Andrew's interview in Classic Rock magazine 2011

Found this Von's interview recently and thought you would find it interesting (as I presume we're probably all SOM fans!).  The man despite his (many) flaws has become a legend...
Hope you can read it. Sorry for the mediocre image quality...
Enjoy!

Asylum (Less known bands)

Since we mentioned New Model Army...
Asylum was a band from Reading, UK. They formed ca. 1988 and released 2 albums. Just before the 3rd entitled "Vent", they split.
Their 1rst  LP "Suckling the Mutant Mother" - 1991, was a very promising start produced by former New Model Army drummer Robb Heaton, who passed in 2004 due to cancer...
Their second LP "Into the Web" - 1992, without being bad, leaned too much towards metal
but I think is worth listening too... 
Their former guitarist Dave Blomberg joined N.M. Army in 1993 and stayed for 12 years.
His playing can be heard on NMA's following studio LPs:
"Strange Brotherhood" (1997), "Eight" (2000), "Lost Songs"(2002), "Carnival" (2005)


Here's a pic of the band and their 2 LPs front sleeves.


Have a great week!

Surreal article on Eldritch!

SOM frontman's anti-French feelings were known even in the mid 80's...
Many made fun out of that. Mostly English fans but not only...
This one appeared in a tabloid (the Sun, I think) during the "Vision Thing" era (1990).
Now that's one hell of an article!!!  
;-)

Press material and gig ads

I'll start regularly posting clippings concerning gig ads and other material, from music papers of the '80s (NME, the Sounds, Melody Maker, Zig Zag e.a). It's quite interesting to see who played where and with whom before they became "big names".
Enjoy!


1983: 

 

I'll soon upload more clippings...

Gary Marx is underrated!

Ok, I don't know how many of you knew this, but I just recently heard these excellent tracks and got aware of the following fact:


"Nearly 13 years after first coming into being Nineteen Ninety Five and Nowhere receives its first official release on the French independent label D-monic. 
  Recently completed and re-mastered the new 10 track album features songs originally written in 1995 by The Sisters of Mercy co-founder Gary Marx at the invitation of Sisters’ supremo Andrew Eldritch. The material was intended to represent the pair’s first collaboration since the landmark Sisters’ album ‘First and Last and Always’ of 1984, but the notoriously wilful singer pulled out of the project without uttering a single word.
  The backing tracks went unheard until relatively recently when Marx, convinced of the material’s obvious strength, decided to finish the songs himself, writing lyrics and adding his own distinctive vocals. The response on hearing the results among the Sisters fan-base was immediate and the clamour for the tracks prompted him to make 7 of the songs available via the internet.
  Despite continual pressure to make the songs more widely available Marx had refused to be drawn until the approach of the Paris based label. Now with all 10 songs included for the first time the album has been re-mastered and re-packaged and is due for release on December 1st 2007.
  Despite (or perhaps because of ) the twisted path the songs have had to walk these long years, the album works as much more than a mere taste of what might have been – it serves as ample reminder of Marx’s undoubted ability as a writer and guitarist and is essential listening for anyone who has followed his career to date or for newcomers looking for an introduction to his work."

The above excerpt was taken by the French label, D-Monic's website.

I recommend you listen to this album letting your imagination bring in Andrew's voice...

Poor guy, what an opportunity he missed...

Tune in...

Gothic bands and art vol. I (Ghost Dance)

In April 1986, Ghost Dance (x-Sisters, Gary Marx & x-Skeletal Family, Anne Marie) released their first 12" release "River of no return" on Karbon records.
On the sleeve -following a tradition partly imposed by the Sisters of Mercy- a detail of a painting was used.

"The Lady of Shalott" was painted in 1888 by John William Waterhouse, a painter closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelites, who became famous for depicting women belonging to Arthurian legend or ancient Greek mythology.

The Pre-Raphaelites were a group of english painters and poets who formed in 1848. Their ideals were influenced by a fascination of the Middle Ages, a return to Flemish and Italian early Renaissance art and a reject of the changes the industrial revolution brought in society.


Stay tuned... 

80's goth bands logos pt.IV (Christian Death)

During this early period, goth bands -like most respectful to themselves bands of the 70's- developed a taste for not only a logo (which includes the font for writing in a distinct way the name of the band) but also for a symbol. I think it presents a certain interest, so lets see as many cases as we can...

This cross and bones logo was designed  -as rumored- by Valor in 1987. 
It first appeared on the cover of "The Scriptures" LP on that same year. So it belongs apparently on the post Rozz Williams era.
It got accepted immediately with enthusiasm by the fans. The band uses it consistently on every release ever since.


Stay tuned...

80's goth bands logos pt.III (Fields of the Nephilim)

During this early period, goth bands -like most respectful to themselves bands of the 70's- developed a taste for not only a logo (which includes the font for writing in a distinct way the name of the band) but also for a symbol. I think it presents a certain interest, so lets see as many cases as we can...

This early logo accompanied all their releases from “Returning to Gehenna” in 1986  till “The Nephilim” album in 1988. It’s a detail from the opening scenes at  the train station, just before the fight, of Sergio Leone’s 1968 movie “Οnce upon a time in the west”.

After that McCoy proved unable to make up his mind. 

A series of magic circles appeared only to be replaced by another shortly after 

in some other release.

"The Nephilim"  first magic circle was designed by the mighty Chris Bigg, a long time assistant to Oliver Vaughan who created the wonderful pictorial world of 4AD sleeves.

The others were designed probably both by Bigg and by in house Nephilim design studio Sheer Faith. 

Here are some...

(I'll) Keep talking...

80's goth bands logos pt.II (Sisters of Mercy)

During this early period, goth bands -like most respectful to themselves bands of the 70's- developed a taste for not only a logo (which includes the font for writing in a distinct way the name of the band) but also for a symbol. I think it presents a certain interest, so lets see as many cases as we can...

One of the most notorious logos of all goth history.
Recognizable, effective, successful.
Actually this is not really the band's logo but their own record 
company's  Merciful Release logo!
It also appears on the early singles labels of other bands
that had signed to M.R. like the March Violets, Salvation and 
James Ray and the Performance!
But it got associated only to the Sisters, I think mainly due 
to the success of the band and its consistent use 
in every single release, t-shirts etc.


It's roots go back to 1858 and Henry Gray's anatomical studies.
Here's the proof...

During the mid 1990's it got replaced by the following (lame) version... 

This new version also marked the downfall of the mighty Sisters.

One more thing.

We all know Eldritch and Craig were Motorhead fans.

Is it only my idea that the SOM logo got somewhat influenced by 

Lemmy's gang logo?

To be continued...

80's goth bands logos pt.I (Bauhaus)

During this early period, goth bands -like most respectful to themselves bands of the 70's- developed a taste for not only a logo (which includes the font for writing in a distinct way the name of the band) but also for a symbol. I think it presents a certain interest, so lets see as many cases as we can...

Bauhaus was an applied art school in Germany from 1919-1933. 

It was created by german architect Walter Gropius and it was closed

down by the Nazis. The band practically copied the schools emblem.