Sisters pre-hussey & the reptile house query...

THE place for your Sisters-related comments, questions and snippets of Sisters information. For those who do not know, The Sisters of Mercy are a rock'n'roll band. And a pop band. And an industrial groove machine. Or so they say. They make records. Lots of records, apparently. But not in your galaxy. They play concerts. Lots of concerts, actually. But you still cannot see them. So what's it all about, Alfie? This is one of the few tightly-moderated forums on Heartland, so please keep on-topic. All off-topic posts will either be moved or deleted. Chairman Bux is the editor and the editor's decision is final. Danke.
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bangles
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Hi all

I was just wondering if anyone could shed some light on the distant history of the girls?
I remember reading somewhere that the Reptile House was basically done by :von: in the studio on his own without the rest of the band... Is there any truth to this? If so, why and what did the rest of the band thing about it - especially Marx...
I've always thought of the sisters at least from inception of Eldritch & Marx for obvious reasons - they founded the band! But how did Marx become (apparently) marginalised - which I imagine lead to him leaving in 85...
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mh
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Hmmm - we'll leave Ben out of the discussion for now, but the marginalisation of Marx I would date to roughly the post-Alice/Anaconda period - there's an interview on here where he discusses his dissatisfaction with the production on Anaconda (which Von - having reckoned he had learned all he need know about studio duties - took on himself).

Ah, here we go: http://myheartland.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=2140
And check out here as well: http://www.side-line.com/interviews_com ... 0_0_16_0_C

All the RH tracks are officially Von solo compositions, and with Von's, I would guess, determination for a repeat of self-production, it seems reasonable to suppose that after the Anaconda experience Marx just opted out. Something like "yeah, whatever, do it, I don't care".

All speculation, of course, but it fits the facts we know without getting too far removed from reality.

Rumour, by the way, has it that a certain Mr Adams was also involved in RH, and that he may deserve a co-write credit on ToL.

In both cases we'll probably never know the full truth.
If I told them once, I told them a hundred times to put 'Spinal Tap' first and 'Puppet Show' last.
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Big Si
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bangles wrote:Hi all

I was just wondering if anyone could shed some light on the distant history of the girls?
I remember reading somewhere that the Reptile House was basically done by :von: in the studio on his own without the rest of the band... Is there any truth to this? If so, why and what did the rest of the band thing about it - especially Marx...
I've always thought of the sisters at least from inception of Eldritch & Marx for obvious reasons - they founded the band! But how did Marx become (apparently) marginalised - which I imagine lead to him leaving in 85...
Eldritch and Adams in the studio.

After Ben Gunn left and Mr Huss joined they started to have too much fun. Sadly Gary and :von: fell out during one 1984 tour and simply stopped talking to each other. :von: wrote 'Walk Away', a not so subtle hint.

Gary left in 1985 and formed the utterly groovy 'Ghost Dance'.

s**t happens :|
Wyrd bið ful aræd...

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Rise891
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Craig told me he was there for the recording of Damage done but didn't play on it. For what its worth.
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markfiend
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Rise891 wrote:Craig told me he was there for the recording of Damage done but didn't play on it. For what its worth.
o.O Very interesting. I always thought that Craig didn't turn up (so to speak) until a bit later.
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
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timsinister
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Same here. From recollection, doesn't the official Bio imply that after Damage Done was recorded, Craig and Ben joined up?

I can't access the Sisters website from work, but oddly Heartland jumps the wire! :lol:
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stufarq
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Yep. The official bio and the one in Some Girls Wander both say that Craig was recruited in '81 so that they could play live. Ben arrived later in the year. But it's possible that they were known to Von and Gary before that so Craig could have been around during the recording even if he wasn't in the band.
Any more of that and we'll be round your front door with the quick-setting whitewash and the shaved monkey.
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markfiend
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Aye that's true.
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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Karst
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Craig was probably around, but might have still been tied to the Expelaires at that point. I also seem to recall that he was working on some stuff himself.

Because Craig obviously had some studio experience and I thought that was the reason for him being involved in the RH EP. Kiss the Carpet probably wouldn't have sounded the way it does without his involvement. Marx didn't participate because he didn't like the material I thought. Anybody ever asked him?
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mh
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Karst wrote:Marx didn't participate because he didn't like the material I thought.
Ahhh, that rings a bell from somewhere.
If I told them once, I told them a hundred times to put 'Spinal Tap' first and 'Puppet Show' last.
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bangles
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Thanks a million for all of that! Certainly fills a few gaps
SHOCKED that Gary lasted so long in those circumstances? Wonder why he didn't go with Ben & what he's thoughts on the sunsequent Corporate Wars - must've been chuckling up his checkshirt sleeve...
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