Band History
The band was formed in Leeds, England in 1980 by F-club regulars Gary Marx and Andrew Eldritch to satisfy their intent to hear themselves on the radio; somewhere in the process band t-shirts were made and a single The Damage Done / Watch / Home of the Hit-men was released on the Merciful Release label.
The name was taken from a Leonard Cohen song of the same name ("because The Captains of Industry weren't as funny"), and was supposed to reflect the ambiguity of a rock'n'roll band - "half saints, half prostitutes".
On the single (claimed by the band to have been played twice by John Peel) Gary Marx played guitar through a 3 Watt practice amplifier and Andrew Eldritch was on drums. The partners each wrote and sang on a song.
Contents
Early years (1981-1983)
The band regrouped with Craig Adams on bass (after a short period with Jon Langford of the Mekons and the Three Johns playing live gigs in that role), while Andrew's drumming was replaced by a drum machine named Doktor Avalanche, leaving him to concentrate on vocals. The first gig with the new lineup was played on February 16, 1981, in Vanbrugh College, York, England - this is considered the "proper" start of The Sisters of Mercy.
Later that year, Ben Gunn established himself as the second guitarist after several others came and went. The live performances featured many cover versions: among those, a medley consisting of Sister Ray (by Velvet Underground), Ghostrider (by Suicide) and Louie Louie (by Richard Berry) became a live staple.
Andrew Eldritch took over lyrics-writing, Doktor-programming, and record-producing duties, while sharing the music-writing with Gary Marx. Eldritch's melancholic baritone, Craig Adams's pulsating bass, Doktor Avalanche's beat and Gary Marx's flowing guitar led the band to early underground success. Ben Gunn did his best not to spoil the picture.
The band's singles were regularly featured in UK independent charts; some became single of the week in various UK indie magazines. John Ashton of Psychedelic Furs produced the early classic "Alice". "Reptile House" EP is another example of early Sisters work and marks the maturing songwriter Eldritch (who wrote, produced and (reportedly) played all instruments on it).
In late 1983, following highly successful Temple of Love single, the band signed a contract with major record label WEA.At the same time Ben Gunn left in an atmosphere of unanimous bitterness. Gunn stated that he did not agree with the direction Andrew Eldritch was taking the band - which, according to Gunn, started out as a joke on serious rock'n'roll outfits, but eventually became one. Gunn also mentioned personality conflicts with Andrew Eldritch as a reason for his departure.
First and Last and Always era (1984-1985)
After a few gigs with March Violets guitarist Tom Ashton standing in on guitar, the Sisters secured the services of Wayne Hussey to replace Ben Gunn, who, in addition to being a more-than-reasonable guitarist, also became the third songwriter. His guitar skills tremendously improved the live side of the band.
The Black October UK tour (October-November 1984) confirmed the underground cult status of the band. However, the growing alienation between Eldritch and the rest of the group was getting out of hand during the recording of the debut First and Last and Always album.
Eldritch's deteriorating health and psychological problems worsened the situation. Most songs on the album were written and rehearsed by Marx, Hussey, and Adams, with Eldritch stepping in at the latest stage to write lyrics and add vocals.
Following the release of First and Last and Always, produced by Dave Allen (March 11, 1985), Gary Marx split from the band in the middle of a supporting tour.
The group completed the tour as a three-piece act, and said farewell to the fans with the final gig in London's Royal Albert Hall on June 18, 1985. Video recordings of the last show (touted "the festival of remembrance") were later released as "Wake".
The split (1985-1986)
Shortly after the last gig Eldritch relocated to Hamburg, while Hussey and Adams announced their decision to split off to form their own group, citing artistic and personal differences with Eldritch.
During the highly publicised soap opera that followed, the new band started playing concerts under name of The Sisterhood, playing Hussey's songs originally written for the Sisters but vetoed by Eldritch.
Meanwhile Eldritch protested their usage of Sisterhood name as too similar to The Sisters of Mercy, and in an attempt to stop the practice released the single Giving Ground by his own band, The Sisterhood. The single was later followed by the album Gift.
The other band eventually christened themselves The Mission amidst suspicions that the whole affair had been a PR stunt to jumpstart Mission's career. With these releases Andrew Eldritch allegedly won over Hussey and Adams in the race for the £25,000 advance offered by the publishers to the first member of The Sisters of Mercy to release any output.
Floodland era (1987-1989)
Left to his own devices, Eldritch recorded the Floodland album (November 13, 1987), marking a shift away from guitars-based rock towards keyboard-oriented explorations pioneered in Gift.
