Jake Shears

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Jake Shears (born Jason Sellards on October 3, 1978 in Arizona) is the vocalist for the American music group the Scissor Sisters.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Other credits 3 Trivia 4 External links

[edit] Early life and career

Sellards attended Occidental College in Los Angeles. When Sellards was 19, he traveled to Lexington, Kentucky to visit a classmate, who introduced him to Scott Hoffman (Babydaddy). Sellards and Hoffman hit it off immediately and, a year later, both moved to New York.

In New York, Sellards attended Eugene Lang College, where he studied fiction writing, and wrote pieces for the gay magazine HX. For a while, Sellards was a fixture on the New York gay and electroclash scene, as well as a stripper in alternative clubs (including the legendary IC-Guyz).

In 2000, Sellards also worked as a music reviewer for Paper magazine.

Sellards and Hoffman formed the Scissor Sisters in 2001 as a kind of performance art lark, playing outrageous shows in clubs like Luxx, the heart of the electroclash scene in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where Sellards lived. After a couple years struggling in New York (working with record label A Touch of Class, who produced "Comfortably Numb" and "Filthy/Gorgeous"), the Sisters finally found success in the UK and Ireland - ending 2004 with the biggest-selling album of the year in the UK.

In concert, Shears is known for provocative dancing, flamboyant outfits, and near-nudity. He, along with his band, has become especially popular in the LGBT community.

[edit] Other credits

Shears performs with Erasure's Andy Bell on "Thought It Was You", on Bell's 2005 album Electric Blue.

He has also collaborated with Tiga, and wrote the hit single "I Believe In You" for Kylie Minogue with Babydaddy.

[edit] Trivia

• Shears' list of musical influences include Duran Duran, Roxy Music and Dolly Parton.
• Shears attended Sir Elton John's "stag" party before John's civil ceremony to David Furnish.
• In his late teens, Jake performed in the drag show/club in Seattle, "20th Century Foxes" under the name Cubic Zirconia^{[citation needed]}.
• In February 2007 Shears modelled for Australian artist Ross Watson

[edit] External links

• Official Scissor Sisters website
• Jake Shears at the Internet Movie Database
• Underground Illusion - The Ultimate Scissor Sisters Database
• Out.com interview with Scissor Sisters
• Out.com interview with Jake Shears
• OutTraveler.com Travelin' Like a Rock Star: How Scissor Sisters front man Jake Shears does it on the road. By Matthew Breen
• Jake Shears Interview
• Jake Shears as photographed by Australian artist Ross Watson

Scissor Sisters
Jake Shears · Babydaddy · Ana Matronic · Del Marquis · Paddy Boom
Discography
Albums: The Demo Album · Scissor Sisters · Remixed! · Ta-Dah
Singles: "Electrobix" · "Laura" · "Comfortably Numb" · "Take Your Mama" · "Mary" · "Filthy/Gorgeous" · "I Don't Feel like Dancin'" · "Land of a Thousand Words" · "She's My Man"
DVDs: We Are Scissor Sisters... And So Are You
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