Heartland

York Racecourse was my first.
Last was Leeds in 09 with a few inbetween.

Mav787 wrote:Its interesting to look at the range of dates for 1st gig. It makes me wonder where all the people have gone who were there at gigs in the 80s.

Maybe they all defected to the m*****n?

Nah. They took us on loan.

First: Mudd Club, Gothenburg 1985 - Brilliant!!

then a few times every tour

Last (ever for me, if they don´t surprise the hell out of me by radically changing the setlist and/or, more importantly, improve the sound - how is it even possible to have such bad sound these days???) : Mejeriet, Lund 2011 - Awfull!! (just as bad as all the shows I have seen since 2006 and, just as worse, practically the same show....I should have stopped 2001 wich was the last time they rocked my world at a gig)

Clockwork.

First: 10th Anniversary gig on a Sunday night in Leeds.
Still the best gig I've ever been to.

Last: The second of the 30th anniversary gigs in Leeds.

First: Manchester Apollo 2000 (horrible gig according to reviews but I loved it).

Last: The second of the 30th anniversary gigs in Leeds.

First : Wembley 24/11/1990

Last : Leeds 16/02/2011

until the next one

Mav787 wrote:Its interesting to look at the range of dates for 1st gig. It makes me wonder where all the people have gone who were there at gigs in the 80s.

Maybe they all defected to the m*****n?

still in touch with some of the god squad; became lawyers, policemen and parents mainly

paint it black wrote:

Mav787 wrote:Its interesting to look at the range of dates for 1st gig. It makes me wonder where all the people have gone who were there at gigs in the 80s.

Maybe they all defected to the m*****n?

still in touch with some of the god squad; became lawyers, policemen and parents mainly

And does that stop them from being active on Heartland ?? Have they simply lost interest ? Become Classic FM fans ? Looking at the age profile of birthdays on here, there aren't many who would have been old enough to have seen the Sisters pre-Hussey or even pre-VT.

Nikolas Vitus Lagartija wrote:

paint it black wrote:

Mav787 wrote:Its interesting to look at the range of dates for 1st gig. It makes me wonder where all the people have gone who were there at gigs in the 80s.

Maybe they all defected to the m*****n?

still in touch with some of the god squad; became lawyers, policemen and parents mainly

And does that stop them from being active on Heartland ?? Have they simply lost interest ? Become Classic FM fans ? Looking at the age profile of birthdays on here, there aren't many who would have been old enough to have seen the Sisters pre-Hussey or even pre-VT.

I'd second the opinion that many 40-somethings would not be terribly active in fandom these days. If they heard that a band they'd liked in their teens/20s were touring they might make the effort to go, but probably not - and given that that band hasn't released anything for a long time, it's even less on people's radars than someone like, say U2 who do release new material (and theerefore are more common on radio play etc).

For me the Sisters dropped off the planet when they stopped releasing music. It was years before I heard that they were still touring, and therefore my interest was sparked again.

Nikolas Vitus Lagartija wrote:
And does that stop them from being active on Heartland ?? Have they simply lost interest ? Become Classic FM fans ? Looking at the age profile of birthdays on here, there aren't many who would have been old enough to have seen the Sisters pre-Hussey or even pre-VT.

I'd possibly plump fer yer second question as being the answer. Gaz trawled the country during the 80's and loved every minute (he does have some amusing stories, mainly about the daftness of our mates or of travel and accommodation horror stories.)

You couldn't pay him enough money to go again. It's not that he hasn't been since the 80's - he has, so he feels justification in his moaning and whingeing

He and Herr Blast would get on sooooooooooooooooo well

As fer me, my first was Rock City in about 1985/6 - I had tickets for the Albert Hall gig but never got there. My last was the 30th birthday ones

First: Drogheda 1990

Last: Roundhouse 2011

Heidelberg 1990
Zurich 2011

working on participating in the albert hall

Nikolas Vitus Lagartija wrote:

paint it black wrote:

Mav787 wrote:Its interesting to look at the range of dates for 1st gig. It makes me wonder where all the people have gone who were there at gigs in the 80s.

Maybe they all defected to the m*****n?

still in touch with some of the god squad; became lawyers, policemen and parents mainly

And does that stop them from being active on Heartland ?? Have they simply lost interest ? Become Classic FM fans ? Looking at the age profile of birthdays on here, there aren't many who would have been old enough to have seen the Sisters pre-Hussey or even pre-VT.

I saw them pre-VT. Sisters then and now cannot be compared. Back then they were a active band and it was exciting to see what the next record would sound like. New 7",12" and LP-covers to bring home along with new songs. I was 16 when I saw them first time 1985 and it was the first time ever that a band make such an impact for me. For that reason, and for that reason only I still try to follow or at least read about their activity (which is limited to say the least).

If The Sisters Of Mercy developed which they really have not at all since early 90:s maybe things would have looked different. Maybe it is time for Andrew to shake off the Sisters thing if he cannot breathe any life into it anymore. At least for some time. He still have a great voice (allthough it is not always heard live nowadays....) and he may be a great soloartist (like Peter Murphy from Bauhaus for example).

If Andrew wants to move forward and liked to perform and write new music then he should at least do SOMETHING.
It gets boring to reading the same book over and over, to watch the same movie year after year, to see the same Sisters concert year after year after year......
What is frustrating also is that Andrew like to say in interviews that he doesn't like to live in the past, talking about the old times and the old records... Apparantly and sadly that doesn't apply on their concerts.....

