Merciful Release is a record label started by Andrew Eldritch, frontman with Leeds band the Sisters of Mercy. As Eldritch stated in an early interview, he wanted to hear himself on the radio. He and Gary Marx (Mark Pairman) played and recorded on the Sisters of Mercy's initial single "Damage Done" and pressed one thousand copies. This record was something of a collector's item.
Throughout the early 1980s, the band released several singles on Merciful Release, controlling the format and image of the records, typically in a black sleeve with artwork centrally mounted and a head and star logo on the rear of sleeves. A notable example of this being Henri Matisse's Blue Nude in gold on black for the single Alice.
By 1984, the band had signed a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records (Elektra in the US) whilst still maintaining control of Merciful Release.
In the 1990s, a number of CDs were released on the Merciful Release label for the MK Ultra: their Beluga Pop and This Is This albums, and German band Scoda Blush.
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band formed in Leeds in 1980. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new records in protest against their record company, WEA. Currently, although the band are a touring outfit only, they continue to perform new and unreleased music live.
Andrew Eldritch is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the Sisters of Mercy, a band that emerged from the British post-punk scene, transformed into a gothic rock band, and, in later years, flirted with hard rock.
Floodland is the second studio album by English gothic rock band the Sisters of Mercy. It was released on 16 November 1987, through Merciful Release internationally and distributed by WEA, with Elektra Records handling the United States release. After the release of the band's debut studio album, First and Last and Always (1985), members Craig Adams and Wayne Hussey left to form the Mission, causing the dissolution of the Sisters of Mercy. As a result, band frontman Andrew Eldritch formed a side project known as the Sisterhood. After the first Sisterhood album was received negatively overall, Eldritch restarted the Sisters of Mercy and hired the Sisterhood member Patricia Morrison for the recording of a new album.
First and Last and Always is the debut studio album by English gothic rock band the Sisters of Mercy, first released on 11 March 1985 through the band's Merciful Release label. Prior to recording sessions for a debut album, the band started off by releasing multiple extended plays and singles from 1980 through 1984. Guitarist Ben Gunn departed the band in October 1983 and was subsequently replaced by Dead or Alive member Wayne Hussey. This created one of the band's most iconic line-ups, comprising Hussey with frontman Andrew Eldritch, guitarist Gary Marx, and bassist Craig Adams.
Vision Thing is the third studio album by English gothic rock band the Sisters of Mercy. It was released on 22 October 1990 through Merciful Release and East West Records, with Elektra Records handling the US release.
Some Girls Wander by Mistake is a compilation album by English band the Sisters of Mercy, released on 27 April 1992 on their own label Merciful Release, distributed by East West/Warner Music UK.
A Slight Case of Overbombing is a greatest hits album by English gothic rock band the Sisters of Mercy. It was released on 23 August 1993 on the band's own label, Merciful Release, under distribution contract with East West Records. All the tracks featured on this compilation album are in reverse chronological order of release. A Slight Case of Overbombing contains mostly remixes and edited versions of songs that the Sisters of Mercy had released by 1993, as well as two never-before released tracks: a re-recorded version of "Temple of Love" from 1992, and one new track, "Under the Gun", which was released as a single to promote this compilation album and is also the band's most recent single as of 2024.
The Sisterhood was a musical project led by Andrew Eldritch. With guest musicians, the Sisterhood recorded songs he had originally intended for a second album by the Sisters of Mercy.
The March Violets are an English post-punk/gothic rock band formed in 1981 in Leeds, incorporating male & female singers, drum machine rhythms and echo-laden electric guitar, much in the style of fellow Leeds band the Sisters of Mercy. Seven March Violets singles reached the UK Indie Chart; the Natural History collection also was an indie hit.
SSV-NSMABAAOTWMODAACOTIATW was a short-lived musical project formed by the Sisters of Mercy singer Andrew Eldritch in 1997. The band consisted of Andrew Eldritch and the Hamburg-based techno producers Peter Bellendir and T. Schroeder.
Bitter Suites to Succubi is the third EP by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 22 May 2001, through the band's own Abracadaver label.
Ghost Dance is a British gothic rock band formed in 1985 by Gary Marx and Anne-Marie Hurst as both were leaving their respective bands. The band were originally signed to Nick Jones' record label, Karbon Records, then were later signed to the major label Chrysalis Records, before splitting up in 1989.
"Lucretia My Reflection" is a song by the English rock band the Sisters of Mercy. Released as the third and final single from their second studio album, Floodland, in June 1988, it reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart.
James Ray is a rock singer and band-leader, best known as a member of Andrew Eldritch's side-project The Sisterhood and for his own band James Ray's Gangwar.
"Under the Gun" is a song by the English rock band the Sisters of Mercy released as the single from their album A Slight Case of Overbombing: Greatest Hits Vol. 1. It is a duet featuring Terri Nunn on vocals, and was accompanied by a music video with Andrew Eldritch and Nunn. It is the only new song on a greatest hits compilation released in 1993 by Merciful Release on EastWest Records, a UK Warner Music Group label. This is the band's most recent single as of 2024.
The discography of the English rock band the Sisters of Mercy consists of three studio albums, two compilation albums, two extended plays (EPs), and sixteen singles. The Sisters of Mercy were formed in Leeds in 1980 by Andrew Eldritch and Gary Marx (guitar) and released their debut single, "The Damage Done", the same year on their own independent record label, Merciful Release. In early 1981, Craig Adams (bass) joined the band and they started to use a drum machine, which was christened Doktor Avalanche. Ben Gunn joined the band as a second guitarist by the end of 1981 and this line-up recorded four more singles and two EPs during 1982 and 1983. Guitarist Wayne Hussey replaced Gunn in early 1984 and, after building up their live reputation, The Sisters signed with WEA, who distribute the band's releases on Merciful Release in the United Kingdom and on Elektra Records in the United States. The band's next single, 1984's "Body and Soul", became their first charting effort in the UK when it reached number 46. Three more singles were released before the band reached number 14 on the UK Albums Chart with their debut album, First and Last and Always, which was released in March 1985. Following the album's release, Marx left the band, before the rest of the group disbanded in mid-1985.
The Reptile House E.P. is the second independent EP by the Sisters of Mercy, released on 12" vinyl in May 1983 on the band's own label, Merciful Release. The EP was never released as a stand-alone CD, but was included on the Some Girls Wander by Mistake collection.
"Alice" is a song by the British rock band the Sisters of Mercy, written by vocalist Andrew Eldritch. The song was released as a non-album single by the band's own label by Merciful Release, on 21 November 1982. It was re-released in March 1983 as a 12" EP.
Body and Soul is the third EP by the Sisters of Mercy, recorded in March 1984. It was the first release under a distribution contract with WEA, issued on 12" vinyl on 4 June 1984 by Merciful Release, the band's label. The EP was never released on CD, but the title track was included on the A Slight Case of Overbombing collection. All songs are credited to Andrew Eldritch, but according to Wayne Hussey's book Salad Daze, the music to the song Body and Soul was written by Hussey who for contractual reasons didn't get a credit.
"Temple of Love" is a song by English rock band The Sisters of Mercy, released as a non-album single in 1983.
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