This Mortal Coil

For other uses, see Mortal coil (disambiguation).

This Mortal Coil
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Dream pop [1] gothic rock [2] [3] ethereal wave [4]
Years active	1983–1991
Labels	4AD
Spinoffs	The Hope Blister
Past members	Ivo Watts-Russell John Fryer

This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. ^[5] Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom were otherwise associated with 4AD, including members of Cocteau Twins, Cindytalk, Dead Can Dance, Breathless, The Breeders and Belly. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

The project is known for its gothic, dream pop sound, and released three albums: It'll End in Tears (1984), Filigree & Shadow (1986) and Blood (1991). ^[9]

Background

Watts-Russell had founded 4AD in 1980, and the label established itself as one of the key labels in the British post-punk movement.^{[ citation needed ]} Following several releases, Watts-Russell developed the idea of collaborating under the name This Mortal Coil. ^[10] The name is taken from lyrics to the song Dream Within a Dream by Spirit ("...Stepping off this mortal coil will be my pleasure..."), ^[11] which in turn is a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet ("... what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil...").

The 4AD website said:

This Mortal Coil was not a band, but a unique collaboration of musicians recording in various permutations, the brainchild of 4AD kingpin Ivo Watts-Russell. The idea was to allow artists the creative freedom to record material outside of the realm of what was expected of them; it also created the opportunity for innovative cover versions of songs personal to Ivo.

One of the label's earliest signings was Modern English. In 1983, Watts-Russell suggested that the band re-record two of its earliest songs, "Sixteen Days" and "Gathering Dust", as a medley. At the time, the band was closing its set with this medley, and Watts-Russell felt it was strong enough to warrant a re-recording. When the band rebuffed the idea, Watts-Russell decided to assemble a group of musicians to record the medley: Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins; Gordon Sharp of Cindytalk (later known as Cindy Sharp or Cinder); and a few members of Modern English. ^[10] An EP, Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust , resulted from these sessions. A cover of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren", performed by Fraser and Guthrie alone, was recorded as a B-side for the EP. Pleased with the results, Watts-Russell decided to make this the A-side of the 7" single version of the EP, and the song quickly became an underground hit, leading Watts-Russell to pursue the recording of a full album under the This Mortal Coil moniker, 1984's It'll End in Tears . ^[10]

In June 1998, Watts-Russell began releasing albums in a similar vein to his TMC projects, under the name The Hope Blister. ^[12]

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		UK [13]	UK Indie [14]	NL [15]	NZ [16]
It'll End in Tears	Released: 8 October 1984 Label: 4AD Formats: LP, MC	38	1	—	42
Filigree & Shadow	Released: 22 September 1986 Label: 4AD Formats: CD, 2xLP, 2xMC	53	2	—	—
Blood	Released: 22 April 1991 Label: 4AD Formats: CD, 2xLP, MC	28	—	58	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

Title	Album details
Dust & Guitars	Released: 6 August 2012 Label: 4AD Formats: HDCD, digital download

Box sets

Title	Album details
1983–1991	Released: 30 March 1993 Label: 4AD Formats: 4xCD
This Mortal Coil	Released: 7 November 2011 Label: 4AD Formats: 4xHDCD

EPs

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		UK [13]
Sixteen Days / Gathering Dust	Released: 2 September 1983 Label: 4AD Formats: 12"	100

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions					Album
		UK [13]	UK Indie [14]	BE (FL) [17]	NL [18]	NZ [19]
"Song to the Siren"	1983	66	3	—	39	8	It'll End in Tears
"Kangaroo"	1984	92	2	—	—	—
"Come Here My Love"/"Drugs" (limited release)	1986	90	2	—	—	—	Filigree & Shadow
"You and Your Sister" (Benelux and France-only release)	1991	—	—	42	13	—	Blood
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Contributions

• "Acid, Bitter and Sad" on Lonely Is an Eyesore (1987)

References

1. Steve Huey. "This Mortal Coil | Biography & History". AllMusic . Retrieved 27 June 2016.
2. Frank Deserto. October 31, 2017. 40 Years of Goth: Essential Albums from the Genre's Beginnings Archived 2019-01-19 at the Wayback Machine . Post-Punk.com.
3. Staff (21 March 2013). "13 Best Goth Albums of All Time". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
4. Olivier Bernard: Anthologie de l'ambient, Camion Blanc, 2013, ISBN   2-357-794151
5. "This Mortal Coil". 4AD. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
6. Huey, Steve. "This Mortal Coil". AllMusic . Retrieved 27 April 2012.
7. "Review: This Mortal Coil – It’ll End In Tears/Filigree & Shadow/Blood". Classic Pop , 6 December 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2025
8. Ulrich 2022, p. 123.
9. Steve Huey. "This Mortal Coil | Biography & History". AllMusic . Retrieved 27 June 2016.
10. Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. p. 460. ISBN   1-85227-969-9.
11. Douridas, Chris (13 March 1998). "Morning Becomes Eclectic interview with Ivo Watts-Russell". KCRW. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
12. Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 987–988. ISBN   1-84195-017-3.
13. "THIS MORTAL COIL | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
14. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980–1989. Cherry Red Books. ISBN   0-9517206-9-4.
15. "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
16. "charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
17. "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
18. "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
19. "charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 10 March 2022.

Sources

• Aston, Martin (2013). Facing the Other Way: The Story of 4AD. London: The Friday Project. ISBN   978-0-00-748961-9.
• Oliver, Vaughan; Poynor, Rick (2000). Vaughan Oliver: Visceral Pleasures. London: Booth-Clibborn Editions. ISBN   1-86154-072-8.
• Raymonde, Simon (2024). In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor Raymonde and Me. London: Nine Eight Books. ISBN   978-1-78870-938-5.
• Ulrich, Peter (2022). Drumming with Dead Can Dance: and Parallel Adventures. Pasadena (CA): Red Hen Press. ISBN   978-1-6362-8073-8.

External links

• This Mortal Coil on 4AD website
• This Mortal Coil at allmusic.com
• This Mortal Coil at trouserpress.com
• This Mortal Coil at IMDb