Hormonally Yours is the second studio album by British-based pop-rock act Shakespears Sister. Released in February 1992 by London Records, the album went on to become a critical and commercial success, and is their best-selling album to date. Hormonally Yours peaked at No. 3 on the album charts and was certificated double platinum by the BPI and spent 55 weeks on the charts. The album spawned five singles, three of which reached the UK Top 20. The album's second single, "Stay" became the group's best-selling single, topping the UK Singles Chart for 8 consecutive weeks. It was also a Top 5 hit in the US.
Background
Hormonally Yours was the second and final album from the group to present them as a duo of Siobhan Fahey and Marcella Detroit. The title of Hormonally Yours derived from both members being pregnant whilst making the album. Five singles were released from the album, including "Stay", which topped the UK Singles Chart, and is to date the group's best-selling single. An early cassette pressing of the album featured an alternate cover and font previously used on the "Goodbye Cruel World" single. Some versions like the German edition of the album appears to contain a straight mix of "Are We in Love Yet" similar to the BBC Radio live session while others feature the Chris Thomas remix, though he is credited in all releases. The UK CD version of 'Hormonally Yours' contains the 7" versions of "Goodbye Cruel World", "I Don't Care", and "Hello " while the LP and MC versions contain the original album versions. The US pressing of the album also differed greatly, featuring the album versions of "Goodbye Cruel World", "I Don't Care" and "Hello ", another remixed version of "Are We In Love Yet", and slightly different versions of "Black Sky" and "The Trouble With Andre" with "Black Sky" not segueing into "The Trouble With Andre" like other pressings as well as a shorter version of "The Trouble With Andre" and the extended version of "Let Me Entertain You", as well as featuring a different cover with the titles being vertical. While recording the album, the band watched the 1950s sci-fi B-movie Cat-Women of the Moon and it inspired the lyrics of the songs "Stay", "Catwoman" and "Moonchild". On 27 June 2012, it was announced that Hormonally Yours would be re-released as a 20th Anniversary Edition, comprising a 2CD and DVD digipak set, along with a deluxe re-release of Sacred Heart. Originally due for an Autumn 2012 release, it was announced in September that the release had been pushed back into early 2013. As of June 2016, the release appears to have been cancelled.
Critical reception
Tom Demalon from AllMusic praised the album, calling Hormonally Yours "a beautifully quirky, emotionally rich, and nearly flawless pop record", and saying that "It's a vibe that benefits from the contrast between the throaty vocals of Siobahn Fahey and the falsetto flutter of Marcella Detroit. Hormonally Yours is a wonderful, charming album marred only by a few weak lyrics." Gina Arnold of Entertainment Weekly said "Hormonally Yours plays on the idea of female biological madness, and to its credit, it does so without sounding bitchy or melodramatic. Unlike band member Siobhan Fahey's former group, Bananarama, Shakespear's Sis isn't afraid to emote." She also complimented the duo's vocals, saying that " Fahey's deep, uncannily male-sounding voice is perfectly complemented by her American-born partner, Marcella Detroit, who adds more soulful and feminine R&B-influenced backup vocals."
Singles
"Goodbye Cruel World" was released in October 1991 as the album's lead single, though it failed to reach the UK Top 40, peaking at No. 59. In July 1992, the single was re-released and charted better, peaking at No. 32. Neither releases were fully released outside of the UK. The second single, "Stay", was released in January 1992. It quickly became the group's best-selling single, topping the UK Singles Chart for eight consecutive weeks, and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry. The single reached similar success internationally, reaching the top 5 in territories including Australia, the US, and Germany. It also reached No. 1 in Ireland and Switzerland. The third single from Hormonally Yours, "I Don't Care", reached No. 7 in the UK, and No. 10 in Ireland. Internationally, the single reached the top 20 in Australia and New Zealand, and No. 55 in the US. The fourth single, "Hello ", reached No. 14 in the UK, and peaked at No. 97 in Australia on the ARIA singles chart. The song was covered less than two years later by The Bates, and released as the band's debut single. Although this version gained little attention, the song was covered once again by Queensberry in 2009, and in several territories was more successful than the original. The fifth and final single, "My 16th Apology", was released during a period of hiatus, and due to a lack of promotion only peaked at No. 61 in the UK.
Track listing
UK CD version
Personnel
Adapted from album booklet.
Siobhan Fahey – vocals
Marcella Detroit – vocals, guitars, programming, harmonica
