''Hormonally Yours'' is the second studio album by British pop-rock act Shakespears Sister, released on 17 February 1992 by London Records. The album went on to become a critical and commercial success, and is their best-selling album to date. ...

'' (1992). The single was written by

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 ...

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 a ...

, and Dave Stewart (under the pseudonym "Jean Guiot"), and became a massive hit. It is the duo's first and only number-one single in numerous territories, including the UK, where it topped 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 ...

for eight consecutive weeks and was the fourth-biggest-selling single of 1992. "Stay" also reached No. 1 in Sweden and in band member

's birthplace, Ireland. It was a transatlantic hit as well, reaching No. 4 on both the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart. At the 1993 Brit Awards "Stay" won the award for

British Video of the Year The Brit Award for British Video of the Year was an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annua ...

. In November 2010, ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' contestant

Cher Lloyd Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is an English singer. She finished fourth place in the seventh series of ''The X Factor'' in 2010. Following the seventh series finale, Lloyd was signed to Syco Music. Her debut single, "Swagger Jagger", was re ...

performed the song on

series 7 Series 7 may refer to: *The seventh season of any of many shows or series; see and *Series 7 exam, officially the General Securities Representative Exam, the most comprehensive financial securities exam offered by the FINRA *'' Series 7: The Conte ...

of the show. Following this, the original version re-entered the UK,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and the

European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

charts. As well as being used on ''The X Factor'', the song has also been featured on ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

'', '' Dancing on Ice'', '' Strictly Come Dancing'' and ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing competition television series. Created by John de Mol, it premiered on BBC One during the spring television cycle on 24 March 2012. Based on the original '' The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice ...

''.

Composition

"Stay" was written by

, and Dave Stewart. The song was inspired by the film ''

Cat-Women of the Moon ''Cat-Women of the Moon'' is an independently made 1953 American black-and-white three-dimensional science-fiction film, produced by Jack Rabin and Al Zimbalist, directed by Arthur Hilton, that stars Sonny Tufts, Victor Jory, and Marie Winds ...

''; Stewart conceived the idea of the Cat-Women singing about an earthling that she had fallen in love with, and suggested writing the song to Detroit and Fahey. According to Detroit, Stewart and Fahey used to host parties where she invariably ended up performing ballads with famous guests who showed up at their parties, so Stewart suggested writing a ballad that features her on lead vocals. They rewrote the song "maybe four times." Once they finished writing the song, they recorded a demo and took it to Fahey's home. There the producer Chris Thomas, who had been working with Stewart, listened to the demo and said "No.1 smash!", to which they replied "Really?" The song was produced by

Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music fro ...

and Chris Thomas; Thomas helped to produce the final remix when they felt the song was not working.

Jennifer Maidman Jennifer Maidman (formerly Ian Maidman, born 24 January 1958) is a British musician, singer, producer, songwriter, actor and author who has collaborated extensively with many internationally well known groups and artists. Her work appears on hu ...

Penguin Cafe Orchestra The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) were an avant-pop band led by English guitarist Simon Jeffes. Co-founded with cellist Helen Liebmann, it toured extensively during the 1980s and 1990s. The band's sound is not easily categorized, having elemen ...

created the arrangement for synthesiser in the chorus. "Stay" is the only Shakespears Sister song that features

on lead

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

, with Detroit singing the verses and Fahey singing the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

. This would cause tension with Fahey when the song was selected by the record label as the lead single as Fahey felt the song was not typical of the album. Detroit sings in

whistle register The whistle register (also called the flute register or flageolet register) is the highest register of the human voice, lying above the modal register and falsetto register. This register has a specific physiological production that is different f ...

before the last chorus of the song, going up to a high F (F6). The piano, synth and bass guitar were performed by Ian aka

, and the drums by Steve Ferrera, both musicians whose contributions featured throughout the ''

'' album.

Critical reception

The song received favorable reviews from most music critics.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

editor Tom Demalon said in his review of ''Hormonally Yours'', that "everything was lost in the wake of the lovely, dramatic "Stay", a global smash." Christopher Kramer from ''American Eagle'' noted that the song "has lyrics that ring of their

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

interests."

