First and Last and Always (1985)
This fase made its debut in a John Peel radio session with 'Poison Door', 'No Time To Cry' and 'Walk Away'. The band went into the studio right after this, accompanied by producer Dave Allen, for a first opus which was named
First and Last and Always in the end. The recording sessions were to be interrupted for a month. Eldritch was brutally hit by tiredness, worn off because he stopped using amphetamines. The official recording was finally released in May 1985, with content which laid far from the shattered atmosphere of the demos known as
Victims of Circumstance. The album was to be preceded by a first single 'Walk Away' (containing the famous B-side 'Poison Door'), a tour, known by the name of Black October, and a second single 'No Time To Cry'. After the release of the album, another impressive tour (called Tune in, turn on, burn out) emerged a zealous group of admirerers, this followers that never got tired were called The Sisterhood. In the middle of the group's rise all of a sudden the departure of guitarist Gary Marx was announced (future leader of Ghost Dance, featuring Skeletal Family singer Anne Marie). Replacing wasn't planned, which left the door wide open for That Guitarist who composed half of the first album together with Marx. When recently interviewed by D-Side about his personal importance in the forming of the band, Hussey showed himself retreated:
'I didn't play for that, and I haven't been in the band but for two years. But there certainly are important moments on First and Last and Always
remaining up to date. Sadly, Hussey couldn't keep up the splendour of the band on his own. The band grew somewhat paler on stage, the atmosphere went down and rumours of a split were frequent. Today Hussey denies these histories of bad understanding within the band:
The atmosphere certainly didn't grow worse after Gary Marx left. On the contrary, everything was far more at ease afterwards, and they did a couple of good things together, quite fast by the way. The band organised a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London under the form of surviving trio, and the filmed gig came out as VHS named Wake. The crystalised image and sound give an evocative impression of the appointment. Following this final concert of the 'first' act of the Sisters of Mercy, Eldritch went off to regain some strength in Hamburg.
Clash in Germany
Craig Adams and That Guitarist caught up in Hamburg with Andrew Eldritch bearing a second album in mind, working title
Left on m*****n and Revenge. The work didn't go too well, which resulted in a clash between Andrew on one side, Craig and Wayne on the other. It's a dead-end. Today, That Guitarist hesitates:
'I recall quite a number of compositions coming out of the era, to which Craig and me weren't exaclty attracted. One day, Craig went straight out of the repetition room. This catalysed what was to follow. It was time for us to get a bit of independance, to do something else.' At the time, both of the existing camps denies being responsible of the split. Facing the human failure coming out of the proces, Andrew Eldritch was left on his own to reinvent the Sisters of Mercy. Hussey and Adams took off, back to London and recruited Mick Brown (bass player of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry) and guitarist Simon Hinkler. The formation soon had a hard time splitting up with an pedant Eldritch over the ownership of the name 'The Sisters of Mercy' and irritative when anything coming close was used. Hussey actually called his new formation The Sisterhood, a name first used giving a Soho concert in 1986.
The Sisterhood
Adrew Eldritch couldn't legally oppose the re-appropriation by That Guitarist of the name of the group of original the Sisters of Mercy fans. So he decided, in all goodness to squeeze out his ex-compatriots. Rapidly he released a single ('Giving Ground') followed by and album in 1986 (
Gift) as The Sisterhood, before Hussey could. Good morning ambiance. An atmosphere of which pleads guilty today Hussey:
'We knew Andrew would be pissed of by the fact we ran off, and we were prepared for the backfire. But to be honest, it was mere laziness and a lack of imagination from our side. That being, it got us some attention which helped us greatly in what was to follow.' That Guitarist, Craig Adams and theirs got away with it quite good becoming the popular band 'The m*****n'. The Sisterhood remained a single album band:
Gift, cold and urban, and it was steered by Eldritch from A to Z (music and production). The work brought along bassist Patricia Morrison (The Gun Club), singer James Ray, coming out of the unknown James Ray and the Performance, or even Alan Vega co-founder of Suicide, and so until today the collaboration of the The Sisterhood project remains badly defined.
Gift was an important step in Eldritch's musical upbringing. According to James Ray, Andrew learned through producing the whole thing, but
he hadn't followed into the relative technics of samplers and sequencers yet. I think Andrew gathered quite some experience after all.' An experience guiding Eldritch to lay the grounds of a title named 'This Corrosion', which would come out of the Sisters of Mercy later on.
