Garbage

Garbage are a US rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin, and active since 1994. The group consists of Shirley Manson, Duke Erikson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig. Their recorded output appears on Garbage Unlimited and STUNVOLUME, and their sound spans alternative dance, alternative rock, industrial rock, post-grunge, rock and trip hop.

Formation and line-up

The band forms around a core of musicians with earlier connections in Madison. Duke Erikson and Butch Vig play together in several bands before Garbage, including Spooner and Fire Town, while Steve Marker works as a sound engineer on related projects. Vig and Marker found Smart Studios in Madison in 1983, and that studio becomes important to the group’s later work. All four members contribute to songwriting and production.

The name Garbage is commonly linked either to a comment that the early recordings sound like “garbage” or to a note in Vig’s studio records describing the way early experiments turn into finished songs. The group first records with Vig on vocals, but later decides to bring in a dedicated female lead singer. Marker discovers Shirley Manson through the video for her band Angelfish on MTV’s 120 Minutes. Manson meets the group in 1994, auditions unsuccessfully at first, then joins after further collaboration and relocates from Edinburgh to Madison to work on the debut album.

Early releases and breakthrough

Garbage sign international and North American deals with Mushroom Records and Almo Sounds. Early demos appear without much promotional information, partly to avoid competing with Vig’s production profile. The single “Vow” receives radio play in the United Kingdom and the United States before the debut album arrives.

The self-titled debut album, released in 1995, brings the band international success. It sells more than four million copies, reaches double platinum certification in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, and is supported by singles including “Stupid Girl” and “Only Happy When It Rains”. Earlier material also includes “Queer”. The band tours extensively in 1995 and 1996, and their live performances improve over time after an initially mixed response.

Version 2.0 and James Bond work

Version 2.0 follows in 1998 after writing that comes out of extensive touring and recording sessions in Wisconsin and Washington State. It debuts at number one in the United Kingdom and number 13 in the United States, and it produces the singles “Push It”, “I Think I’m Paranoid”, “Special” and “When I Grow Up”. The album receives two Grammy Award nominations. The band then undertakes a long international tour through 1999.

During this period, Garbage contribute to the 19th James Bond film The World Is Not Enough and co-produce its title song with composer David Arnold.

Later albums, hiatus and return

Beautiful Garbage appears in 2001 and broadens the band’s style. It reaches number 13 on the US Billboard 200 and tops some genre-specific charts, but it does not match the commercial performance of the earlier albums. Its release follows the September 11 attacks, which affect its promotion and reception. The band is later dropped by their record label.

Work on Bleed Like Me begins in 2003 and is delayed by internal tensions and Shirley Manson’s vocal health problems. The album is completed in 2005, includes contributions from Dave Grohl, produces “Why Do You Love Me” and returns the band to the US top ten. It reaches number four on the US Billboard 200, the highest chart position of their career at that point. After its release, the band enters an indefinite hiatus and curtails touring.

Garbage briefly return in 2007 to add material for the compilation Absolute Garbage. They later resume full activity and release Not Your Kind of People in 2012 on their own label, STUNVOLUME. Further albums follow with Strange Little Birds in 2016, No Gods No Masters in 2021 and Let All That We Imagine Be the Light in 2025. The band remains active, continuing to record and perform live.

Recognition and status

Garbage sell more than 17 million albums worldwide. Their work is associated with alternative rock and related styles, combining remix-informed production with conventional rock instrumentation. Early studio experience and production work on artists including U2, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and House of Pain shape their approach to the band’s sound.