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from '' Billboard'' described it as a "complex modern-pop tune" and noted further that the "vocal tradeoff between

and

is both intense and dramatic." Clark and DeVaney from '' Cashbox'' felt it's "almost like two separate songs, representing the different influences the pair bring to their music. The first half is Marcie's reverent and angelic sounding voice, then out of the blue, comes the industrial clammer of heavy percussion and Siobhan's rough-edged bridge." Dave Sholin from the '' Gavin Report'' stated, "This haunting ballad proves they haven't changed course as they deliver a melody that has true staying power." The magazine's Rufer & Fell wrote that the female duo "gives a once-in-a-lifetime performance of a moody and deliberate song about staying power in a relationship." Chuck Campbell from ''

Knoxville News-Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel, also known as Knox News,'' is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: ''The ...

'' described it as a "disarmingly sweet ballad" and added that it "segues into a stern warning ("I'll go anywhere with you/I'll do anything it takes/But if you try to go it alone/Don't think I'll understand") then concludes rather sinisterly." Sally Margaret Joy from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' complimented it as a "pretty hymn about human frailty", adding, "Yes, it's got a great hook, with Marcella's voice quavering up high and tremulously." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' felt that Detroit's

vibrato Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...

"gives the tune the ethereal ambiance of classic

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

material. Towards the end of the song Fahey takes over with her slightly darker voice." In the review of the single, they remarked that "after a slow start backed by minimal arrangements, this serious ballad slowly acquires some bite." Terry Staunton from ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' opined that they "are trying a little too hard to be the

Thelma & Louise ''Thelma & Louise'' is a 1991 American road crime comedy-drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. It stars Susan Sarandon as Louise and Geena Davis as Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unfores ...

of weirdo-chick-bubblegum-pop these days." Lucy O'Brien from '' Select'' stated that Detroit "makes a brave stab at the anthemic ballad with "Stay", but ends up sounding suspiciously like

Jennifer Rush Jennifer Rush (born Heidi Stern; September 28, 1960) is an American pop and rock singer. She achieved success during the mid-1980s with several singles and studio albums including the million-selling single " The Power of Love", which she co- ...

." Sian Pattenden from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' felt it "sounds like a hymn". A reviewer from ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' deemed the song "the year's best single" and commented, "'You'd better hope and pray/That you make it safe/Back to your own world.' Just try to ignore former

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Thei ...

B-girl Siobhan Fahey, as she growls like a master berating her slave".

Retrospective response

Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith declared "Stay" as a "masterpiece", writing that the song managed to "show the world just what could be done to an otherwise mundane and ordinary

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

. It not only turned the entire pop formula on its ear, it totally blew the possibilities wide open." Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger remarked "the teetering, cracking

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

" of Detroit's lead vocal, and Fahey's "growled and throaty intervention" on the bridge. He also felt that "obviously, the switched-dynamics form of the song matches its content: a tale of two worlds, the singer's and the subject's, and the relationship between them. One is claustrophobic, intense, something to escape: the other reached by risky passage, but where safety is hardly guaranteed and worse terrors may lurk." Imran Khan of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' called it a "weird sci-fi ballad of gothic-gospel electronica". In his review of their 2019 compilation album, ''

Singles Party ''Singles Party (1988–2019)'' is a compilation album from British-American pop-rock group Shakespears Sister, released on 19 July 2019. It features a remastered collection of all the singles released by the group and two new songs. The deluxe ed ...

'', Christopher Smith from Talk About Pop Music described it as "haunting" and "epic".

Music video

Background, development, and release

British director

Sophie Muller Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is a British music video director who has directed more than 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 '' Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's so ...

directed the promo video for the single, the concept of which was also inspired by the film ''

''. The video featured Detroit and Fahey fighting over a comatose man (played by Dave Evans, former boyfriend of Fahey's

bandmate Keren Woodward). Fahey described her looks as "unhinged Victorian heroine meets Suzi Quatro meets Labelle", an angel of death "in dark makeup coming down the stairs from another dimension". The part where Fahey walks down the stairs was inspired by

Powell and Pressburger The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell (1905–1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)—together often known as The Archers, the name of their production company—made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. ...

's film '' A Matter of Life and Death''. The video won Best Video at the 1993 Music Week Awards and

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, and was the subject of a spoof by comedians ''

French & Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is a ...

''. The video was featured in the Top 100 Music Videos of all time by Channel 4.

