When researching this post, I was immediately struck by the opening comments on the band's Discogs page from one sydfloyd in October 2021,
"The Sisters of Mercy story shows what happens when one ego-ridden singer
tries to relentlessly control absolutely every single aspect of his
band, thereby driving all the other members away and ending up with a
no-talent pick-up band performing karaoke versions of former glories.
Sad, because during the original era they were one of the greatest rock
bands ever to set foot on a stage."
to which DarkPoet replied in February 2022,
"What complete and utter shite you blather. Seen them live recently, have you?"
...which neatly encapsulates the divisive nature of the band and artist, even today and certainly amongst fellow Goths in my teens.
At
the time, little did I suspect that the then-current album, Vision Thing, would be their last. It's been nearly three decades since their
last single, 1993's Under The Gun. However, The Sisters Of Mercy are still very much a going concern and resume a European tour at the end of this month.
I've never seen The Sisters Of Mercy live and, to be honest, no longer have any desire to do so. But they made some great music that I enjoy dipping back into from time to time.
1) Floorshow (Single Version By John Ashton) (1983)
2) Amphetamine Logic (Album Version By Andrew Eldritch & David M. Allen) (1985)
3) Train (Single Version By Andrew Eldritch) (1984)
4) Body And Soul (Single Version By Andrew Eldritch) (1984)
5) Torch (1987)
6) Phantom (1983)
7) 1959 (1987)
8) More (Extended Version By Andrew Eldritch & Jim Steinman) (1990)
9) Marian (Version By Andrew Eldritch & David M. Allen) (1985)
1983: Alice EP: 1, 6
1984: Body And Soul EP: 3, 4
1985: First And Last And Always: 2, 9
1987: This Corrosion EP: 5
1987: Floodland: 7
1990: More EP / Vision Thing: 8
Top Belgian tribute act The Mistress of Jersey have a UK date later in the year, perhaps that might meet your live viewing needs.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/The-Mistress-of-Jersey-A-Tribute-to-the-Sisters-of-Mercy-344944339193862/
Ernie, you can be depended on to deliver the goods and you don't disappoint! If I'd heard this before I went to work this morning, my day would have been even better...
DeleteStill worth going to see even now , - you haven't seen 'dry ice' until you have seen SOM or I should say glimpsed SOM through the dry ice
ReplyDeleteI hear you, middle aged man! I did see a friend's band back in Bristol in the late 80s/early 90s, The Bone Idols (brilliant name), whose only song I can remember being a cover of The Stooges' I Wanna Be Your Dog. Seem to remember their dry ice machine looked (and smelled) like a toaster with a fork stuck in it. Choking up just thinking about it...
DeleteAh Spiggy Von Eldritch! Saw* them a handful of times between '83-'85, Lier! Bochum!! Bristol!!! even the York Racecourse Rock Festival(not their finest gig tbh)
ReplyDeleteThe lyrics on Floodland are worthy of a PhD study :-)
*I say saw, see comment above re dry ice.
Cheers
anwe
Cheers, Anwe! Was the Bristol gig at The Trinity? Remember a friend saw them there and The Studio, I think. The York Racecourse Rock Festival is a name to conjure with, sounds like an intriguing set up...!
DeleteThe Bristol gig I saw was at The Studio 1985.
DeleteMade a coach/ferry/train trip from Western Europe for the York Festival in '84 - (Redskins, SoD, the wonderful Chameleons)weather wasn't great, wind doing nobody any favours sonically! (reviews attached below fwiw)
p.s.loving some of the new Bandcamp stuff posted.
https://www.ukrockfestivals.com/york-1984.html
http://sistersfan.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-first-york-rock-festival-1984.html
That's a great line up for the York Festival, shame about the weather/sonics. I would have liked to have seen Redskins and of course The Chameleons at that point, but honestly any of them would have been fantastic to see. Thanks for the links, interesting reading.
DeleteGlad you're enjoying some of the new stuff. I still haven't properly listened to it all, but the selection seemed to fall into place very naturally!
The fact that SoM have a tribute act is great. A Belgian tribute act even better. A Belgian tribute act called Mistress of Jersey tops it all.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that, Adam.
DeleteThere is a slight chance I may be seeing them towards the end of the month. I've got a few days work in Brussels and am staying on over the weekend to visit somewhere in Belgium I've not been before. Top of the list at the moment is Namur, and the Mistresses are supporting a reformed 1980s Belgian post-punk outfit there on the Saturday night (which is how I knew they existed). I'll keep you posted.
DeleteI look forward to hearing how you get on, Ernie. What I liked about the Mistresses from the YouTube clips that I saw is that, whilst they are pretty much note perfect (singer included), they made absolutely no concession to goth imagery. I also respect the discipline of only playing songs from the "true" Sisters line-up, i.e. nothing past 1985.
Delete