Heartland

bit late bit drunk so bear with me...
I had to take a look at the discogs Sisters page tonight - it's awful
so I wrote something. but I need help obviously - if anyone can be bothered to read this please send me corrections and ideas so I can upload a more authoratitive and informative blurg on sisters at discogs. thanks,

Formed in Leeds 1980 basing a sound on the lyrical imagery and affectations of drummer turned singer Andrew Eldritch and the bass of Craig Adams. Guitarist Ben Gunn appreciated the humour of Eldritch's anti rock approach. A drum machine was given a name and is probably the only drum machine to be credited as a band member here at Discogs; Doktor Avalanche. Gary Marx replaced various temporary second guitar players and learnt to play very well indeed while in this band.

By late '83 / early '84 Ben Gunn left the band apparently not too happy with how the joke had started to take itself seriously.

Not that seriously it seems as his replacement was the ex Dead or Alive man That Guitarist. This line up of Eldritch / Adams / Hussey / Marx released the seminal First and Last and Always LP. Gary Marx left the band during the Black October tour and they continued as a four piece climaxing with the recorded for video release performance at the Royal Albert Hall in June 1985

That Guitarist and Craig Adams then left to form The m*****n and the Sisters were no more. Eldritch retreated to Hamburg only showing his very bearded face to release the Sisterhood LP - an album made purely to prevent Adams and Hussey using the name the Sisterhood for their new venture. Eldritch's Sisterhood included Motorhead drummer Lucas Fox and Eldritch soundalike singer James Ray from James Ray and the Performance. On hearing the LP I think most of us thought it was Eldritch singing so close was the vocal.

1986 and The m*****n topped all polls and Eldritch was silent. Until the bombastic Jim Steinman produced This Corrosion release and the sublime Floodland LP, both from 1987 and proving that the Sisters of Mercy were still alive. Eldritch on vocals and everything, Patricia Morrison supposed bass but there have been expressed doubts, and Doktor Avalanche but we all know its not the same Doktor from 1980. The joke continued and was backed by big record company money and no tour to waste it all on.

1990 Patricia leaves and Eldritch gathers ex Sique Sique Sputnik Bass man Tony James with ex All About Eve guitar man Tim Brechno plus guitar man Andreas Bruhn to make a very rock sounding Sisters of Mercy. They release Vision Thing and they tour stadiums. Its the big time but not for long - record company trouble again silences Eldritch and the band split in 1992. Eldritch finds guitar masters Ben Christos and Chris Catalyst and spends the rest of his career playing smaller venues and refusing to release an LP.

And so now in 2000 and whatever, The Sisters of Mercy are still touring, but there are no new records on the horizon, it's all a continuation of the joke that Eldritch began in 1980. Its still a good joke.

... ... oh my, why not read through these pages, they are not perfect but not all that bad, either:

http://sisterswiki.org/Members_%28past_and_present%29
http://sisterswiki.org/Band_History

Or even easier, check The Sisters very own Bio-Mechanics ... well, bottom up, but that's how it is in hell ... ...
http://www.thesistersofmercy.com/gen/biog.htm

It was Andrew and Gary who formed the band, Craig came in later after a fw temporary bassists.

BTW If you want real names, Gary Marx is Mark Pearman and Ben Gunn is Ben Matthews IIRC

Hello Being - thanks I'll have a read of them - and Mark thanks for the corrections and additions.
So - when did Ben and Chris join the band? were there no other line ups between Vision thing and the current line up?

Suggest you give the 'i know a lot about the sisters' xmas comp a swerve

Now now don't be mean, we weren't all born with encyclopedic knowledge

This is a good starting place Elfink:
http://sisterswiki.org/Family_Tree

I know the truth!

Andrew was a bad boy. Good bad boy who wearing a very slinky black dress and cheap sunglasses. Yeah, he was dangerous. Darkwing Duck of the world darkwave. And this is only the beginning of the horror story

Isn't/wasn't there a hip hob band who named their drum machine and credited it as a member? Can't remember which one though.

paint it black wrote:Suggest you give the 'i know a lot about the sisters' xmas comp a swerve

Yeah - very mean but funny!

markfiend wrote:Now now don't be mean, we weren't all born with encyclopedic knowledge

This is a good starting place Elfink:
http://sisterswiki.org/Family_Tree

Thanks, Mark!
Although I've got that UTR issue I had completely forgotten Gary Marx had played in Patricia Morrison band - i. e. it didn't ring a bell at all.

Ok ok so I did some homework in the end - bah I tought you'd make it easy on me and just tell me....
so the full peice is here if anybody will be good enough to read it and give me corrections.
But its windy and boring so to cut to the chase main query I have is:
Floodland...are there any musicians on this LP other than Eldritch?

Elfink@discogs wrote: Hussey and Adams then left to form The m*****n and the Sisters were no more. Eldritch retreated to Hamburg until news of the new Hussey / Adams band under their original name of The Sisterhood forced Eldritch out into the semi open.

