The late Sinead O’Connor was a major influence on generations of performers — Garbage’s Shirley Manson among them. In her interview from the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, Manson talked in depth about O’Connor. Here are her thoughts in her own words. To hear the whole podcast, go here to the podcast provider of your choice, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or just press play below.

I was surprised by my response to her death. It really has shaken me. I must admit I did not find it unexpected. In fact, quite the opposite. I’ve been waiting for this. I feared this would happen. I understood what crisis she was in and I was very concerned and my biggest fear has come true. I can’t say I’m surprised. I really saw in Sinead a figurehead, a flag-bearer. And to have lost that, it feels devastating.

Reading the music papers in Britain, I started tracking her — that sounds really sinister! But I started tracking her career through those papers and became quite obsessed. And then I saw her perform “Mandinka” on Top of the Pops, and that was it. I was just completely in love and I’ve never wavered. She’s been an artist that has stuck with me for decades and has never let me down. I’ve never felt disappointed by her. I’ve never felt embarrassed. I’ve always felt so aligned with her thinking.

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