Leadership
Gift, produced by Lucas Fox (Motörhead) and released on RCA, is an experience showing the strong character of the leader. A leader of which you cannot turn away on the rule of authority. Andrew Eldritch conducts. All musical parttakers in The Sisters of Mercy have had to take this for granted, keeping mixed memories of it. That Guitarist outs a reflection on the subject he made earlier, today:
'The Sisters of Mercy were finished by finally becoming Andrew's band. But I don't think it always worked that way. When I came into the formation, the infrastructure and dynamics of the group were in place and I accepted them so the other band members could function more naturally. I would profile myself more meanwhile, and Andrew noticed it somewhat. But he took care no-one got on the level of control where he wished to be himself. I think he suffers of a Napoleon complex (:lol: 
). It was far from ideal from my point of view, but I believe nice things grew from the tension existing between Andrew and me.' Hussey admits Eldritch made him look in the mirror, through his way of leading:
We aren't so different. For an action, there's a reaction and because we formed the m*****n it was somewhat a reaction on how The Sisters of mercy functioned. Anyway, in the past years, I think our respective ways to work came nearer to eachother.
Floodland (1987)
In Hamburg, Andrew Eldritch decides to revive the Sisters of Mercy. His recent colaboration with Patricia Morrison gives him the idea to take her along in a new work of the project. This will be the second studio work:
Floodland, of which the preparation starts in 1986 and which is preceded by the impressive single 'This Corrosion'. The production is loaded (Jim Steinman behind the buttons), demostrative, and rather orchestrated. Its opera-like contrasts with its 1985 predecessor and stops all who come in The Sisters of Mercy with chants of a mechanical music which is obscurely crashy. Enormous choirs, epically inflated. The Sisters of Mercy become tinsel according to some. Thus, the distinguished couple Eldritch/Morrison is the incarnation, according Gavin Baddeley (in
Goth Chic), of
'the missing link between the pale faces and the sharp edges of the goth subculture and the 'black leather' chic of the biker-rocker aesthetics.' The Sisters of Mercy thus gave life all which was the cause of the signs to become a more mainstream band again. But they didn't loose the sense of drama, and brought a new main theme. The heavy and linear bass lines of Patricia Morrison (not credited on the album, because of which her depart was accompanied by accusations in the direction of Eldritch) feed a hypnothic and cold image. It's the catapult, via the heroic singles 'Lucretia, my Reflection', or 'Dominion'. The recording support the essential avatar of the haunted voice which Gavin Baddely will later describe as 'Deep and icey bariton'. In the end,
Floodland certainly remains the last great album of the band. It imposes a pompous scripture certainly, but there's an alternative: weak presence of guitars, for massive electronics and a domineering bass. A synthetic and fatty form ermerges on which time, even until now, has had little influence. THe pulsations given by the everlasting Doktor Avalanche are terribly strong, and give the ensemble a more poppy stoicism. The accumulated chart positions get both WEA as the old fans happy, they assisted at the Sisters of Mercy's appeareance on big television networks, or elaborated clips as the inaugural videos appearing on the VHS-cassette
Shot. Not a single tour celebrated the achievements of the second cycle though.
Vision Thing (1990)
During 1988, a distance grew between Andrew Eldritch and Patricia Morrison. A split, doubt and putting everything in question again. Always very chameleonic, the discography of The Sisters of Mercy will be revived one final time, disliked by the original public. In 1990, Merciful Release announced Andreas Bruhn as a bandmember (whose solo future will be under the name of Broon). Chosen by Eldritch after he got his demos through WEA Germany, Bruhn would become guitarist and second pillar of the
Vision Thing album. This fine crew was completed with a bass player, Tony James, founder of SSS (at first he proposed Eldritch to take part in this group, without success), ex-Generation X and Sigue Sigue Spoutnik, and actually a member of Carbon Silicon. Its contributions are finalised by Tim Bricheno's guitar riffs (All About Eve) and the arroused choirs of Maggie Reilly, a Mike Oldfield collaborator. The Sisters of Mercy had clearly become a more 'metal' band, highly efficient at first sight, distant from the original forms. An all new band. Andreas Bruhn says this didn't work out well
'for Andrew, but well for the group. Andrew simply wanted to try to have everyone giving their best. At the time, it was hard to understand, but after a while all has become clear.' The heavy signature, signed Jim Steinman resulted in a shiny and (why not) flattery whole, of which the impulses flowing from an honest opinion from Eldritch. Tony James revealed to D-Side that
Andrew could pass a full day on a battery sound or a week on a part of vocals. In his presence he's mid-way between mad and genius.' While the critics differed greatly over the album,
Vision Thing attired a new public for The Sisters of Mercy. Leather and long metal hair mixed with insisting original Goths, drew the lines for a more and more mixed public. To certain Eldritch has finally compromised, for others it's sheer rock and roll. If the music mixes with the amphetamine that made the ageing charm of the lyrics...
I would appreciate it a lot
)
doesn't like the french so much - it's tough to find the words...
No, Andys Kershaw and Eldritch are not the same person.
i want it - just for the sake of having my sweetie-von in it