WRONG

moved to Hamburg, where the work on the next album Left On m*****n And Revenge" was to begin ... but never led anywhere, since the band (Eldritch, Hussey, Adams) proved unable to find common ground enough for that project. Adams left, Hussey followed.

Check here for a detailled review of events...
http://www.the-sisters-of-mercy.com/gen/regift.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sisterhood

... which should make clear that the following is not quite right, either ...

Elfink@discogs wrote: 1986 and The m*****n topped all polls and Eldritch was silent...

Hello Being and thanks for reading it and thanks for the correction there - I'll not be able to correct that tonight but I will attend to it - ta -
Any more corrections most welcome
And any info on the Floodland musicians too
ta

Elfink wrote:Ok ok so I did some homework in the end - bah I tought you'd make it easy on me and just tell me....
so the full peice is here if anybody will be good enough to read it and give me corrections.
But its windy and boring so to cut to the chase main query I have is:
Floodland...are there any musicians on this LP other than Eldritch?

Good question. He's claimed it was just him, but there are a lot of other musicians mentioned in the thanks, and some of them (eg Sid McGinnes) say they've worked with the Sisters. Several of them are frequent Jim Steinman collaborators, and so may have played on the Steinman-produced tracks

There's a thread somewhere, going back a while, where we worked out who the people mentioned in the thanks might be and what the musicians among them might have played on the album. Whether they did remains open to question. Can't remember what the thread's called, so here's the list we came up with.

first list - friends and associates:
Claire
Kenny Giles
Tony K (Tony Kostrzewa, head of Red Rhino)
Ann Rainone (said to be Patricia Morrison)
Jez Webb
Pete Turner
Phil Wilfen (from the early years, summat to do with lights or sound or roadie)
Steve Watson
Dave Kentish (Big Dave, used to linger about in the early years, also helped the m*****n)
Daniel Mass (Danny from Salvation)
Kevin Mekon, many will already know, is Kevin Lycett, The Mekons' original guitarist
Keith Herd (founder of fairview Studios in Liverpool, where Gift was recorded)
James Ray you may already be familiar with
Carl Harrison (a member of James Ray And The Performance)
Pedro Moncada

and the New York Choral Society

second list - musicians:
The first few names (Holly Sherwood, Curtis King, Brenda King, Tawatha Agee, Gina Taylor, Vaneese Thomas) are listed on the website (FAQ) as backing singers in addition to the choir. Holly Sherwood is also, yes, a Steinman collaborator
Holly Sherwood - vocals
Curtis King - vocals
Brenda King - vocals
Tawatha Agee - vocals
Gina Taylor - vocals
Eric Troyer - keyboard player with ELO Part Two and Steinman collaborator
Vaneese Thomas - vocals
Eddie Martinez - session guitarist and Steinman collaborator
Lenny Pickett - saxophonist with the SNL house band among others
Steve Margoshes - Broadway composer (best known for Fame), Steinman collabprator and keyboard player
Mike Timoney - "veteran" keyboard player (released an album called The Astounding Sound Of The Cordovox)
Jeff Bova - Grammy Award winning keyboard player and Meat Loaf collaborator, once in a band with Eddie Martinez
Jimmy Bralower - producer and drummer(!)
Sid McGinnis - former guitarist with Peter Gabriel among others and resident guitarist on Letterman
Derick Johnson - there's a Derrick Johnson who played bass with the 52nd Street Band

This may also be of interest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floodland_(album)

Hey Being - I half wish that I hadn't started this now but now I have let's get it right
I've just ammended the Sisterhood episode section to read
"Hussey, Adams and Eldritch then went to Hamburg to work on new songs. Eldritch rejected That Guitarist's input. Hussey and Adams split to work on That Guitarist's material. They got a band together quickly and tried to trade off the Sisters' reputation with various names that wouldn't pass a lawsuit until they hit on the name The Sisterhood. Eldritch acted quickly and released a record under the name of The Sisterhood; the brilliant Giving Ground with James Ray of James Ray and the Performance on vocal for contractual reasons. Hussey and Adams became The m*****n and Eldritch then released The Sisterhood LP to beat Hussey and Adams to the money owed to the next Sisters project from WEA."
I'm working on alcohol, memory and the very fantastic new Lenny Cohen LP so corrections are still very welcome, thanks.
(also want to say to all Heartlanders any corrections on the grammar would be appreciated)

stufarq - thank you for all that - that helps but I'm being very lazy here and ammending the Floodland section to read
"the sublime Floodland LP...Eldritch on vocals and possibly everything else, Patricia Morrison supposed bass but there have been expressed doubts, oh and the New York Choral Society on back up vocals. The credits on the LP include many regular Jim Steinman musical cohorts and so we have to consider that this LP is not, as Eldritch has claimed, to be him alone delivering the sound."
I think maybe I should re write it - I don't like how Patricia gets dissed in this 'supposed bass' comment - is there any possibility that she did contribute to the LP?
Ok - it's all still work in progress - any input is gratefully received. Thanks.

