Deep Dive: Sisters of Mercy, SOME GIRLS WANDER BY MISTAKE
25 years ago this month, the Sisters of Mercy released a compilation of their studio recordings from 1980 through 1983. It’s a dark piece of work, to be sure, but it’s filled with some of the most iconic material of the band’s career.
Formed in Leeds, England, the Sisters of Mercy originally consisted of precisely two members: Andrew Eldritch and Gary Marx, a duo who’d regularly attended a punk night at an established called the F-club. They reportedly only started the Sisters because they wanted to hear themselves on the radio, which they eventually did, so…nice one, guys.
The first single by the Sisters was “Damage Done,” featuring the B-sides “Watch” and “Home of the Hit-men.” Sadly, it failed to chart. Mind you, none of the singles contained within SOME GIRLS WANDER BY MISTAKE managed to chart, but that’s not stopped them from influencing countless goth kids over the years. After the release of “Damage Done,” on which Eldritch played drums and Marx played guitar, the Sisters brought in Craig Adams on bass and replaced Eldritch’s drumming with a drum machine, thereby freeing him up to sing. Also adding guitar work: Ben Gunn. Oh, and lest we forget, the drum machine also had a name: Doktor Avalanche. (You have to admit, that’s a pretty cool name.)
Having already covered their first single, which appears on SOME GIRLS WANDER BY MISTAKE, allow us to underline the other contents of the compilation:
• ALICE 12” EP: “Alice,” “Floorshow,” “Phantom,” “1969”
• THE REPTILE HOUSE EP: “Kiss the Carpet,” “Lights,” “Valentine,” “Fix,” “Burn”
• TEMPLE OF LOVE 12” EP: “Temple of Love” (EXTENDED VERSION), “Heartland,” “Gimme Shelter”
• BODY ELECTRIC 7”: “Body Electric,” “Adrenochrome”
• “Anaconda” 7”
It took until 1984’s BODY AND SOUL single for the band to finally make their first impact on the charts, hitting #46 on the UK Singles Chart, but as for their early material, the Sisters had the last laugh: when it was released in 1992, SOME GIRLS WANDER BY MISTAKE ended up hitting #5 on the UK Albums chart.
