Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie

The arty British pop band Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie may be best known for the fact that Garbage's Shirley Manson was once a member, but there is more to the group's story, including chart successes and record company conflicts. Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie formed in 1981 out of the ashes of the Clan, which itself was created from the lineups of Lipstick and Irrelevant. Singer/guitarist Martin Metcalfe, drummer Derek Kelly, bassist Jamie Waterson, and keyboardist Ewan Drysdale comprised the band's first lineup; Chuck Parker replaced Drysdale within a matter of months. The band released their first single, Death of a Salesman, in 1984, and added two background vocalists, Shirley Manson and Hilary McLean, in the next year. The Mackenzies' 1986 single The Rattler reached number 13 in the U.K. indie charts, and the group made several TV and radio appearances in the wake of the song's success. On the strength of their 1987 Face to Face single, which was another indie Top 20 hit, Capitol signed Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie in 1988. The group released a string of singles over the next year (including a re-recorded version of The Rattler), all of which hovered in the mid-regions of the Top 100. Their 1989 album Good Deeds & Dirty Rags fared slightly better, charting at number 27; however, Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie and Capitol parted ways; the Mackenzies signed to Parlophone and Capitol released a B-sides and live collection, Fish Heads & Tails, at the end of the year. In 1990, the group toured with Debbie Harry and released two singles, Love Child and Blacker than Black, that met with indifference: Blacker Than Black topped out at number 62, while Love Child failed to chart at all. With two albums worth of material recorded and waiting to be released, the Mackenzies left Parlophone and signed to MCA....