She seemed delighted."
WhenJake Shearsfirst moved to New York in 1999, he sought work dancing in the city’s gay bars.
And I love it.
Jake Shears.Damon Baker
Dance music’s always given me a lot."
When they announced their hiatus in 2012, Shears moved to L.A. with his partner at the time.
It was, he says now, “one of the most emotional things I’d ever made.
Jake Shears.Damon Baker
I was writing myself out of a hole.”
But Shears is an artist with itchy feet, constantly scoping out the next project.
It’s during this time that he started working onLast Man Dancing.
A throbbing party record from start to finish, it takes the form of a night out.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why did you want to play in the disco sandbox again?
JAKE SHEARS:It was just time.
I think I’ve always found a certain solace in dance music, on the dance floor.
It’s something I’ve always dreamed of doing.
How self-referential do you allow yourself to be?
That song definitely harkens back to “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing.”
All those disparate influences are still uniquely my own.
There’s also “Really Big Deal,” which was the last song I wrote for the record.
I hadn’t written anything with that kind of humor and attitude in a really long time.
You sing, “I’m gonna be the last man dancing.
I’ll carry on even when the party’s over.”
Have you been considering your own mortality?
In a certain way, I always do.
My goal in life is to always keep working.
I’m at 20 years in this industry now and that feels like a big milestone for me.
And I want to do 20 more.
You know, I don’t do this for the money.
It’s hard to make money in this business now.
I’m fortunate that it’s not necessarily a problem.
I don’t make records for the money; I do it because I love making them.
And that passion is stronger than it’s ever been.
You’ve worked with Kylie Minogue again on “Voices.”
Why do you think you are so creatively simpatico?
We’ve always gotten along.
I think she has one of the greatest voices.
She’s up there with Dolly Parton and Kate Bush, two of my favorite singers.
I love using her voice as a color.
And she has always humored me when we’re in the studio together.
We’ve done some weird stuff that nobody’s ever going to hear, probably.
But she’s always down to take that ride with me.
She’s not the only icon on this record.
How did you get Jane Fonda involved on the track “Radio Eyes”?
I met Jane over a decade ago and we became friends.
They were so much fun.
I took Kylie to one of them, actually.
It would be 25 or 30 of the wildest assortments of people it’s possible for you to imagine.
And then I was like, “Oh God, I hope she will let me use it.”
Jane Fonda has had a chameleonic career.
What do you think is behind her enduring spirit?
It’s so amazing to see her now where she’s at.
When I was growing up, she had retired from acting for over a decade.
I was devastated because as a kid I was obsessed with her.
WhenMonster-in-Lawcame out [in 2005], I was there on opening night.
I was so happy she was doing movies again.
But also her activism.
She’s done so much and she cares.
I think we need more people like that in the world.
Next year marks 20 years since the first Scissor Sisters album.
It was such a different time.
There wasn’t social media, really.
It made us less self-conscious.
Imagining it gives me shivers.
like tell us that Scissor Sisters will reunite to celebrate the anniversary.
Oh, I don’t know.
I’m not opposed to it.
It would be really fun.
I know it would make a lot of people happy.
Last Man Dancingis out June 2.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
