Marcella Detroit
Marcella Levy, known professionally as Marcy Levy and Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit "Lay Down Sally" and released her debut studio album Marcella in 1982. She joined Shakespears Sister in 1988 with ex-Bananarama member Siobhan Fahey. Their first two studio albums, Sacred Heart and Hormonally Yours, both reached the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart. Detroit sang the lead vocals on their biggest hit, "Stay", which spent eight consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart in 1992. Detroit left the band in 1993 and had a UK top 20 hit with "I Believe" in 1994. She formed the Marcy Levy Band in 2002, and finished third in the 2010 ITV series Popstar to Operastar.
Career
1970–1987: Early career and ''Marcella''
-born Marcy Levy began playing for different bands in her home city during the early 1970s. The first major act she worked with was Bob Seger who signed her band "Julia" up to tour with him. She sang backing vocals on his studio album Back in '72, which was recorded at Leon Russell's Grand Lake studio. Detroit was then asked by Russell to join him on tour, which she later did. After moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma to further pursue her musical career, she and her then-current band were hired by Eric Clapton for touring. She sang backing and group vocals on Clapton's studio album There's One in Every Crowd, and toured and recorded with him for the next four years. While working with Clapton, she sang backing vocals on some of his most enduring songs, including "Lay Down Sally", "Promises", and "Wonderful Tonight". She co-wrote and sang lead vocals on "Roll It" on Clapton's studio album Backless and dueted with Clapton on "The Core", which she also co-wrote with Clapton. During this period, she began working on her debut solo studio album with producer David Foster in the mid-late 1970s signed to RSO Records. For unknown reasons however, the album was shelved and remained unfinished. Marcy later stopped working with Clapton to focus more on her own solo career, but rejoined him when they performed at Live Aid where she added backing vocals. Whilst working on her debut studio album, she was singing and songwriting for numerous artists including Aretha Franklin, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, Stanley Clarke, Chaka Khan, Belinda Carlisle, and Al Jarreau.Marcy duetted with Alice Cooper on his 1978 studio album From the Inside on the song "Millie and Billie". She provided backing vocals on the 1980 hit "Lookin' for Love" by Johnny Lee.
Also in 1980, she sang a duet with Robin Gibb, "Help Me!", which was featured on the official soundtrack of the film Times Square. The song was released as a single, and reached number 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100. She also sang a duet on Jimmy Ruffin's studio album Sunrise; "Where Do I Go", and in 1981 was featured on the official soundtrack of American Pop on "Somebody to Love". During this period, Detroit was signed to Epic Records and released her debut studio album, Marcella in 1982. The album failed to appear on any major charts, and after the commercial failure of the album, Epic Records refused Detroit tour allowance with John Mellencamp, and she was later dropped by the label. She wrote and provided backing vocals for "Tangled in Love" with Richard Feldman, which appeared on Eric Clapton's 1985 studio album Behind the Sun. Following this, she was asked by Clapton to start to work with him again, and after another year of touring with him, she once more left to pursue her own solo career. Detroit released an LP together with Diane Reeves in 1985, titled Ballerina, where she performs three songs, "Ballerina", "Pretty Polly" and "Always a Woman in Love". Also credited as Marcy Levy, she sang a duet with Max Carl, "Come and Follow Me" for the movie Short Circuit 1 in 1986; however, no movie soundtrack album was ever released. Detroit was featured in 1988 on the official soundtrack of Mac and Me, on the song "You Knew What You Were Doing".
1988–1993: Shakespears Sister
Detroit met Bananarama member Siobhan Fahey through a mutual friend, songwriting partner Richard Feldman. At the time, Fahey had been contemplating leaving the band for her solo brainchild project Shakespears Sister. Feldman had invited Detroit as a songwriting aid. During this period, Fahey suggested to Detroit that she change her name to "give me a sort of new lease of life and to get me disassociated with my background vocal past/entity". Detroit continued to work as a "hired hand" until Fahey's husband Dave Stewart of Eurythmics suggest the two form a band, which was backed by Feldman, Fahey's management and her record company, London Records. Detroit officially became a member of the band after the release of the first Shakespears Sister single, "Break My Heart / Heroine". Their second single "You're History" reached the top 10 in the UK, as did their debut studio album Sacred Heart, which was certified Gold by the BPI. Two further singles were released from Sacred Heart, "Run Silent" and "Dirty Mind", both of which failed to reach the UK top 50.In late 1991, Shakespears Sister released the first single from their second studio album Hormonally Yours, "Goodbye Cruel World", which was also a commercial failure, failing to peak within the UK top 50. The second single however, "Stay", marked Shakespears Sister's first and only number one, staying at the top of the UK charts for eight consecutive weeks, and also found similar success in international charts. Hormonally Yours was released the following month, and was certified 2× Platinum by the BPI. The duo continued to enjoy success with further singles from Hormonally Yours; "I Don't Care" peaked at number seven, "Hello " at number 14, and a re-release of "Goodbye Cruel World" at number 32.
During this period, however, tensions began to arise between the two. A concert at the Royal Albert Hall was cancelled due to Fahey's own personal issues at the time, and the two decided to put Shakespears Sister on hiatus for Detroit to release her new solo studio album, which she had been working on at the time, and also for Fahey to "take that time off to be with her family." During this period, "My 16th Apology", the fifth and final single from Hormonally Yours, was released; given that neither member was able to promote it, it was a commercial failure, reaching number 63 on the UK charts. Detroit found out that Fahey had ended her partnership with her at the 1993 Ivor Novello Awards ceremony through Fahey's publisher when Hormonally Yours won "Best Contemporary Collection of Songs". Detroit and Fahey did not speak to or see each other for 25 years, before eventually meeting up and talking again in 2018.
1994–2001: ''Jewel'', ''Feeler'', and ''Dancing Madly Sideways''
After leaving Shakespears Sister in 1993, Detroit began her own solo career also with London Records. Her second studio album, and her first since leaving the duo, Jewel was released in March 1994 preceded by "I Believe", which reached number 11 in the UK. The album itself reached number 15 and was certified silver by the BPI. Jewel received mixed reviews from critics: Aaron Badgley from AllMusic commented " seems to steer Marcella into mid-'90s dance grooves, which does not always fit her own distinctive sound". Three more singles followed; "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", "I'm No Angel", and "Perfect World", which peaked at number 24, 33, and 134 respectively.Detroit left London Records sometime in 1995. She released her third studio album Feeler in September 1996 under various labels; in the UK it was released under AAA Records, in some European territories under Mega Records, in others Silvertone Records. The album did not chart in the UK, or any other territories except Japan, where under Sony Records it peaked at number 82. Four singles were released, "I Hate You Now...", "Somebody's Mother", "Boy", and "Flower". "I Hate You Now..." and "Boy" peaked at number 107, and 102 respectively. A live album, Without Medication Plus MTV "Buzz Live", was released promotionally in Japan in 1996. In the same year, she guest-starred in two episodes of Absolutely Fabulous as an angel. Over the course of the two episodes, five original songs by Detroit feature in numerous scenes, which were later released in 1999 on Abfab Songs. The same year, Detroit released Demoz, a double-CD collection of demos. Her fourth solo album, Dancing Madly Sideways was released in July 2001 under Detroit's own independent label Banned Records, which would later be retitled Lofi Records. The album was preceded by one single, "Lust for Like", and a three-track sampler EP, Limited Edition. None of these releases charted internationally. In 2002, she featured on Aurora's single "If You Could Read My Mind".