This Mortal Coil

For other uses, see Mortal coil (disambiguation).

This Mortal Coil
Origin	Wandsworth, South London, England
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 and ethereal wave sound. Throughout their run, they released one extended play (EP), Sixteen Days / Gathering Dust, and three studio albums: It'll End in Tears (1984), Filigree & Shadow (1986) and Blood (1991). ^[9] The former produced their modestly successful cover of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren", which peaked at number 66 on the UK Singles Chart. After the group broke up in 1991, former member Watts-Russell formed the similar group The Hope Blister.

History

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 a line in the song Dream Within a Dream by Spirit ("...Stepping off this mortal coil will be my pleasure..."), ^[11] which in turn alludes to 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