One of England\'s leading \"goth\" bands of the 1980s, the Sisters of Mercy have a very distinct sound, even within their genre. “The group ably brushed away the cobwebs from the gloomy Gothic façade and exposed a rock infrastructure hidden below,” described a journalist from Rolling Stone. The Sisters mixed serpentine dance beats with a deeply gloomy resonance and sultry vocals to create a heavy, yet catchy sound which even today often emulated, but rarely matched.
The one constant in the band\'s career and its driving force has been the deep-voiced vocalist, Andrew Eldritch. Eldritch originally formed the band in 1980 with guitarist Gary Marx and recorded its first single with a drum machine they called “Doktor Avalanche.” Later, bassist Craig Adams and guitarist Ben Gunn were added to make live gigs possible, and the Sisters built a reputation through performances and several singles and EPs. Gunn left the band in 1983 and was quickly replaced by guitarist Wayne Hussey.
The Sisters of Mercy recorded their first full-length album, “First and Last and Always” in 1985. Less than two years later, internal dissent had split them apart; Marx left to form a band called “Ghost Dance” and Adams and Hussey departed shortly thereafter.
A legal dispute ensued over the rights to the name Sisters of Mercy when Adams and Hussey formed their own band along with Red Lorry Yellow Lorry drummer, Mick Brown, and Artery guitarist Simon Hinkler. The group attempted to use the name “Sisterhood,” but Eldritch released an EP under the name to prevent its usage, and the two finally settled on the Mission.
From this point on, Eldritch chiefly utilized a group of temporary sidemen and rebounded with The Sisters of Mercy’s two biggest-selling American LPs, “Floodland” and “Vision Thing.”
Bio written by: SyntheticxDreams |
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