'I didn't think I'd be back on the stage at Glastonbury'

Jake Shears, former Scissor Sisters star and now a solo artist, is heading to Worthy Farm in vivacious form, finds Sam Moore

- Sam Moore

JAKE SHEARS has a good mantra whenever he hits a block in the songwriting process. He asks himself, “What would George Michael do?”

The gregarious co-founder of the Scissor Sisters reveals this secret spirit guide from a studio in California. We are speaking ahead of his appearance at Glastonbury this Saturday, and shortly after the release of his second solo album, Last Man Dancing. It is bursting with infectious hooks and the kind of hip-swaying rhythms that blasted the Scissor Sisters to superstardom in the mid-Noughties. While Last Man Dancing stands comfortably alongside contemporary dance-pop offerings such as Dua Lipa, Jessie Ware and Lizzo, for Shears, it’s George Michael who’s always on his shoulder, guiding him in the right direction.

“He’s always going to be a massive influence on what I do and I don’t think I’m half the singer he was but I absolutely loved him. There’s moments where I get stuck writing the verses and I think, ‘What would George Michael do?’ and just do that. We should put that on a T-shirt.”