originally appeared in: Zillo Spezial: The Sisters of Mercy, Lübeck, Germany, 1990. Translated 2024 mostly by Google (for speed), but with supervision, final editing and correction by yours truly as a native speaker of the original German
Zillo: Andrew, you told "Melody Maker" last year that the songs for the new album were already written, at a time when the band wasn't even complete. In hindsight, did the growing of the band change anything of the songs or the whole concept of the LP?
Andrew Eldritch: Yes, the songs were changed a bit after the others came, but it isn't that we wrote songs completely new. The lyrics, the sounds and the arrangements were rewritten when we were in the studio.
Zillo: At Loreley, Tim Bricheno wasn't even there yet, obviously all happened very quickly, how did you get in contact?
Tim Bricheno: Yes, it happened rather quickly. In fact, it isn't true either that I was a constant member of The Mission, it was just that they needed a live replacement for Simon Hinkler and I could jump in at the time. From the current Sisters line-up I didn't know anyone back then.
Zillo: Tony, how does working with Sigue Sigue Sputnik differ from working with Andrew?
Tony James: Andrew constructs his records basically in the same way as we did in SSS, technically there's not much difference. As for creative work, I can't say much yet, as all songs were generally finished when I came into the band.
Zillo: What was the atmosphere during the time in the studio, more hardworking or more heartfelt?
Andreas Bruhn: We were in a Studio in Denmark, eight months, day and night, of course we developed a very personal atmosphere, very good to work. We have lived there all the time, it was in the middle of a field, nothing around it, except our little cottage, all pretty Danish.
Zillo: The new album contains the heavy guitar elements of the first album as well as parts of the bombast sound of "Floodland". Was there a fundamental change?
Andrew: "Floodland", in a certain way, was a sidestep, it wasn't going into the direction it should have, it wasn't a step forward, rather to the side.
"Vision Thing" in turn is going more into the usual direction, though some say that the album sounds unusual. Personally I don't see much difference to the earlier songs. All songs are definitely Sisters songs. Just the fact that there's more piano, more keyboards and guitars to hear doesn't make a significant difference for me.
The new LP clearly follows on from the first, although "Floodland" was also a development, just in a different direction. That my voice is significantly better this time is due to the fact that for the first time we invested so much time and Money especially to record the vocals.
Zillo: What's noticeable about "Vision Thing" is that the lyrics have become more personal, more intimate in a way, in contrast to the old lyrics, which were always quite abstract. The music has become more compact, rockier, it is powerful and energetic, whereas "Floodland" was extremely half-hearted at times.
Are there reasons for this, should it perhaps even be a conscious step away from cult existence?
Andrew: The new texts are indeed a little more intimate and direct than the earlier texts, which also have a very personal background but were written in a little more abstract way.
I think the new lyrics are better, especially the ballads, they are more emotional and complex than usual. We chose exactly these rough versions for the record because they are simply the best and most exciting. There are other versions of all the songs, the final versions so to speak, the finished mixes, some of which we didn't use because they sounded too 'polished' for us.
It has nothing to do with cult, we didn't sit down and say 'let's make a more direct, straight record', we just chose the best and are very happy with it.
Zillo: You have been living and working in Hamburg for a long time. Have you ever thought about singing or writing another piece in German after “Marian”?
Andrew: No, I probably won't repeat that, this piece was for a specific person. 'Marian' is a very special song, it's not like the other songs. This song was written in ten minutes, normally it takes me half a year to write the lyrics.
Zillo: After "Floodland", especially the chart success of "This Corrosion", the group's dark image began to crumble a bit, which will certainly continue with the new record, as many fans are a bit skeptical.
Are you giving thoughts to that?
Andrew: I'm certainly interested in what the fans think about us and how they react to our new material, but it's not the most important thing and it's not crucial to our work.
We give them what they want; whether they accept it or not, whether they go along with the development or not is not our business. I think 'Vision Thing' will appeal to old fans in particular, the album is heavy, has lots of guitars and is basically what we did before, only better.
I thought that a lot of people wouldn't like 'Floodland', but at least they should have liked 'This Corrosion'. For me it's just like 'Temple of Love', these two pieces actually belong together.
Zillo: When one talks about the Sisters of Mercy, one always fixates on Andrew Eldritch. He is the only one from the original band and the one about whom a downright cult is celebrated. Do you agree with this, will anything change in the future?
Andrew: Sometimes it depresses me, sometimes it's wonderful. We are now in the process of changing that by appearing in full cast for interviews and television appearances, although without the Dok, who has grown quite a bit, he currently consists of quite a few boxes.
Zillo: The Sisters will be ten years old next year. Remarkable for a band that has defied all conventions and rules of the music business from the beginning until today. Does it make you proud to maintain an ideal for such a long time, to lead a band, to be successful and to be a benchmark for others?
Andrew: Yes, I'm really very proud of having achieved all this and making the Sisters what they are today. Most of the time, it was very hard work and hardly anyone there to make it easy for me, it was really a struggle at times.
Many bands similar to us, who tried to follow our path, fell apart, they gave up fighting. The fact that the Sisters won makes me proud.
Zillo: You have known the music scene, especially the new wave/underground movement, for a very long time. In your opinion, has anything changed significantly?
Andrew: I can't say much about the fans. With the bands, definitely, the so-called rock'n'roll lifestyle has gone out of fashion, we don't believe in it anyway. All bands have changed over the years, you can't spend your whole life throwing TVs out of hotel windows, that doesn't make a band any better in the long run.
