Waiting For Another War: A History of The Sisters Of Mercy

by Trevor Ristow

For those who don’t know well and get puzzled by my attraction to this band, now the news is that it will have a book, which covers the entire route since the band’s inception in 1980 by Andrew Eldritch and Gary Marx through to their first major breakup in 1985, we see The Sisters Of Mercy grow from a struggling-to-be-taken-seriously band to the Royal Albert Hall rock Gods at their final show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECqn8TEhXJA&list=PLoaHWTE9TUEWWr90yJhIenMmTMZfvOEof&index=109&t=214s)r those who don’t know well and get puzzled by my attraction to this

In this book we learn that Andrew Eldritch loathed the “goth” moniker that his band was becoming increasingly labelled with and felt the group’s sound/aesthetic had more in common with the likes of Motörhead than, say, Bauhaus; quite ironic when nowadays they’re regarded as one of the most significant and influential goth bands of the ’80s. Well, that’s not my opinion, I don’t file them on the goth section for sure.

They were really the post-punk band per excellence since they fully embraced the zeitgeist of the 1970s, which you can conceptualize as the morning after the party of the 1960s: liquor bottles littering the floor of the house, flower children passed out half-naked on the sofa from a toxic cocktail of drugs administered by some malevolent Hell’s Angel, a hippie-turned-addict reading the tarot while distractedly picking the scabs off his face… the empty factories and burned-out cars of economic decline… electrifying guitars, sex, drugs, utopia, joy of living, bikes and speed… I know, it’s only rock’roll and I like it!

When Eldritch reappeared in 1987 with Patricia Morrison on bass for This Corrosion/Floodland, again,some people said he had created a goth band, completely at odds with his earlier attitude towards the goth genre which he said he loathed. But I am sure The Sisters’ aesthetic had nothing consciously to do with “goth” and Eldritch was still instantly recognizable as his own. Their electrifying beat, the fast rhythm, and the female choirs, leave behind any goth pretensions, and besides, every duck does quack quack, has feathers and walks like a duck, right? (if you don't believe it ask STARDUCKS). Well, we never saw them in piercings or goth style outfits, neither in dark castles making the apology for black, blood or vampires. When the book author Trevor Ristow was asked which was his favorite Sisters’ period/album? He answered: “I got two. Let’s call them the independent period, which goes till Temple Of Love, and then the period that ends with First And Last And Always. First And Last And Always, is one of the finest album of the ’80s, and an all-time favorite album ever, by any band. But I love every period of The Sisters, and I don’t really like to rank them. Floodland is a masterful piece of work, and the live band in the ’90s was great. I’ve seen The Sisters many times over more than 30 years and they never disappoint me. I love (almost) all the unreleased songs and whenever news of another song leaks on Facebook or Youtube, I find myself sitting there listening to it nonstop”. Woowww!

The Mission was a spin-off from The Sisters’ and Wayne Hussey is definitely a great guitarist. He had a wonderful, instantly recognizable style that defined one of the best periods of The Sisters’ where their early songs, like Alice or Floorshow or Burn, were hugely improved when played live by Wayne Hussey. I believe every The Sisters Of Mercy fan love and listen the Mission songs. Their break-up happened in October 1985, when the musical differences had become irreconcilable, on Wayne Hussey words: "We got to doing the second album and Andrew said 'I'm not singing any of your songs.'! The music press reported the break-up of the band on Saturday, 2 November 1985: "The Sisters of Mercy were down to singer Andrew Eldritch and his faithful drum machine Doktor Avalanche and that was after this that Patricia comes into scene. The Sisterhood was not another of The Sisters’ spin-off but a side project by Andrew Eldritch, with guest musicians, recording songs had originally intended for a second album by the Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters of Mercy will be doing an European Tour next September, and you all know how much I vibrate when I hear them

More on the Sisters' following these links postgothic.com/the-sisters-of-mercy/ and of course their official site: www.the-sisters-of-mercy.com/