The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band formed in Leeds in 1980. After achieving early underground fame, the band experienced a commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s, sustaining their success until the early 1990s, when they halted the release of new records in protest against their record company, WEA. Although the band operates primarily as a touring outfit today, they continue to perform new and unreleased music live.
The group has released three original studio albums: First and Last and Always (1985), Floodland (1987), and Vision Thing (1990). Each album was recorded by a different line-up; singer-songwriter Andrew Eldritch and the drum machine known as Doktor Avalanche are the only constant elements throughout. Eldritch and Avalanche were also involved in the Sisterhood, a side project linked to Eldritch's disputes with former members.
The Sisters of Mercy ceased recording in the early 1990s due to a dispute with their record company, East West Records. The record company contract was with Andrew Eldritch rather than with the band. Under the contract Eldritch owed the company two albums; however East West Records agreed to terminate the contract in return for one album by Eldritch, which he recorded under the name SSV in 1997. The album, Go Figure, consisting of techno-like droning with mumbled vocals by Eldritch, was not released by the record company, though bootleg versions are in circulation.
After the Sisters of Mercy were released from their contract with East West, they have not signed with another label nor released any new material. They have continued to perform new songs live.
Former members of the group went on to establish the bands Ghost Dance and the Mission.
History
thumb|right|The Sisters of Mercy logo, version from 1990 featuring original head and star logo adapted from [[Gray's Anatomy textbook]]
Early years (1980–1983)
The Sisters of Mercy were formed in Leeds, England, in 1980 by Gary Marx and Andrew Eldritch, driven by their desire to hear themselves on the radio. On this single, Marx played guitar through a practice amplifier while Eldritch played drums, which he had purchased from Langford. Each member contributed to the songwriting: Eldritch penned "Damage Done," while Marx wrote "Watch".
The band later regrouped with Craig Adams on bass, while Eldritch's drumming was replaced by a drum machine, allowing him to focus solely on vocals. The drum machine was named "Doktor Avalanche," a title that continued with its numerous successors. Eldritch assumed responsibilities for lyric writing, Doktor programming, and record production, while co-writing the music with Marx and, occasionally, Adams.
This lineup is generally recognized as the first definitive Sisters formation. It commenced with the Doktor/Eldritch/Marx/Adams incarnation of the band performing a gig at the Riley Smith Hall of the Leeds University Union building in early 1981. Since the exact date remains unrecorded, for historical purposes, both the band and fans often celebrate the anniversary of the concert on 16 February 1981 at Alcuin College, York, which marked the band's second performance;
Hussey and Adams went on to form a new group called the Sisterhood. Their setlists featured songs Hussey had intended for the Sisters of Mercy; he would later record and release many of them with his new group. Meanwhile, Eldritch protested against their use of the Sisterhood name as being too similar to the Sisters of Mercy and the name of his band's fan community. In an attempt to stop Hussey's band, Eldritch released the single "Giving Ground" by his own band, the Sisterhood. The single was later followed by the album Gift. Hussey's band eventually named themselves the Mission. Hussey has since expressed regret about the entire incident.
According to some sources, with these releases, Eldritch allegedly won, over Hussey and Adams, a race for a £25,000 advance (a sum opening the song "Jihad" on the Gift album) offered by the publishers to the first member of the Sisters of Mercy to release any output. This would tie Eldritch to WEA and release Hussey and Adams from their contract with the same record company. According to the Mission's manager Tony Perrin, the case never went to court, and Hussey's new band was able to release their material through an independent outlet. However, Eldritch stated elsewhere that the "2-5-0-0-0," which opens "Jihad" on the Sisterhood LP, represents the sum of money he won from the Mission in the civil courts. He stated in an interview recorded in Boston that the English courts did not recognize either his or the other members' legal right to the name "the Sisterhood." He said the courts required a release for anybody to claim ownership of the band name, which was the motivation for the initial Sisterhood single. After that single had been released, Eldritch officially owned the name and could sue, which he did, winning £25,000 in the lawsuit.
Floodland era (1987–1989)
Left to his own devices, Eldritch recorded Floodland, marking a shift away from guitar-based rock toward atmospheric, Wagnerian rock and keyboard-oriented explorations pioneered on Gift. The album was produced by Eldritch and Larry Alexander, with contributions from Jim Steinman on two songs, one of which is "This Corrosion".
"This Corrosion" was a composition that Eldritch had already recorded (if not released) with his Sisterhood collaborators. The B-side featured "Torch," the last song from the previous line-up. Then-manager Boyd Steemson maintained that the chart success was no surprise for the band.