Zillo: It is known that you don't like playing live. How did it come about that you go on tour nevertheless?
Andrew: My life has been very nice and good so far, but in a certain way it has been protected; a lot of things have become too easy. I love a challenge and these concerts will certainly be one. You have to remember that we play a lot of concerts and have deliberately rented large halls.
My life simply no longer held any risks, a lot of things were right in my personal life and even the band was no longer a risk.
It has nothing to do with the fact that we had to prove something to anyone, there is nothing to prove. After all, this risk didn't just happen; we chose it voluntarily.
What the live show will look like has not yet been decided, but in any case we will also play old pieces.
Zillo: Will this tour be a one-off live comeback or can we expect that you will be seen more often?
Andrew: We will most likely play a few more concerts in England at the beginning of next year. In general, I think there will still be a lot of us because we have decided to do this tour well and have fun with it. We want to organize the tour in such a way that the band definitely gets something out of it, that's very important to us.
Zillo: Do you actually still follow what your former companions are doing and accomplishing?
Andrew: I only observe their activities through the press, from a higher-level, political point of view, so to speak, i.e. what they do, when, who with whom, etc.
How that sounds like, in the end, I don't care. I think the others still talk to each other at times, I only talk to their lawyers.
Zillo: The exact circumstances of the separation of the original Sisters of Mercy have never been fully revealed, but it seems certain that it wasn't just the others' fault. Have you made mistakes yourself? Would you do the same thing today?
Andrew: One of the main reasons the band always achieved what they wanted was because I was a 'complete bastard' to the others.
We always had different opinions about what the band should do, what was best. So I was forced to assert myself and ignore the opinions of the others. If I hadn't done that, the Sisters would never have become anything.
I would do it again today and at any time, after all it was all very well planned: the band was good and successful, we could all carry on, the split came at a time when it didn't hurt any of us.
Zillo: After the split you went into hiding, no one heard from you, no one knew where you were, there were all sorts of rumors, ominous photos of you with a full beard appeared and no one could even imagine what would become of the Sisters. What was going on back then, were the Sisters supposed to die or was it clear that you would continue?
Andrew: Yes, for me the band was over, but I definitely didn't want the name to be used by someone else. When the others tried to take it, I realized that someone had to take it, so I wanted it back.
I can't say the Sisters were dead to me, but they were something else. It got to the point where I hated being in a band, touring, hearing guitars, I hated everything to do with the band. Back then all I saw were guitars, concert halls and myself. From an artistic point of view it was a very frustrating time. I always wanted to do something completely different, but no matter what we did, it was always the same, and that crystallized towards the end within a few weeks.
It was a time when I just didn't want to do anything anymore, I was tired of it all and I just didn't have the opportunity to sit down and do simply nothing anymore.
That was when I thought it would be best to break up the band. The others wanted to continue, but I had no choice but to say "Stop!".
I then went to Hamburg to have nothing to do with all that anymore, to forget and to clear my head so that I could do something completely different. It took me a while to get my head back.
Zillo: Every person, every musician and every band pursues a certain philosophy, an ideal. Have yours changed over the Sisters years, do you still have any?
Andrew: Neither my personal ideals nor those of my band have changed. My ideal in life is to be able to do whatever I want at any time. Having this certainty is a fantastic thing. I know that's very vague, but it's enough for me.
Zillo: What do the Sisters mean to you today? Are they just a job, a source of money, or are they more than that?
Andrew: The Sisters are everything to me. They are part of my work, they determine my thoughts and my actions, they are my life, so to speak. If I wanted to, I could quit overnight, but I love the Sisters too much for that.
Zillo: The band has enjoyed tremendous cult status since its inception; they are a complete myth. Does this bother you or doesn't it affect you at all?
Andrew: I certainly feel a great responsibility for this and I think very carefully about what I say and do to whom.
Fortunately, the Sisters are not a band that holds up flags, spreads slogans and tells others what to do. Whether we are personally committed to or against certain things is another matter. Nowadays most people do this to promote their record cheaply, so you have to carefully differentiate between an honest concern and simple advertising.
I'm not sure whether it would be good for us if we took part in charity events, for example. There are definitely people who I think are suitable to play for a benefit, Jason Donovan for example. He plays to people who aren't quite sure what to think about a certain thing, they're just average musicians playing for an average audience.
For us it's simply the case that our music speaks for itself; it alone suffices for point of view, opinion and commentary. We have no need to play under someone else's flag, even if we agree.
Zillo: There are now countless names for you, from the "man in black" to the "King of Darkness", i.e. you are fixated on a stuck image that can hardly be right. Do you want that? Does the image of Andrew Eldritch resemble the person of Andrew Eldritch?
Andrew: The fact that this is actually the case is no longer the band's fault. For example, when posing for photos after interviews, we are constantly placed before black curtains. In England, if I go on a TV show wearing a white suit, people ask me a week later why I always wear black.
That's what the media, press and public want, even if you give them something else, they don't want to see it.
Imagine someone came in to an interview recently with the words 'Hi, prince of darkness'. I left without saying a word, came back after five minutes and she said 'Hi, prince of darkness' again. I left again; ok then, there won't be an interview.
Apparently she had only come to see the 'prince of darkness'. What can I do if we don't have one?
A small part of who I really am is certainly known to the public. After all, every record I make is an expression of my personality. It's not like I have to take on a role outside. It's just that a certain image is constantly being projected into me.
Heartland
The Sisters of Mercy Forum
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