Pop legends Scissor Sisters announce Belfast gig as part of 20th anniversary reunion tour

The Filthy/Gorgeous hit-makers have been dormant for more than a decade, but are due to hit the SSE Arena next year as part of a massive tour celebrating 20 years since their debut album hit number one in the UK charts.

The band exploded onto the charts in 2003 with a disco cover of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb, which set the scene for years of outrageous, camp and unforgettable hits.

Their self-titled LP the following year spawned anthems Take Your Mama, Laura and Mary, and became the UK’s best-selling album of 2004.

The band’s rise was meteoric, as shown by their gigs in Belfast at the time.

Starting out playing to a few hundred people in the Limelight in 2004, two years later they headlined what was then the Odyssey Arena.

One of the era-defining acts of the noughties, their career boasts further hits such as I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ and Land Of A Thousand Words.

They’ve been on hiatus since 2013, the success of club mainstay Let’s Have A Kiki sending them out on a high.

But the band’s back together and say they’re bringing their signature mix of ‘showmanship, songcraft and galvanising queer energy’ to town for what’s sure to be the hottest dancefloor of the year.

The 10-date anniversary tour of the UK and Ireland hits Belfast’s SSE Arena on May 27 - and the band plans to play every single track from their nine-times-Platinum debut album, as well as cherry-picked highlights from their three follow-ups.

Says singer Jake Spears: “It’s the 20th anniversary of our debut album, so it really feels like the right time to revisit all the intense excitement of that moment.

“I think the impetus for this reunion was really a YouTube screening of Scissor Sisters Live at The O2 that happened during lockdown. I don't think I'd seen that show since it was filmed in 2007, but we were all kind of surprised by how great it was.

“And chatting with fans during the screening really brought back what a special moment it was for all of us."

Multi-instrumentalist Babydaddy says the group wants to celebrate being ‘a queer band that really pushed into the mainstream’ with their debut record.

"We want to revisit that because there weren't as many queer acts breaking through in that way 20 years ago,” he said.

“We do acknowledge that we did something pretty unique back then; we put queer culture in the mainstream at a time when there wasn't much of it there.”

Notable by her absence is second singer Ana Matronic, who is concentrating on other projects – but as the band point out, the 20th anniversary only comes around once.

“We've spent a lot of time collectively thinking about what we can add to our show that isn't a replacement for Ana in any way,” says guitarist Del Maquis. “She’s part of the spirit of this band and we want to honour that.”

Adds Jake: “The way I see it is this – if it’s gonna be different, why not make it an interesting kind of different?”

Tickets go on sale on November 8 at 10am from www.scissorsisters.com