Show 92: Sisters of Mercy - Trojan Horse The Hague - 26 May 1984

A first appearance for The Sisters of Mercy, with a gig recorded in The Netherlands in 1984. There are several versions of this recording around but I believe I was sent an excellent copy of the naked soundboard recording which was a joy to work on - it's benefited from some sympathetic EQ which has improved separation between each of the instruments as well as improving the sound of each - guitars shimmer and sparkle, the drums are crisp and punchy, the bass is more distinct and Eldritch rises from the shadows. I'm really pleased with how this one turned out.

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Setlist
Burn
Heartland
Body and Soul
Anaconda
Walk Away
Emma
Floorshow
Adrenochrome
Alice
Body Electric

Encore:
Gimme Shelter
Sister Ray

I can't pretend to be an expert on The Sisters but I am indebted to Ollie, who is! - and it was he who lobbied for me to remaster this recording. He also asked if he could write a piece about this show for me and this is reproduced below (thanks Ollie!). Incidentally, there's an interesting blog piece written by a Sisters fan about this very gig which you can find here.

Now, this is Ollie's piece:

The Sisters of Mercy have a long, wild history. You may think may 1984 is an early stage of their career, but in fact several line-up changes were behind them already.The then popular singles and EPs like "Alice" or "Temple of Love" (the original version, without Ofra Haza of course ;-) ) had been recorded with guitarist Ben Gunn, who joined the group in early 1982 and left in late 1983. So founder members Andrew Eldritch and Gary Marx, supported by Craig Adams on bass since 1981, replaced Gunn with Wayne Hussey, ex Dead or Alive.

Now in early 1984, quite a lot is new for the Sisters: new line-up, new single ("Body and Soul"), a major deal with WEA records, and even Doktor Avalanche, their drum-machine, got a make-over. Compared to 1983, the sound changed. The songs are played straighter, and Wayne Hussey adds a new guitar style by playing a 12 string...here we have the birth of what would become the sound of the "First And Last And Always" album.

The setlist is the standard one for this tour. They serve a mixture of early singles ("Body Electric", "Alice") B-sides ("Heartland", Adrenochrome"), the new single "Body and Soul" and an early version of "Walk Away", the first written by Wayne Hussey, as well as their famous cover versions "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones, "Emma" by Hot Chocolate and their dark and driving interpretation of The Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray". The Velvet's song finished their encore in a guitar orgy, the highlight and climax of a Sisters gig in this era and The Sisters at their best, captured here perfectly now in this remastered soundboard recording.

Unfortunately this line-up, regarded by many fans as the definitive one, didn't last long. They did three long tours and released one legendary album, then in June 1985 did their famous last gig at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams formed The Mission, and Andrew Eldritch entered the charts in 1987 with his "Floodland"- album.

The rest is history...