Shirley Manson, one of Edinburgh’s greatest musical exports and advocates, is mourning and celebrating and remembering. She is mourning the death last autumn of her rescue dog Veela, a huge wee player in her life. ‘I still cry every day,’ she says down the line from her LA base. But she is also celebrating being part of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s new Revolutionary Women In Music: Left Of Center exhibit, alongside the likes of P!nk, Joan Jett and Meg White, in recognition of her fronting alt.rockers Garbage over the past 30 years.

‘I’ve always said awards and recognitions mean nothing until you get them,’ she laughs. ‘Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I never saw women really represented en masse in any national museum; women had been omitted from the narrative. So I was thrilled to be part of this lineage of incredible artists, male and female. I hope it’s not a one-off. I hope the museum is dedicated to promoting women as they move forward. I wish it was much easier for women to thrive in the music industry, but we keep pushing.’

Manson is also remembering a time she might prefer to forget, as Garbage prepare to mark next year’s 20th anniversary of their fourth album, Bleed Like Me, with its first ever vinyl release. ‘This record was a bit of a disaster for us,’ she says. ‘We got dropped shortly after its release so it’s married to some very difficult emotions and memories for us. It was the only period of the band where we’ve actually had a lot of friction. We all started to turn on each other because our career was floundering, but we didn’t allow the record company to dictate the terms of our play. There was a real defiance, which is funny because my bandmates are all so sweet but they are strangely and quietly hardcore. So we shook a little but we didn’t break, and I’m so grateful for that because we went on to have a very healthy career which nobody foresaw. We’ve just been this little engine.’

Manson is now happy to report that the band are completing work on their as-yet-untitled eighth collection, due for release next year. ‘If the last album [2021’s No Gods No Masters] sounded like the apocalypse, this album sounds a bit like we’re emerging from the underground with a searchlight,’ she says. ‘It’s just got a slightly different perspective than the last record which was really indignant. This one is trying to find more hope in the world. The times feel dark to me so I couldn’t really afford to get into my indignance too much. I had to find my way out and that has influenced the record’s sound.’

Returning to Scotland this summer to play TRNSMT and the Usher Hall is another boost for Manson, who spends months at a time back in her native Edinburgh. ‘I always relish coming home. It matters to me that we play in my homeland. Coming from Scotland, you have a really strong identity (at least I did) and it really rooted me and I never feel like I lost my head. We got very successful very quickly and at no point did I ever get ahead of myself. I kept my feet on the ground so I never strayed too far from who I was. I think I’m essentially the same twat.’
Garbage are on tour Friday 12–Saturday 20 July.