Why is it that acts like Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones continue to tour at an age when we would traditionally expect them to be spending their days watching “Judge Judy”; in a rest home, yet Internet trolls deem a 49-year-old female singer too old to front a rock band?
That’s apparently the case with Shirley Manson, and the Garbage singer comes out swinging in a new interview with Britain’s Telegraph.
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“My Dad is 80 and has more drive and explorer spirit than a lot of 30-year-olds and I want to be like him — brave and curious and a student of life,” she tells The Telegraph.
“I try not to think too much about what people think about my age but it’s not easy when they say ‘She’s so old, she should give up’ or ‘Oh God, she looks disgusting’. It’s hard to block out the noise sometimes but I refuse to have my life diminished by other people; I will live large.”
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As Garbage embarks on a tour to promote their just-released sixth album, “Strange Little Birds”;, Manson says that other people’s notions of ageism are meaningless to her.
“We are not young and we weren’t when we started but I see a true defiant and rebellious spirit in my band and a refusal to back down or sit down or keep quiet,” she says.
“I think anyone can remain robust but for some reason, culturally we choose to fall in on ourselves rather than risk being laughed at,”; she says. “It’s easy to snigger at someone being passionate and adventurous but we really must fight against the fear of people laughing at you.”
However, Manson says she’s wary of falling into the trap of desperately clinging to youth; the key, she says, is being authentic and true to oneself.
“I’m realistic enough to understand that it’s impossible to fake youth. Youth belongs to the young. That’s their power. That’s for them and them alone,” she says. “I think whenever adults try to steal youthful power, it always ends up feeling a little strange.”
