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A post-punk rock outfit whose flirtations with gothic imagery have dogged the public and media perception of them throughout an eclectic career. They formed in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, in 1980, when Leeds and Oxford University drop-out Andrew Eldritch (b. Andrew Taylor, 15 May 1959, England; vocals) teamed up with Gary Marx (b. Mark Pairman, England; guitar) and a drum machine. After releasing "The Damage Done" (on which Eldritch plays drums and guitar, and Marx sings) on their own Merciful Release label, the band expanded to include Ben Gunn (guitar) and Craig Adams (bass) for supports with Clash, Psychedelic Furs and the Birthday Party. A cult reputation in the north of England was augmented by excellent press, and further enhanced by the release of their third single "Alice". A magnificent gothic dance saga, together with the subsequent "Temple Of Love" (which reached number 2 on the UK singles chart), it hallmarked the band's early musical character. In-between these two landmark 45s Gunn left to be replaced by That Guitarist (b. Jerry That Guitarist, 26 May 1958, Bristol, England). WEA Records picked up the distribution for Merciful Release as the band's reputation continued to grow throughout 1983 and 1984.
Despite the release of their debut album, the following year brought a creative watershed. Continuing rivalries between Marx and Eldritch forced the former to depart. This was only a stopgap treaty, with the band announcing a final split in July 1985 after a concert at the Royal Albert Hall (captured for posterity on the Wake video). The rest of the year witnessed extraordinary legal wrangles between Eldritch on one hand and Adams and Hussey on the other, each claiming use of the name Sisters Of Mercy. Eldritch went as far as releasing a record (Gift) under the title Sisterhood simply to prevent Adams and Hussey from adopting this halfway-house title. The duo eventually settled on the m****n as their new home, while Eldritch moved to Germany. Still operating under the Sisters Of Mercy title, Eldritch recruited Patricia Morrison (b. 14 January 1962; ex-Gun Club) and fashioned a more dance-orientated sound on hit singles "This Corrosion" (UK number 7) and "Dominion" (UK number 13), and the Top 10 album Floodland.
A two-year spell of inactivity was broken in 1990 with the Top 20 single "More", showcasing another new line-up; Tony James (ex-Sigue Sigue Sputnik; bass), Tim Bricheno (b. 6 July 1963, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England; guitar, ex-All About Eve) and Andreas Bruhn (guitar). Vision Thing indulged Eldritch's penchant for deep-rooted, esoteric metaphor, which occasionally makes his lyrics futile and impenetrable. They undertook a loss-making, aborted tour with Public Enemy in 1991, though this did little to dampen the confidence of the self-confessed "world's greatest lyricist". A remixed version of "Temple Of Love", recorded with Israeli singer Ofra Haza, propelled the band into the UK Top 5 the following summer. New guitarist Adam Pearson featured on the following year's single, "Under The Gun", released to promote a greatest hits set. Eldritch's prolonged wrangles with East West Records subsequently kept the band out of the recording studio, although their erstwhile frontman remained active as a remixer on the dance music scene. Supported by various musicians he has kept the Sisters Of Mercy active as a live outfit.
DISCOGRAPHY: First And Last And Always (Merciful Release/Elektra 1985)***, Floodland (Merciful Release/Elektra 1987)***, Vision Thing (Merciful Release/Elektra 1990)**.
COMPILATIONS: Some Girls Wander By Mistake (Merciful Release/East West 1992)**, A Slight Case Of Overbombing: Greatest Hits Volume One (Merciful Release/East West 1993)***.
VIDEOGRAPHY: Wake: In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall (PolyGram Music Video 1986), Shot (Warner Music Vision 1989), Shot Rev 2.0 (Warner Music Vision 1993).
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sisters Of Mercy Discography: Heartland, Andrew James Pinell.
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 2002
