The Sisters Of Mercy

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The Sisters Of Mercy

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The Smiths supported The Sisters Of Mercy on May 6, 1983 (at University Of London Union) and June 29, 1983 (at Brixton Ace).

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Rock band formed in Leeds, UK, in 1980, by singer Andrew Eldritch and guitarist Gary Marx. They were soon joined by drummer Doktor Avalanche – the stage name for what became a long succession of drum machines. The band’s dark subject matter, literary references (Eldritch’s lyrics nod to anyone from Shelley to Leonard Cohen), cavernous reverb and black record sleeves led the music press to dub them a “goth rock” act, though the band has always rejected this description.

The debut album *First And Last And Always* was not released until 1985, and the lineup that recorded it split soon afterwards. To prevent departing members Craig Adams and Wayne Hussey from renaming themselves The Sisterhood, Eldritch hurriedly released his own album under this name; Adams and Hussey instead formed The Mission. Eldritch then rebooted the Sisters as a duo of himself and bassist Patricia Morrison; the 1987 album *Floodland* prominently featured synthesizers. In 1990 the Sisters returned to live performance after a five-year absence, promoting a new album, *Vision Thing*, recorded mainly by Eldritch and guitarist Andreas Bruhn.

Two further singles followed, before a long feud with record company EastWest began. Although the band, with various lineups, has continued to tour regularly – playing a mix of old and new songs – ever since, there has been no new Sisters release since 1993.

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The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band formed in Leeds in 1980. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new records in protest against their record company, WEA. Currently, the band are a touring outfit only. 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 called Doktor Avalanche are the only points of continuity throughout. Eldritch and Avalanche were also involved in the Sisterhood, a side project connected with Eldritch's dispute with former members. The Sisters of Mercy ceased recording activity in the early 1990s, when they went on strike against East West Records, who they accused of incompetence and withholding royalties, and had pressured the group to release at least two more studio albums; instead, the label released the album Go Figure under the moniker SSV in 1997. Although the Sisters of Mercy were eventually released from their contract with East West, they have never been signed to another label nor released any new material. They have continued to perform new songs live. Former members of the group established the bands Ghost Dance and the Mission.