Elfink wrote:Hey Being - I half wish that I hadn't started this now but now I have let's get it right
I've just ammended the Sisterhood episode section to read
"...The m*****n and Eldritch then released The Sisterhood LP to beat Hussey and Adams to the money owed to the next Sisters project from RCA"

RCA, not WEA in this case ... ... I can easily imagine how you feel ... ... anyway, it's a great effort ... ...

Elfink wrote:stufarq - thank you for all that .

You're welcome.

Elfink wrote:I don't like how Patricia gets dissed in this 'supposed bass' comment - is there any possibility that she did contribute to the LP?

Oh, you're opening a whole can of worms there! (One that gets opened here on a regular basis, I might add.) Some of the quotes in the link I posted suggest that she at least played a little, but most of her contribution was then edited, resampled or (in a quote from Patricia herself) rerecorded by Von. That seems (to me) the most likely scenario, but the debate has raged for decades.

Elfink wrote:They got a band together quickly and tried to trade off the Sisters' reputation with various names that wouldn't pass a lawsuit until they hit on the name The Sisterhood.

Unless I've forgotten something, they were only ever The Sisterhood - which certainly would have passed a lawsuit. Eldritch's lawyers told him so, which is why he had to get a record out under that name first, so he could register it and prevent Hussey & co from using it.

stufarq wrote: Unless I've forgotten something, they were only ever The Sisterhood - which certainly would have passed a lawsuit. Eldritch's lawyers told him so, which is why he had to get a record out under that name first, so he could register it and prevent Hussey & co from using it.

Indeed. had to be very quick as Hussey and co were already touring as The Sisterhood in the UK and Europe. Even Billy Duffy now seems confused about who toured with him in early 1986 http://www.billyduffy.com/memorabilia/p ... 6-01-1986/ as this was the Hussey version and not the non-touring Sisterhood.

IIRC there was a suggestion that Wayne & Craig were going to call their offshoot band The Sisters at first, but Eldritch's lawyers "had a word". The Sisterhood was apparently a different enough name (legally) for them to get away with it... until Eldritch intervened with Gift.

Legally, of course, I'd have thought that the Giving Ground single would have been sufficient to claim rights to the name The Sisterhood without the need for the album too. But of course there was also the small matter of the £25000 advance for the album - which necessitated actually recording one.

I wonder what the required minimum length for the album in that contract was? Somewhere in the region of 1 second shorter than Gift actually is, I'd imagine.

I remember seeing The Sisterhood on a gig poster for a gig in Leeds which would have been Hussey & Co. The gig was cancelled I believe.

I also remember seeing The Sisterhood in a gig list sometime in the late 80's perhaps, a gig at Wakefield Rooftop Gardens. After a few paniced phonecalls I finally got someone who knew, and I was told it was a bunch of girl singers.

Dan wrote:I remember seeing The Sisterhood on a gig poster for a gig in Leeds which would have been Hussey & Co. The gig was cancelled I believe.

I remember these posters too in Leeds too in Jan 86, they were green on white, and I think that the gig was possibly supposed to be on 1st Feb. But it was thirty years ago so I'm not sure IIRC, but I'm sure someone here will have a copy.

Yeah Jan/Feb sounds about right. I think I saw the poster in the common room at Park Lane College. I also recall seeing "The Sisters Of Mercy" stencilled onto one of the walls near the college, it looked old and faded even then.
EDIT: 1st March 86. http://and-the-dance-goes-on.de/tourarc ... index.html

Dan wrote:I also remember seeing The Sisterhood in a gig list sometime in the late 80's perhaps, a gig at Wakefield Rooftop Gardens. After a few paniced phonecalls I finally got someone who knew, and I was told it was a bunch of girl singers.

I found the info in an old diary.
The Sisterhood - Wakefield Rooftop Gardens 4th & 5th Nov 1988.
I was told it was "4 girls singing in a band, they've been around quite some time."

Also while looking for that info I found that on 3rd Oct 1989 Eldo was seen visiting Jumbo Records. I didn't see him, someone in Jumbo told me.

markfiend wrote:IIRC there was a suggestion that Wayne & Craig were going to call their offshoot band The Sisters at first, but Eldritch's lawyers "had a word". The Sisterhood was apparently a different enough name (legally) for them to get away with it... until Eldritch intervened with Gift.

Legally, of course, I'd have thought that the Giving Ground single would have been sufficient to claim rights to the name The Sisterhood without the need for the album too. But of course there was also the small matter of the £25000 advance for the album - which necessitated actually recording one.
:

according to eldritch on this picture-disc interview-disc


they (hussey/adams) did in fact actually try to call themselves "the sisters of mercy", then "the sisters" -both scotched by eldrith's lawyers- before calling themselves "the sisterhood".

Thanks @Dan and @EMWK for clearing this up.