Longevity is the prize: Shirley Manson

Singer Shirley Manson says winning awards doesn't matter in the "long term" and that having a long and successful career is more important than collecting awards.

"I always think award shows are a weird amalgamation of love and being in the right place at the right time, and the right people vote for you. I don't really think it means that much in the long term," Manson told BANG Showbiz.

She added: "It's wonderful to win something, but it doesn't mean anything in the long term. The thing that matters is that you have a long and enduring career and you get to be creative for the rest of your life, that is the prize."

The "Why do you love me" hitmaker used her speech at the bash to speak up for women in all industries, while calling on fellow musicians to "stand up" against the lack of representation of female artistes at festivals, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

She said: "In all seriousness, thank you so much. I am so thrilled to be here. I have been reading the NME and features in the NME since as far back as the mid-1980s."

Addressing the Hollywood sexual harassment scandal, Manson said: "This has been an incredibly sad roll-out in some regards in the last 18 months.

"I think we are all shocked. Any decent person is shocked by the statistics surrounding not only the harassment that women face, not only the violence that we face, but the lack of representation that we enjoy in an industry.

"The fact that women at my level enjoy under seven per cent representation is unacceptable. I call upon any musician in this room to stand up and really call out festivals for not representing women, in particular women of colour, our black sisters. We need to make a change. It's vital."

--IANS

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