So, back to the question:
And does that stop them from being active on Heartland ?? Have they simply lost interest ? Well....active on Heartland... posting stuff like this or the odd poll about best songs or which of the albums released over twenty years ago doesn't make my day happier in any way..
And of course, it depends on makes one 'active'. I have posted 0.30 posts per day. To me that is active. To post 7 posts per day (or over twenty four thousand in total the past nine years, starting eleven years after the Sisters last new album) makes one more obsessed than active...

First ~ Wembley 1990
Last ~ Leeds 2011
Always ~ Be Closing.

Nikolas Vitus Lagartija wrote:

paint it black wrote:

Mav787 wrote:Its interesting to look at the range of dates for 1st gig. It makes me wonder where all the people have gone who were there at gigs in the 80s.

Maybe they all defected to the m*****n?

still in touch with some of the god squad; became lawyers, policemen and parents mainly

And does that stop them from being active on Heartland ?? Have they simply lost interest ? Become Classic FM fans ? Looking at the age profile of birthdays on here, there aren't many who would have been old enough to have seen the Sisters pre-Hussey or even pre-VT.

would you maintian interest? I know i barely can.. i got excited for a moment yesterday during 'pointless' but only a moment. i think it has sometihng to do with moving on. having seen the best of something why hang around for the worst?

playboy wrote:To post 7 posts per day (or over twenty four thousand in total the past nine years, starting eleven years after the Sisters last new album) makes one more obsessed than active...

Yeah but posting on HL isn't just about the Sisters is it? A lot of us have made friends on here. Quite dear friends in some cases.

a) Belga Beach Festival, Zeebrugge, 1993 (with Depeche Mode)
b) Crammerock 2011

markfiend wrote:

playboy wrote:To post 7 posts per day (or over twenty four thousand in total the past nine years, starting eleven years after the Sisters last new album) makes one more obsessed than active...

Yeah but posting on HL isn't just about the Sisters is it? A lot of us have made friends on here. Quite dear friends in some cases.

That is true. I forgot about the section General Chat. I rarely look there though I did just now and I must admit there are some nice and interesting things. So you may all ignore what I wrote about the posts. So I guess those who have met and became friends find it ok to be active on Heartland for that reason.

But when it comes to Sisters, I still think they (Andrew) will have to make an effort and move on and give us something else than this everlasting tour with the same show (more or less, the basic is the same) year after year.

Just noticed that I got a bit out of the topic here. Sorry bout that. Have happened before, might happen again.

So, to get back to the topic a bit - the last I saw was in Lund 2011 and was, as I said awful, and was so sad that did not want to meet Andrew afterwards though I was supposed to.
And the first time, as said, was in Gothenburg 1985. Maybe most don´t know (was someone else from Heartland there?) but it was Andrews birthday. The band were very late but when the hit the stage they blew me away. Very small venue, very loud sound, Doctor Avalanches drum and Andrews voice felt deep in the stomache and it was beyond amazing. He sang '26 years' instead of '25 years' in First And Last And Always, as he turned 26 that day. I think he sang that the next show as well, in Stockholm. During Knocking On Heaven's Door he left the stage during Waynes solo and he didn't returned so Wayne kept on playing the solo. Finally he and Craig left the stage and they all returned after a long time and did Train. Andrew was drunk and when they were about to begin to play Train Andrew promised us that 'this song doesn't have a guitarsolo....'

markfiend wrote:Yeah but posting on HL isn't just about the Sisters is it? A lot of us have made friends on here. Quite dear friends in some cases.

Bingo.

playboy wrote:... During Knocking On Heaven's Door he left the stage during Waynes solo and he didn't returned so Wayne kept on playing the solo. Finally he and Craig left the stage and they all returned after a long time and did Train. Andrew was drunk and when they were about to begin to play Train Andrew promised us that 'this song doesn't have a guitarsolo....'

paint it black wrote: i got excited for a moment yesterday during 'pointless'

I saw that too ! Says it all really that the (obvious quizz buffs) couple had never heard of TSOM - despite my eldest screaming the answer at the TV whilst ostensibly finishing off her Geography homework.

million voices wrote:FIRST - NEC 1992
LAST - Rock City 2006
NEXT - Promoting the new album

So you're never going to see them again either then?

bearskin wrote:For me the Sisters dropped off the planet when they stopped releasing music. It was years before I heard that they were still touring, and therefore my interest was sparked again.

Same here, hence not seeing them live till 2006 despite having been a fan for years.

The Fat One wrote:Aug 1983 Electric Ballroom, London supporting the Virgin Prunes

Wow, that's the same gig as me. What's the chance of that?!

bearskin wrote:
For me the Sisters dropped off the planet when they stopped releasing music. It was years before I heard that they were still touring, and therefore my interest was sparked again.

I was driving today, and threw in an unlabeled home-brew CD. It turned out to be a bunch of Sister's b-sides. When I got to Alice (1993) it broke my heart--it sounded fantastic! My word, what a great version of that song! It breaks my heart that they didn't release more. I would love to hear the new (ha!) songs recorded in a similar style. The production on it is top-notch, and it really drove home what a great voice Andy has (I will confess that I haven't listened to any studio recordings since the reissues came out).

Such a shame.