The album was produced by Eldritch and Larry Alexander, with contributions from Jim Steinman on two songs.
American singer and bass-player Patricia Morrison was recruited, supposedly to maintain the illusion of a group during promotional appearances, a claim which Morrison contested.
She left the group in the early 90s rumoured to be because monies were not paid as due from Eldritch. Too many rumours surround this apparent trait of his to be ignored. The band did not play live during this period.
Vision Thing era (1990-1993)
The next incarnation of The Sisters of Mercy featured an unknown German guitarist, Andreas Bruhn, whom Eldritch apparently discovered playing in a Hamburg pub; controversial bassist Tony James (ex-Sigue Sigue Sputnik and Generation X); and last-minute recruit Tim Bricheno, formerly of All About Eve, on guitars.
The new line-up kicked off with Vision Thing album, released October 22, 1990, produced by Eldritch (one song was a co-production with Jim Steinman). The album also featured session guitarist John Perry with backing vocals by Maggie Railey. Designed as an assault on USA policies, it marked another change of direction, this time towards guitar-oriented rock.
The band launched a 1990-1991 world tour to promote the album. In 1991 they organized a controversial double-headlining tour of North America with Public Enemy. The tour was booked into large suburban venues away from American inner-city neighborhoods and under-advertised, mainly because of promoters' fears of clashes between (predominantly white) Sisters fans and (predominantly black) Public Enemy fans. The poor promotion and distant venues resulted in disappointing ticket sales, and the tour was cancelled halfway through. A sold-out arena tour of America could have catapulted The Sisters to the top ranks of American music sales; the cancellation thus resulted in the common perception that The Sisters' relative obscurity in the American marketplace after Vision Thing was at least partly due to the inherent racism of concert promoters.
In late 1991, Tony James left the group for his solo career; bass duties were transferred to Doktor Avalanche.
The USA tour fiasco did not help the already strained relationship between Eldritch and the Sisters' new record company EastWest, a WEA subsidiary (the band was assigned to it 1989 following an internal shuffle in WEA).
Under the insistence of the record company the band rerecorded their early single Temple of Love (with Ofra Haza on additional vocals) to promote the collection of their early independently released singles, entitled Some Girls Wander By Mistake (1992).
At the end of the year, Tim Bricheno left the band and was replaced in 1993 by Adam Pearson. Pearson was the only guitarist on the Under the Gun single, which also featured Terri Nunn on backing vocals. The single was recorded to promote the Best of compilation A Slight Case Of Overbombing (1993).
The single and the record releases turned out to be the last from the band until this day. Andreas Bruhn was reportedly out of the band in spirit by this time, but continued to tour with it in 1993.
Following the last concerts in December 1993, The Sisters of Mercy went into what Andrew Eldritch called a "strike against EastWest".
Behind the scenes, meanwhile, Eldritch and Marx were in contact again, and Marx started work on some new Sisters songs. Marx sent these tracks to Eldritch, but after hearing nothing from Eldritch for years, Marx released the songs on as the CD 1995 and Nowhere.
Lately (1996 -)
The band was revived in 1996 for several gigs supporting the Sex Pistols. Eldritch called this "my Saturday job", but was interested enough to revive the band for a short tour every year until 2003. There were no live performances during 2004, but a small 6 date tour of European festivals took place in August 2005, with Chris Catalyst taking the place of Chris Sheehan. The live performances do not resemble a nostalgia act, to the disappointment of some audiences - the band plays an increasing catalogue of new unreleased songs, obscure B-sides, and reworked old classics.
The contract with EastWest was terminated in 1997 after the company agreed to accept material recorded under the SSV name instead of two albums for which the Sisters of Mercy had contractual obligations. The company agreed to accept the material (techno-like droning featuring mumbling vocals by Andrew Eldritch, without drums) without listening to it first. The recordings were never officially released and circulated only through pirate MP3s.
The band failed to secure a new contract and refused to release new material independently. According to rumours, Eldritch's starting negotiating position is $3 million USD for 3 albums.
The new album is reportedly being recorded in no hurry, and, according to Eldritch, can be completed in a few months if such need arises.
In 2006 guitarist Adam Pearson calls it a day, and is replaced by Ben Christo, and the band embark on a huge 25th anniversary tour entitled "Sisters Bite The Silver Bullet", taking in 52 dates (26 in US/Canada/Mexico, and 26 in the UK and continental Europe).
2007 saw a triple festival visit at Lorca, Spain, Geiselwind, Germany, and Zottegem, Belgium.
