Last Man Dancing

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By the time we get to the electro-pop tech-house stylings on ‘Mess of Me’ we’re deep into the night. There’s no sign of light other than the artificial strobe lights accompanying the psychedelic kaleidoscope of sound. Again one song blends into the next as ‘Doses’ keeps the late-night poppers fuelled sesh going. For the most part, the move has made perfect sense. But the capital’s gay scene isn’t quite how Shears remembers it. “So many of the bars are gone,” he says. “Smaller dancefloors have been taken over by straight people or have disappeared. Gay bars feel like gay- themed bars. But I still desire … ” He drifts off for a moment. “I want to be dancing, but bigger parties have taken over. It doesn’t satisfy me – an intimacy is missing from nightlife. The only way to replace that is to do it yourself. That’s where my head was at with this record.” a b c Phares, Heather. "Jake Shears – Last Man Dancing Album Review". AllMusic . Retrieved June 6, 2023.

There are hints of the modern-day STEPS in ‘I Used To Be in Love’ as Jake laments lying in bed crying at night, possibly provoked by the sight of a former lover. The song is empowering however and keeps the energy running high. Last Man Dancing, follows 2018’s self-titled Jake Shears album. The former feels like a bolder entry from Jake, who is more firm in his position and what he has to say. Culture constantly shifts; shows come and go. Homes, too. All dogs die, eventually. Shears knows better than most how to keep a party going, but at some point, the night is over. Maybe, I suggest, Last Man Dancing is his way of preserving a Jake Shears party for posterity; the temporary made permanent. He nods in agreement. “I wish things didn’t feel so transient sometimes,” he says. “It’s why I love making records, having something tangible to show for what I do. Musicals and gigs, they’re ephemeral. An album exists for ever.” The album began with and was built around Shears's and Kylie Minogue's collaboration "Voices", which was recorded in 2018. At the time Shears had "nowhere for it to go" as he was "making a southern, Honky-tonk record"—his self-titled debut album, and Minogue was making Golden. [3] Shears stated that another of his inspirations was the fact that "intimacy is missing from nightlife. The only way to replace that is to do it yourself. That's where [his] head was at with this record." [6] Shears announced the album on February 2, 2023. [4]As Jake himself has put it,“While not everyone might make it to the end, it’s the last ones dancing who are rewarded with the most magical moments.” By now the night is firmly underway as we enter the early hours of the morning. Needle on the Record: Jake Shears, Nakane, EBTG and more". OutInPerth. June 5, 2023 . Retrieved June 6, 2023. Who knows what we’ll find along the way; friends, lovers old and new, and perhapsa new perspective. Cutting it … Scissor Sisters in 2004, with Jake Shears second from right. Photograph: Lionel Flusin/Gamma-Rapho/Getty a b Ryan, Gary (June 2, 2023). "Jake Shears – Last Man Dancing review: Scissor Sister hosts the ultimate house party". NME . Retrieved June 6, 2023.

a b c Hubbard, Michael (June 1, 2023). "Jake Shears – Last Man Dancing". musicOMH . Retrieved June 6, 2023. Kylie Minogue’s sexy and seductive timbre on ‘Voices’ lures us in further and calls us to action. That action – dance – is easy to do here. Although not quite as high-energy as another collab between Jake and Kylie (‘The Other Boys’) a solid beat underlies this new-age disco tune. Jake and Kylie is one partnership we’ll never get tired of. Artwork for ‘I Used To Be In Love’ (Image: Provided)

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Last Man Dancing is out now on CD, Colour Vinyl, Cassette and Digitally : https://mute.ffm.to/jakeshears a b Wratten, Marcus (June 3, 2023). "Jake Shears on Kylie, manic parties and why he 'doesn't care' about making queer music". PinkNews . Retrieved June 6, 2023. a b Cobbald, David (June 2, 2023). "Jake Shears: Last Man Dancing review". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved June 6, 2023.

Later this year, his new podcast, Queer the Music, spotlighting pioneering LGBTQ+ artists, should appear. “At times like this when I’m putting out records,” he says, “and people say I’ve been a trailblazer, I feel like saying there were plenty of people before me who also did that. Plenty who’ve come after me, too.” Through the series, he hopes to explore and document these legacies. “It’s my history,” he adds, “ the shoulders I stand on, and I don’t think all those stories have been properly told.” Queer musicians past were less able to freely express themselves, he suggests, or not heard holistically. Again, there’s this sense Shears is preoccupied by time’s relentlessly fleeting nature. Segalov, Michael (June 2, 2023). "Jake Shears on life after Scissor Sisters: 'I was put on Earth to show people a great time' ". The Guardian . Retrieved June 6, 2023. The listener is brought along for a ride with Jake in an album brimming with a mash-up of 80s synth vibes and elements of Saturday Night Fever that acts as an encapsulation of the ultimate house party. It’s going to be a fun summer,” remarked Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears at the launch of his latest solo venture, his new record: Last Man Dancing.Even amidst its high-octane energy, Jake Shears’ new album offers Scissor Sisters’ front-man the opportunity to reflect on how he got to where he is today. In his own words, Last Man Dancing is “a journey through the ultimate house party. The first half gives you those singalong moments that get everyone into it at the top of night. As the hours turn, you can go a little deeper and darker, more where the second half of the record goes. It’s inspired by all the over-the-top house parties I’ve thrown throughout my life. I was born to host, I love to DJ and my favourite hours of a party are from 4-6am. There’s nothing more luxurious than being as loud as you want in the early hours. Not everyone might make it to the end, but the last ones dancing are possibly rewarded with the most magical moments of the evening.” In the words of the viral TikTok sound: “What do you say we keep these good vibes going?” That’s exactly what ‘Do The Television’ does with another dance floor bop. “ All my children, can you keep up with us?” Jake, our guide for the night, asks of us as we begin to descend further into the night. You can hypothesise about what we did, sure. But above all else,” Shears says of his band, “we threw a good party. It’s what I still aspire to. Showing people a great time is what I was put on this Earth to do. Not forcing fun, but conjuring it.” In a polymathic career which variously takes in multi-million global album sales, Brits, Ivor Novellos, an acclaimed memoir, a Broadway show, plus his Olivier-Award-winning musical ‘Tammy Faye’, Jake Shears’ pull to keep moving has remained one constant: whether in the heat of the dance floor, or in creating cathartic and unconventional art. With work that still speaks evenly to outsiders and the masses, catch Jake Shears on the road this summer and watch out for more news to follow soon.