Sisters Of Mercy
A post-punk rock outfit whose flirtations with gothic imagery would dog the public and media perception of them throughout an eclectic career. They formed in Leeds, Yorkshire, England in 1980, when Leeds and Oxford University drop-out Andrew Eldritch (b. Andrew Taylor, 15 May 1959, East Anglia, England; vocals) teamed up with Gary Marx (guitar) and a drum machine. After releasing The Damage Done (on which Eldritch plays drums and guitar) on their own Merciful Release label, the band expanded to include Ben Gunn (guitar) and Craig Adams (bass) for supports with Clash, Psychedelic Furs and the Birthday Party. A cult reputation in the North of England was augmented by excellent press, and further enhanced by the release of Alice. A magnificent gothic dance saga, together with the subsequent Temple Of Love, it hallmarked the band's early musical character. Inbetween these two landmark 45s Gunn left to be replaced by Wayne Hussey (ex- Pauline Murray, Dead Or Alive). WEA picked up the distribution for Merciful Release as the band's reputation continued to grow throughout 1983 and 1984. However, despite the release of their debut album, the following year brought a creative watershed. Continuing rivalries between Marx and Eldritch forced the former to depart. This was only a stop-gap treaty with the band announcing a final split in April 1985 after a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. The rest of the year witnessed extraordinary legal wrangles between Eldritch on one hand and Adams and Hussey on the other, each claiming use of the name Sisters Of Mercy. Eldritch went as far as releasing a record under the title Sisterhood simply to prevent Adams and Hussey from adopting this halfway-house title. The duo eventually settled on the Mission as their new home, while Eldritch moved to Berlin, West Germany. Still operating under the Sisters Of Mercy title, Eldritch recruited Patricia Morrison (b. 14 January 1962, ex- Gun Club) for hit singles This Corrosion and Dominion, and the album FLOODLAND. A two year spell of inactivity was broken in 1990 with More, showcasing another new line-up; Tony James (ex- Generation X, Sigue Sigue Sputnik; bass), Tim Bricheno (b. 6 July 1963, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England; guitar—ex-All About Eve) and Andreas Bruhn (guitar). The VISION THING indulged Eldritch's penchant for deep rooted, esoteric metaphor, which occasionally makes his lyrics futile and impenetrable. 1991 saw a loss-making, aborted tour with Public Enemy, though this has done little to erase the confidence of the self-confessed ‘world's greatest lyricist’.