American singer-songwriter Jake Shears was BOTD in 1978. Born Jason Sellards in Mesa Arizona, he studied in Washington and California. In 1988, he moved to New York in 1988 with his friend Scott Hoffman (aka Babydaddy), working as a go-go dancer in gay bars. The formed the band The Scissor Sisters in 2001, performing at gay clubs in New York and Brooklyn. A brash mix of synth pop and electroclash with a glam rock aesthetic and majority queer band members, their lyrics referenced sex, drugs, glory holes and lap dancing, and protested the sanitising of New York’s queer culture. Initially ignored in America, they were embraced in England, where their self-titled debut album hit No 1 in 2004. The following year, their disco version of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb was nominated for a Grammy. Their 2006 follow-up album Ta-Dah again reached No 1 in the UK, debuting at No 19 on the US Billboard chart. As lead singer and songwriter, Shears became famous for his flamboyant stage appearances, barely-there stripper fashions and piercing falsetto. In the extremely straight landscape of early 2000s pop, he and fellow band member Ana Matronic became instant LGBTG icons. The band produced two further albums, Night Work and Magic Hour before going on permanent hiatus in 2012. Openly gay since forever, Shears has dated band member Del Marquis, singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright and was in a long-term relationship with Chris Moukarbel until 2015. In 2018, he published his memoir Boys Keep Swinging and released a self-titled solo album. After relocating to London, he worked with Elton John on a stage musical based on the life of Tammy Faye Messner. He is in a relationship with English actor Jon Reynolds.