Fox Reviews Rock

Introduction

Three-piece, dual vocalist Berlin based band SHIRLEY HOLMES are vibrant! Also, a lot of fun… Bringing that Indie rock combined with lashings of punk! We caught up with them before this years Orange Blossom Special Festival (OBS)!

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Interview

I think the most logical way to start is to ask who is SHIRLEY HOLMES … who makes up the band and what instruments do you each play?

SHIRLEY HOLMES is a three-piece electric guitar hurricane from Berlin and Bremen and consists of Mel, Ziggy and Chris. Mel plays guitar and sings, Ziggy plays bass and sings, Chris beats the drums.

The band is a 3-piece, what do you like the most about this set up , and have you ever considered adding another member? If so, why did you ultimately choose not to do so?

When the band was founded, we had the idea of having another guitar plus somebody playing synths, but we didn’t find the right people for it. So we decided on the magic triangle, which we don’t regret. A trio is often very compact and gets to the heart of the matter and sometimes works more easily as a band because there are fewer opinions and time constraints to consider.

You’re from Berlin, somewhere I was lucky enough to have previously visited! I was wondering though, If I were to spend the day with you in Berlin where would you take me?

To Neukölln and Kreuzberg and definitely somewhere along the Spree or the Landwehr Canal. There would probably be several stops for ice cream.

There is a real punk vibe mixed with indie to your music, what exactly about that sound attracts you to it so much?

We just like a powerful sound, we don’t actively search for the “punk vibe”, it apparently results from the combination of our very different musical influences. We feel it’s very multi-faceted overall and dances light-footedly between various chairs. What particularly attracts us is the combination of energy and melody. And the fun of simply doing what we feel like doing, without any limitations in our heads.

The one thing that immediately stuck out to me when listening to your music was the chemistry between the two singers and how your vocals intertwine. How did the idea for dual frontwomen come about?

Mel and Ziggy were both also the frontwomen of their own bands in their previous lives, and it was this chemistry between the two of them that led to the formation of the band, the vocal interaction then came about all by itself.

Something that is overtly obvious from watching your music videos is how much fun you also have while performing! If you could say something to bands that take themselves far too seriously, what would it be?

Relax and enjoy going with the spirit of the music you play. And play the music you love. But in the end, everyone has to find their own way – maybe bands that take themselves too seriously still have a lot of fun playing and just can’t show it. In the end, it’s maybe just a personality thing.

You have worked alongside Alarmsignal a couple of times “Kompass & Chauffeur” & “D’accord” would you mind letting us know how those collaborations came about and how you know them?

We met and instantly liked each other at a festival in 2019. A small coincidence (a forgotten foot switch) eventually turned into a deep friendship. This then led to these two collaborations, among other things. We’re always very happy when our paths cross and sometimes at concerts Mel sings along with Alarmsignal or Steff with Shirley when the opportunity arises.

You released your new album “Mein Bestes Selbst” this year (2025) there is a song called “Angst & Hobbys”. I want to know what hobbies you have outside of music that make you feel your best self?

Crochet and Mau Mau Otherwise: sport, meeting nice people, reading. New hobby out of despair about the current situation: frequently smiling at strangers, being more helpful than usual, spreading love into this weird world – join in!

As a close follow on question to the one above, what about the music industry or the world in general causes the feeling of angst for you?

The world as a whole and the insane and ever-increasing speed at which good achievements are thrown off the curve and despicable things take their course and how well people get away with behaving like shit. The degeneration of compassion and empathy. Agitation, fake news/propaganda, the stupid and reckless pursuit of power and money.

It had been 5 years or 4 years if we count the remixed version of “Die Krone Der Erschöpfung” between albums, I’d like to know if you have a goal in mind for the length of time between albums or does it just happen naturally?

No, there’s no time limit, there are always many factors and appointments inside and outside the band that play a role and ultimately the decision as to whether we want to play a lot live or record an album.

Also, I would love to know why you chose to release a remixed version too.

The pandemic is actually “to blame”, we originally just wanted to release two remixes but since it was often not possible to play live concerts at the time, everyone had more time than usual and there was so much positive feedback that two remixes turned into a whole album. It is really great to hear what our songs inspired others to do and we really appreciate the results and the diversity of the project!

From that album I adore “Das Licht”, I was wondering would you be able to break down the song for me in terms of inspirations and why you chose to write it?

“The Light” is a typical SHIRLEY HOLMES song. We were standing in the rehearsal room jamming and all of a sudden something clicked in all three of us. We love that moment when we get to the heart of the matter and this energy is unleashed, which is then transferred directly to our bodies.

It was great that we already had a verse with some lyrics, which, as is so often the case, developed naturally in the jam. Mel then fine-tuned the song further, Ziggy developed the lyrics further and in the end it became the most important song on the album for us.

The mass majority of your songs are in German, which for a predominantly non speaker of the language can be fairly daunting. Or at least on first listen. Has there ever been a time where you considered singing only in English? How important do you think it is that bands sing in their native languages?

On our first album, “Heavy Chansons”, we actually still sang mainly in English, but over time it has kind of reversed, whereby we don’t actively decide for or against a language, but rather look at which language the song needs for our feeling.

Singing in our mother tongue, we can express what we’re about better and more precisely, deal with language in a more sophisticated way and incorporate subtleties, ambiguities and gimmicks. The lyrics often become “deeper”.

You’re performing this summer at Orange Blossom Special Festival, what do you think makes this festival so special?

The German Rolling Stone Magazine wrote once that the OBS is “the best small festival in the world”. It enjoys an excellent reputation worldwide. On the one hand, it’s very informal and brings together very open and music-loving people who are interested in and enjoy good music across all genres.

In addition, the professionalism and quality of both the artists and the team is something you don’t even get used to at big festivals. On top we experienced exlusively really nice human beings (audience, team, bands) who create together a fantastic and open minded atmosphere. It is definitely one of our top 3 festivals that we have played at and we can therefore highly recommend it.

We are going to be at the festival and will be watching your set! What exactly should we expect from a SHIRLEY HOLMES show?

Lots of musical and physical energy and a good mood! We often hear from visitors to our concerts that our show is like a therapy session: you go there, let all the crap out, dance, freak out, let a lot of positivity in and at the end you go home happy, at least for the moment.

Finally, If we go back to your debut album from 2011 “Heavy Chansons”, can you tell us what you believe is the best song on that album and why?

Maybe TANZEN (in English: DANCE), because it’s one of the best ways to convey the feeling and energy of our live shows. That’s why we still play it at every concert. And maybe we should all dance a little more in our lives again.

All rights to the songs in this interview are retained by SHIRLEY HOLMES. This site claims no rights over them. The photos for this interview were provided by SHIRLEY HOLMES and taken by Christoph Mangler & Soni Möller.