Graeme Thomson

Hard to love – but Shirley Manson is terrific: Garbage, at Usher Hall, reviewed

Plus: transcendence at the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival

On record – and indeed on paper – Garbage are hard to love. Yet on stage they deliver, thanks almost entirely to their singer Shirley Manson. Image: WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo 
issue 20 July 2024

There’s nothing quite like the drama of a prodigal’s return. ‘I’ve been singing in this venue since I was ten years old,’ announces Shirley Manson, staring down nearly half a century of personal history at Edinburgh’s ornate Usher Hall.

The fact that Garbage’s lead singer made the United States her primary residence many years ago lends this homecoming concert added potency.

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