Heartland

My introduction to The Sisters of Mercy came when a mate lent me a 7" vynyl copy of "Temple of love" in April 1985,two days before I saw their legendary "Old grey whistle test" performance,playing "Marian" and "First and last and always".
Before then I had been a punk(and a bit of a metalhead during those NWBHM days,Early Maiden and the mighty "Motorhead").The closest I'd come to goth was "Alien sex fiend" and an enormous love for early "Cult".
After that it was goth,goth and more goth,much to the disgust of my punk and metalhead mates who thought I'd turned gay!
Interestingly(or maybe not) the Wild Bill Buttock moniker comes from those days.I was trying to copy the Sisters(pre Nephs) spaghetti western look.One of my mates asked if I thought I was Wild Bill Hickock and some wag remarked that it was more like Wild Bill Buttock as I looked a right arse.The name stuck!

I'm a latecomer to the Sisters.

When Temple Of Love '92 was released I loved it and bought the CD single. Also on the single was Vision Thing, When You Don't See Me and I Was Wrong - I loved all those tracks after the first listen.

A few weeks (possibly months) later I remember seeing the video's to This Corrosion and Dominion on MTV's Greatest Hits, I vaguely remembered them so I taped them and played them constantly.

In January 1993 I passed my driving test, the £20 I had spare was obviously no longer needed for driving lessions so I treated myself to the Floodland and Vision Thing CD's. I loved them both to bits and the rest is history......

One thursday evening, was watching OGWT .I was only watching it for the early ultravox song. Then the sisters came on, & bang i was hooked. I'd never heard of them up untill then. Sad really.
And the rest they say is lost in an old gezzers head.

This Corrosion on Top Of The Tops in '87 was the first distinct memory of them, I recall how different and interesting it was compared to all the other drivel. All my friends utterly hated it back then, but I thought it was so cool, the way it had this groove and seemed to move around of it's own accord. I very clearly remember thinking "this is moving music", as is motion rather than emotion.

I was vaguely aware of something about them from the past, and of course I had heard Wayne and the Vomit Boys too (didn't think much of them - too much vague wailing about Wastelands, nothing to savour, no nutrition), but wasn't aware of any connection just yet.

Guess I was pissed off with the stuff I was listening to at the time - NWOBHM too - cos when the next big whammy - DOMINION!!! - came along, I was ripe for the plucking, and so the obsession began.

Of course, I spent the obligatory few years getting it all wrong and being big into the whole misery thing.

There have been various confessions before, and lately I bumped into my first Sisters experience..
I find it amazing how long the most of us have stuck with the sympathy for the Sissies, most bands bore their audiences away at some point.
Quality allways is to last, aye?

I'm sure it's posted elsewhere here at HL, but I can't be arsed to look. Suffice it to say, the credit for my first Sissies experience must be given entirely to KROQ in Los Angeles. "This Corrosion" was on heavy rotation during the spring/summer of 1988; I was dumbfounded/awestruck/enchanted/etc. (shut it, already!)

I heard this crappy recorded version of Emma on someones walkman at highschool back in 1985.

We had a sub for maths. he was from America. it was just after Bush got re-elected. me and my mate (James... fellow mumbler) were talking to him about Bush, etc. then he asked us what music we liked.

he asked if we'd heard of the Sisters, I said I had because Cradle Of Filth covered NTTC and HIM covered Temple. so I WinMX'd Sisters... and (unfortunately) I didn't think much of them

But I did like Walk Away and TOL'92 so I kept them on my hard drive. Then last June I was clearing out my hard drive, found the songs, liked em still, more winmx + trip to Paris = lots of mp3s and the greatest hits album

so then i introduced them to James, he loved em... and now look where we are

I first heared This Corrosion on a Thursday night (some time in 2001) at my then local goth night Dissoulution held at Sheffield Hallam Uni .
asked the DJ "whos this?" was told "Its The Sisters of Mercy buy Floodland!" so i did. Soon after I got SGWBM for Alice. then I got Overboming for Temple of love. next I got the Visions at the Forum bootleg. then I got FALAW after hearing my girl friends tape and finally Vision Thing for Ribbons.

Don't wanna sound like some speccy jumper wearing nerd; But I think it may of been on the late great John Peel show or whoever it was on the slot just before him on Radio One. (before the days of that tw*t Chris Moyles and whatshisface Mills)

I too was more of punk fan and the Sisters where actually the only 'gothy' band of the time that caught my attention - I could never get into the whole Bauhaus/Cure/ Batcave - men in makeup thang. But it was around 1983, i remember buying the Merciful Release stuff and then the WEA stuff, but my flatmate had Adrenochrome and the Reptile House which I both thought where awful, and nothing's changed my mind since. And the last record I bought by the Sisters ; Vision Thing. So I could play it on my brand new CD player!!! They where the new hip thing down my way back then Peace out.

A party at my place in 1999. I had just given up and gone to bed when I heard the most insane, vicious and moving piece of music I'd ever heard coming from the next room. Staggering out, I buttonholed the goths who were comparing scars on the couch, to find out that the piece was called "Ribbons" and it was by that band that I'd heard all the goths like. The rest is history.

You crashed out at your own party? Tut Tut!

