The Scissor Sisters burst onto the musical scene in 2004 with a club hit version of the Pink Floyd classic “Comfortably Numb”. While it certainly got them attention, it also angered Pink Floyd purists who insisted that the cover made a mockery of the original. But everyone was shocked when the group’s eponymous debut dropped later that year, and though the infamous Pink Floyd cover was present, the rest of the album proved that the group had considerably more to offer.

Their main influence was Elton John’s early seventies hits. The album became the biggest hit of the year in the UK, but never really took off in the United States, making them one of the few American artists to become much bigger in the UK then in their home country.

In the US, two singles “Take Your Mama” and “Filthy/Gorgeous” became small hits and there were high hopes for the group’s second album to take them to the next level in America.

That second album Ta-Dah not only sounds like an early 70’s Elton John album, Elton plays piano on two tracks. The album is not a straight Elton John rip-off album; the Sisters are keen enough to also use influences ranging from 80’s new wave to disco to create their updated Glam Rock feel. They even go as far as to include a song called “Paul McCartney” (though the song title is never said in the lyrics).

The album, as expected was a huge hit across Europe, but despite good publicity, including an appearance on Dancing With The Stars, the album has been a disappointing seller in the US.

It entered in the top 20 but is falling down the charts quickly.

A part could be that the album was not picked up by the FYE chain because of remarks that Scissor Sisters lead singer Jake Shears made against the chain. This cuts the sales of the album drastically.

Add to that the fact that trying to market a band with four openly gay males and a female to an American audience is a difficult task to begin with, especially in more conservative areas of the country, and your left with a very good band with little hope of ever achieving any lasting American success.