• 1977-

  Andrew EldritchVocals, keyboards, guitar, drums1977-

  Gary MarxGuitar, vocals1977-1985

  Craig AdamsBass1981-1985

  Ben GunnGuitar1981-1983

  Wayne HusseyGuitar, vocals1983-1985

  Patricia MorrisonBass1987-1989

  Andreas BruhnGuitar1989-1993

  Tony JamesBass1989-1991

  Tim BrichenoGuitar1990-1992

  Adam PearsonGuitar, bass, vocals1993; 1996-2006

  Chris SheehanGuitar, vocals1996-1997; 2000-2005

  Mike VarjakGuitar1997-2000

  Chris CatalystGuitar, vocals2005-

  Ben ChristoGuitar, vocals2006-
• Although frontman Andrew Eldritch bristles at the term goth, The Sisters of Mercy gained notoriety in the UK as a goth rock band in the late-'70s/early '80s. Their commercial breakthrough would come with their second album, Floodland, in 1987.
• The band shares its name with an order of Catholic nuns, but Eldritch and Marx took it from Leonard Cohen's 1967 song "Sisters of Mercy," which they heard in the Robert Altman film McCabe & Mrs. Miller, starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie. Eldritch (Sounds, 1987): "I took it from the Leonard Cohen song which is all about prostitutes and I thought the balance between nuns and prostitutes was very appropriate for a rock band, still do."
• Their debut album, First and Last and Always, was crafted during a series of intense recording sessions that pushed the group to its breaking point. Marx, Hussey, and Adams - who left the band shortly after - were increasingly frustrated with Eldritch and his perfectionist tendencies. Marx claimed: "We wasted weeks at a time in the studio, waiting for him to come up with a handful of lyrics. It was very painful and very expensive."
• Hussey and Adams formed the goth rock band The Mission in 1986. They originally called themselves The Sisterhood, but were blasted by Eldritch for choosing a name too similar to Sisters of Mercy. Before they could record under the moniker, Eldritch beat them to the punch with his own side project called The Sisterhood.
• Marx also formed a goth rock/post punk band. Ghost Dance, featuring vocalist Anne-Marie Hurst, was active from 1985-1989.
• The only drummer you'll find in the lineup is drum machine Doktor Avalanche. Eldritch (Sounds, 1987): "There's something about the American public taken as a whole that requires some sort of animal at the back thwacking things. I can't understand it. I've always thought that The Doktor was a much more ruthless and monstrous idea."
• Eldritch was born Andrew William Harvey Taylor on May 15, 1989 in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. "Eldritch" is an archaic word defined by Eldritch Press as "weird, eerie, supernatural, ghastly; an eldritch scream is unnerving and makes chills go up and down your spine."
• Apart from Eldritch and Doktor Avalanche, each album boasts a different lineup.

Comments

More Songfacts:

The Candy ManSammy Davis, Jr.

"The Candy Man" is the opening song in the 1971 movie Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, but the version released as a single was by Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. It was a #1 hit and became his signature song even though his audience was very adult.

Gives You HellThe All-American Rejects

The first US Top 10 hit with the word "hell" in the title was "Gives You Hell" by The All-American Rejects in 2008.

Live Like You Were DyingTim McGraw

Tim McGraw recorded "Live Like You Were Dying" just two weeks after his own father passed away.

AdornMiguel

Miguel wrote "Adorn" about his girlfriend, the model and artist Nazanin Mandi, when he was returning home from a long trip and was anxious to see her.

The JokerSteve Miller Band

The "pompatus of love" from the Steve Miller song "The Joker" comes from a line in a '50s doo-wop song Miller misheard: "puppetutes of love."

Suddenly I SeeKT Tunstall

KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" was inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe's photograph of Patti Smith on the cover of her album Horses.

Editor's Picks

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."