Peer Pressure for me. That, and an abundance of FAQs on netgoth. Christ, I read the f**king manual for Goff...
Shame on me.

as a grubby yoof hanging around on a saturday with some mates who were also deeply into Marc Almond/Soft Cell/Marc and the Mambas stuff around '85 and some of them kept going on about TSOM.
the big thing then was vinyl and we were all bragging about who had what latest rarirty/picture disc/12" extended version.
i was deep into Joy Division at the time and going on their name alone i thought TSOM sounded crap, a bit like the smiths or the wedding present, y'kno, yet another crappy guitar indie pile of steaming turd.
i bought TOL 12" just as an experiment, loaded it up onto my vertical amstrad turntable (HA ha ha ha ha )and about 8 minutes later was totally blown away!
the voice, the guitaring, the fact that a guitar band was using a drum machine! it totally wiped me out on the spot
since then ive got most of their vinyls & cd's and seen them a few times, last time was saturday @ norwich where the boys rocked my fcukin socks off as usual!

pure and innocent bootleg fun. got some vinyls boots, then some singles, then FALAA came out. and that was it then for a while.

I caught the video of This Corrosion in late 1987 and was completely hooked. This was followed by a performace on Top Of The Pops / Roxy (itv). Bought "Floodland" on LP from a mate for £3.00, as he thought it was "Crap" . This guy was huge "Smiths" fan - so he had no idea what he was selling Early 1988 "Dominion" felt even better.

Went so Spillers record shop in Cardiff, early in 1988 and bought "Everything" they had by TSOM - Alice / TOL / Reptile House / FALAW / and the Sisterhood LP and single / Floodland CD / FALAA CD / Dominon 12" - And played them ALL to death - have since replaced all the records as they were knackered.

Went to first Proper "GIG" on September 22nd 1988 at Cardiff University to see Fields Of The Nephilim and was "Blown Away" aswell as being deaf for 3 days!

For years I had hair very much like Simon Gallup - bassist of The Cure, all Black Crimped and Backcombed (paying for it now - fast losing hair!)
Used to wear two pairs of ripped jeans - just like VON on This Corrosion video - was very proud of them. Bought exact copy of VONs leather Biker jacket - still wear it now - needs new pockets though!

Got first serious GF in early 1989 - she being a Cure/Sisters fixsated Oversexed Taurian. Now THAT was an education - never looked back. I Still miss goth girls in black lycra leggings very very much

Started being called "AndyTheGoth" around this time - which has stuck and I still like it very much!

Made loads of great friends around this time - all of which are now married / with children / dead now.
Also got into Strawberry Swithcblade (i wonder why!) - The Cure, Dead Can Dance, Danielle Dax etc

Collected ALL I could find, history / picture wise about Andrew "Bloody" Eldritch and TSOM.

Began a lifelong hatred of That Guitarist and The M I S S I O N - which still continues to this day.

Missed out on seeing TSOM in late 1990 but was down the front at Reading in August 1991. Got really into Depeche Mode in 1993.

Joined "Dominon" (AKA The Other Place) in 1999 and then felt most at home here at My Heartland since January 2002.

Had it not been for this place i am sure I would no longer be a fan of The Sisters - thats due to the kind and lovely people here (and the weeding!)

Knew You'd Be Pleased.....

Hillhead Record Library '85
Liked the look of the FLA cover, the rest is history....................

This Corrosion on the ITV "Chart Show", 1987....
subsequently seeing "Dominion" on top of the pops...
buying Floodland on cassette from WHSmith (first ever LP purchase)
...getting a tape copy of first and last and always from a friends
"billboard" bootlegg cassette!
...then getting a tape recording of the "enter the sisters" bootlegg LP...
was well and truely hooked by then

timsinister wrote:You crashed out at your own party? Tut Tut!

My drink was spiked. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Heartland - book, it's sounds strange, but that how it was.

Already was into The Cure. Back in 91-92, we had this RPG crew, and one of the guys was into The Girls, FotN, gothic-rock, etc. I borrowed a lot of his records, including boots, which were there right from the start, went to gigs with him, etc. He was my mentor in that respect. It wasn't long before I started considering The Girls, FotN and The Cure my favourite bands. Some things have changed since, some haven't changed much.

Here is one part of my shameful tale.

And here is another.

Bloody goths

Bizarrely enough... got the m*****n's Tower of Strength track mixed up with the Sister's Dominion video... (I was about ten when those tracks came out..)

.. ended up hassling my mum to get me a Sisters album - was 15 at the time (c 1991) and she bought me a tape of Floodland...

after that there was no looking back!

Just annoyed that I wasn't born a couple of years before so I could have caught the VT-era Sisters live.. that is by far my favourite incarnation to date.. though the new one is coming a very close second... (IF they get their sound right...)

had to be some time in late 1984, my first foray into college radio & a fellow DJ friend Eric K. (or perhaps Tom T.) introduced me to the Sisters. it was 12"s only back then, and when FALAA came out i was hooked. summer of 1985 was spent playing them to death, and seeking out other vinyls. we had no discography or guides to speak of, so when we would discover something nobody had (Anaconda was a surprise), we'd all share. Eric bought the Possession boot, and we found out about "Zero" (LOL) and Adrenochrome.

missed them play the US in '85, made up for it in '91 when my then-GF & i went to see them 4 times on tour. collected a lot of live stuff over the years, amongst official releases. still looking for that snakeskin 12" UK promo of Lucretia.

When they played "This Corrosion" on 'Formel 1' in 1987 it took three seconds to get me hooked. Have been ever since...

This Corrosion.. when that song surfaced and it was actuallyy being aired for all to see and wonder what does Morrison actually bring to the band, when the line 'Hey now hey now now.." Kicked in, I was always half way expecting it to turn into a tribute to Blackadder and be followed by 'Hey Nonny nonny My Lord.." but alas the Jack Daniel's and class F drugs failed me and wore off too soon and it never happened. Shame, it would of been nice ,just once though