Rhino Factoids: The Sisters of Mercy Play Their Last First Date
30 years ago today, The Sisters of Mercy took the Royal Albert Hall by storm to perform the final date of their tour in support of their first proper studio album, First and Last and Always.
The process of keeping up with the various individuals who’ve been a part of The Sisters of Mercy since their original inception in 1977, not to mention when they were a part of the band, is very much a case of the phrase “you can’t tell the players without a scorecard” in action. More than a dozen individuals have passed through the Sisters’ ranks, and that’s not even counting their legendary drum machine, Doktor Avalanche, but of the many lineups, certainly the most iconic remains the one that lasted from 1983 to 1985, featuring founding members Andrew Eldritch and Gary Marx teamed with Craig Adams and Wayne Hussey.
When Hussey became a Sister, he did so on the heels of having worked in the studio with Pete Burns, which gave him somewhat of an advantage during the record of First and Last and Always, since – even though you may not see his name on the credits – you can hear him all over Dead or Alive’s Sophisticated Boom Boom. Hussey, Adams, and Marx wrote and rehearsed the majority of the album’s material on their own, with Eldritch contributing lyrics and vocals late in the process, but the end result proved to be one of the ‘80s seminal Goth albums. Unfortunately, Eldritch proved to be somewhat trying as a collaborator, resulting in Marx bailing out midway through the band’s tour to support First and Last and Always, while Hussey and Adams, held strong, although Marx’s defense, he’d been putting up with Eldritch for considerably longer than they had.
On June 18, 1985, the Sisters of Mercy played the final date of their tour, delivering a dark and powerful performance at the Royal Albert Hall, one which was filmed and subsequently released on VHS and – this’ll date it for you – laserdisc as Wake. To date, it has never received an official DVD release in the US or the UK, but if you’d like a quick glimpse of it, here’s that evening’s performance of “Walk Away.”
Not terribly long after the Royal Albert Hall performance, Eldritch, Hussey, and Adams reconvened in Hamburg with intentions of putting together a new album, one which – somewhat ironically in retrospect – was reported to be entitled Left on a Mission and Revenge. Although a few tracks ended up being demoed, Hussey and Adams soon clashed with Eldritch to a degree that led them to skip out, taking with them songs which would ultimately end up as part of The Mission’s catalog, including “Dance on Glass” and “Garden of Delight.” In turn, Eldritch sought out and subsequently bired Patricia Morrison, late of The Gun Club, to fill the void left in the Sisters of Mercy. That’s not quite the end of the Eldritch / Hussey / Adams saga, but it’s all we’re going to tell for now, so remind us to tell you about The Sisterhood some other time, because it’s a real corker of a story.
Before we send you off to listen to First and Last and Always again, we wanted to mention one other quick thing that should please fans of The Sisters of Mercy fans to no end: on July 24, we’ll be released a vinyl collection of the album which will feature the studio album as well as the “Body and Soul,” “Walk Away,” and “No Time to Cry” singles…and don’t worry, kids, we’ll be releasing it digitally as well. Anyway, we just wanted to put it out there, given that it’s so relevant to this particular anniversary, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.
