Stay (Shakespears Sister song)

"Stay" is a song by UK-based pop act Shakespears Sister, released by London Records in January 1992 as the second single from their album Hormonally Yours. The single is written by Siobhan Fahey, Marcella Detroit and Dave Stewart, and became a global 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 for eight consecutive weeks and was the fourth-biggest-selling single of 1992. "Stay" also reached No. 1 in Sweden and in band member Siobhan Fahey's birthplace, Ireland. It was a transatlantic hit as well, reaching No. 4 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart.

"Stay"
Single by Shakespears Sister
from the album Hormonally Yours
B-side"The Trouble with Andre"
Released13 January 1992 (1992-01-13)
Recorded1991
Genre
Length
  • 3:50 (album version)
  • 3:45 (7-inch edit)
LabelLondon
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Shakespears Sister singles chronology
"Goodbye Cruel World"
(1991)		 "Stay"
(1992)		 "I Don't Care"
(1992)
Music video
"Stay" on YouTube

At the 1993 Brit Awards "Stay" won the award for British Video of the Year.[1] In November 2010, The X Factor contestant Cher Lloyd performed the song on series 7 of the show. Following this, the original version re-entered the UK, Ireland and the European Hot 100 Singles charts. The song originally sold 490,000 copies in the UK by the end of 1992 which was a year that saw low single sales, as of February 2012 it had sold over 600,000 copies[2] (the threshold for a Platinum certification in the UK). As well as being used on The X Factor, the song has also been featured on Britain's Got Talent, Dancing on Ice, Strictly Come Dancing, The Voice UK, etc.

Composition

"Stay" is the only Shakespears Sister song that features Siobhan Fahey less prominently on vocals than Marcella Detroit, with Detroit singing the verses and lead chorus and Fahey singing the bridge. Detroit sings in whistle register before the last chorus of the song, going up to a high F (F6). The piano, synth and bass guitar were performed by Ian Maidman, and the drums by Steve Ferrera, both musicians whose contributions featured throughout the 'Hormonally Yours' album.

Critical reception

The song received favorable reviews from most music critics. AllMusic 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."[3] Christopher Kramer from American Eagle noted that the song "has lyrics that ring of their gospel interests."[4] Larry Flick from Billboard described it as a "complex modern-pop tune" and noted further that the "vocal tradeoff between Marcella Detroit and Siobhan Fahey is both intense and dramatic."[5] Cashbox said 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."[6] Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith called it a "masterpiece" and wrote that the song managed to "show the world just what could be done to an otherwise mundane and ordinary ballad. It not only turned the entire pop formula on its ear, it totally blew the possibilities wide open."[7] Tom Ewing from Freaky Trigger noted "the teetering, cracking soprano" of Detroit's lead vocal, and Fahey's "growled and throaty intervention" on the bridge. He also added 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."[8]

Dave Sholin from Gavin Report stated, "This haunting ballad proves they haven't changed course as they deliver a melody that has true staying power."[9] Another editor wrote that "this female duo gives a once-in-a-lifetime performance of a moody and deliberate song about staying power in a relationship."[10] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News-Sentinel 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."[11] Music & Media commented that "Detroit's vibrato gives the tune the ethereal ambiance of classic Marianne Faithfull material. Towards the end of the song Fahey takes over with her slightly darker voice."[12] They also added in their review of the song that "after a slow start backed by minimal arrangements, this serious ballad slowly acquires some bite."[13] Imran Khan from PopMatters called it a "weird sci-fi ballad of gothic-gospel electronica".[14] 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."[15] Smash Hits said it "sounds like a hymn".[16] St. Petersburg Times called 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 B-girl Siobhan Fahey, as she growls like a master berating her slave".[17] In his review of Singles Party, Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic described it as "haunting" and "epic".[18]

Music video

Background and development

British director Sophie Muller directed the promo video for the single, the concept of which was inspired by the film Cat-Women of the Moon.[19] The video featured Detroit and Fahey fighting over a comatose man (played by Dave Evans, former boyfriend of Fahey's Bananarama bandmate Keren Woodward).[20]

The video won Best Video at the 1993 Music Week Awards and Brit Awards, and was the subject of a spoof by comedians French & Saunders. The video was featured in the Top 100 Music Videos of all time by Channel 4.[21] As of September 2020, the official video has amassed over 17 million views on YouTube after two years of it being uploaded. Collectively with all uploads of the video being counted its views add up to over 35 million.

Synopsis

In some rare versions the beginning quotes a variation of the opening of William Shakespeare's Macbeth: 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.[22] 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 a hospital room. Detroit is seen tending to her lover, played by Evans, who is in a coma and on the verge of death, while singing 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.[23]

The video was banned in Germany after critics deemed it "too frightening" to viewers.

Track listing

Charts and certifications

References
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