From: william@sage.cc.purdue.edu (jon)
Subject: Sisters of Mercy history
Summary: a brief history
Keywords: history, Sisters of Mercy, Sisterhood
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Distribution: alt.gothic
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 06:38:24 GMT


A Brief History of the Sisters of Mercy

"...and in the beginning there was a squalid hole in Leeds." or so
goes the official Merciful Release handbook. In reality, the Sisters
of Mercy were formed by Gary Marx and the only drummer in the whole of
Leeds who could be relied upon never to hit the cymbals or do tom-tom
rolls, a young man named Andrew Eldritch. Gary decided he couldn't
sing and since they could get a machine to play drums, Andrew was
drafted on vocals. They recorded Damage Done / Watch and released it on
their own label, Merciful Release. A few gigs with Jon Langford on
bass follwed and permanent bass player Craig Adams and guitarist Ben
Gunn were recruited.

Several singles and many gigs followed, until the surprise departure
of Ben Gunn due to differences with Andrew after the release of Temple
of Love.  His replacement was Wayne Hussey, ex-Dead or Alive.  The
Sisters then signed a deal with WEA and after a few warm-up gigs
released Body and Soul.  In March 1985 the Sisters released their
first album, First and Last and Always, and embarked on the "tune in,
turn on, burn out..."  tour.  Halfway through, Gary Marx announced his
departure from the band.

Upon completion of the tour, work commenced on the new album,
tentatively titled 'Left on Mission and Revenge'.  Work soon stops
however due to musical differences with Andrew (again).  Craig Adams
departs, soon followed by Wayne Hussey.  The parting is amicable, but
soon gets ugly when Andrew catches Wayne and Craig trying to use the
Sisters of Mercy name, and then calling themselves the Sisterhood.
Andrew puts out his own Sisterhood project and wins the legal battle
with Wayne and Craig, forcing them to pay 25000 pounds for the trouble
they caused him.  Wayne and Craig rename their new band the Mission.
Patricia Morrison is confirmed as Andrew's new partner and the Sisters
of Mercy remain relatively quiet until the release of Floodland in
1987 to great success.  A second period of inactivity follows and then
the inevitable departure of Patricia Morrison.

Andrew regroups in 1990 with a full band again consisting of Tim
Brecheno, Andreas Bruhn and Tony James (possibly the most reviled man
in British rock by the UK press).  The new album, Vision Thing, is
released in November to the disappointment of many fans with its heavy
metal tinges.  The album is succesful nonetheless, and the first
Sisters tours in five years commences.  The band toured throughout '90
and most of '91 to packed houses everywhere and had settled down to
recording a new album (slated for a late spring release) when Tony
James announced his departure.  They remain on good terms and no
replacement has been reported. The new album is entitled "Some Girls
Wander by Mistake".  It features 19 of the pre-WEA singles tracks.  No
word on when the next album of new material will be released has yet
been given.  The US release date will be some time in June.



1. Andrew's real last name is Taylor
2. Wayne Hussey's real name is Jerry Lovelock 
3. Gary Marx's real name is Mark Pairman

     -Thank you to the original writer of this article.

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Give me one good reason... Give me just a little logic.  S.o.M.
mail william@sage.cc.purdue.edu
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Organization: Masters student, Urban and Public Affairs, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA