The Sisters of Mercy Artistfacts

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.

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