Synopsis

In some rare versions the beginning quotes a variation of the opening of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'': The original quote of the play ("When shall we three meet again") is changed to "When shall we two meet again", referring to the story told in the video. The video starts with a view of a calm night sky wherein a shooting star passes over a full moon and the song begins. The camera pans back into what appears to be a hospital room showing Marcella Detroit and her lover (Evans), who is in a coma and on the verge of death. As Detroit tends to him, she sings to him not to leave her. At the bridge of the song, a portal opens and the angel of death, played by Fahey, appears at the top of a staircase, wearing a sparkling catsuit. She dances around in front of a bright light whilst mocking Detroit that she cannot save her lover and the best she can hope for is to return safely to her own world. Detroit tries her best to wake the man up, while Death slowly makes her way down the stairs to claim his soul. The two women begin fighting over the man, making it literally and figuratively a fight between life (Detroit) and death (Fahey). During their struggle, the man finally wakes up, and he and Detroit embrace while Death, having failed to seduce him into her realm, walks away in disgust and goes back up the staircase to the light, presumably being the stairway to Heaven.

Track listings

* UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Stay" (radio mix) – 3:48 # "The Trouble with Andre" – 4:03 * UK CD single 1 # "Stay" (LP version) – 3:48 # "Dirty Mind" (E-Zee remix) – 6:25 # "Run Silent" (Revolution remix) – 7:16 # Excerpts from ''Hormonally Yours'' – 6:02 * UK CD single 2 # "Stay" – 3:48 # "Stay" (LP version) – 3:50 # "The Trouble with Andre" – 4:44 * US CD single # "Stay" (LP version) – 3:47 # "Remember My Name" – 3:35 # Special previews ("Catwoman"; " Goodbye Cruel World"; " I Don't Care") * US cassette single :A1. "Stay" – 3:47 :A2. Special previews ("Catwoman"; "Goodbye Cruel World"; "I Don't Care") :B1. "The Trouble with Andre" – 4:03

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

In popular culture

*The video was partly spoofed by

Mr. Blobby Mr Blobby is a British fictional character, created by British comedy writer Charlie Adams. His design involves mostly a costume of a bulbous pink figure with yellow spots, a permanent toothy grin, and green jiggly eyes, with performers often us ...

for his 1993 Christmas number one single music video *Featured in the 2000s paranormal television series '' Ghost Whisperer'', season 4, episode 13 ("Body of Water"). *

Sweetbox Sweetbox is a German based pop music project formed in 1995 by executive producer Heiko Schmidt and music producer Roberto "Geo" Rosan. Throughout the years Sweetbox has had several lead singers including Kimberly Kearney, Dacia Bridges, Tina H ...

covered the song on their 2002 album, ''

Jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

''. * Cradle of Filth covered the song on their 2006 album

Thornography ''Thornography'' is the seventh studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 17 October 2006, by record label Roadrunner. It was produced by former Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano, engineered by Dan Turner and mi ...

performed the song to great acclaim on the Halloween edition of The X Factor 2010 resulting in the song re-entering the UK Top 20. *The song was performed during The Voice UK (series 7) by Lauren Bannon. *The song was performed by

on their The Original Lineup Tour in 2017, with Keren Woodward and Sarah Dallin singing the verses originally sung by

, and

singing her original bridge. *Comedy duo Dawn French and

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...

created a parody sketch of the song's music video in their TV series

French and Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is a ...

in 1993. *

Jake Quickenden Jacob "Jake" Quickenden (born 3 September 1988) is an English singer, footballer and reality television personality. He was a contestant on the ninth and eleventh series of ''The X Factor'' in 2012 and 2014, before being runner-up in series 14 ...

skated to the song in the 2018 semi-final of Dancing on Ice *The characters of Jenny Joyce and Aisling impersonated the duo in the series 3 episode of

Derry Girls ''Derry Girls'' is a British teen sitcom created and written by Lisa McGee that premiered on 4 January 2018 on Channel 4. The channel's most successful comedy since ''Father Ted'', the series was inspired by McGee's own experiences growing up ...

, “The Affair”.

References

{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1992 singles 1992 songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles London Records singles Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Number-one singles in Sweden Pop ballads Shakespears Sister songs Song recordings produced by Alan Moulder Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) Songs written by David A. Stewart Songs written by Marcella Detroit Songs written by Siobhan Fahey UK Singles Chart number-one singles