associated_acts years_active label article_title past_members background genre origin name
alison xmal deutschland , frazier chorus , in camera , cocteau limerick twins , breathless , dif juz , the hope blister , , clan of xymox , michael brook , dead can cindytalk dance , brendan perry , lisa gerrard , pixies , , belly , the breeders , colourbox , louise rutkowski , the tanya donelly , modern english , heidi berry wolfgang press , 1983 -- 1991 4ad this mortal coil
 ivo watts-russell john fryer group_or_band ambient wave , neo-classical , experimental , acoustic , folk , post-punk , ethereal united kingdom this mortal coil
this mortal coil

this mortal coil was a musical project led by ivo watts-russell , founder of the british record label 4ad .
although watts-russell and john fryer were technically the only two official members , the band 's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists , many of whom were signed to , or otherwise associated with , 4ad .
about half of the songs released were cover versions , often of 1960s and 1970s psychedelic and folk acts .
on each of the band 's three lps , at least one song would also be a cover of a 4ad artist , and most of the original songs were instrumentals .
the name `` this mortal coil '' is taken from the monty python 's flying circus `` dead parrot sketch '' .
