Dark side of the 1980s

Sisters of Mercy and The Mission

When looking at the dark side of the 1980s it really features the genres of Goth rock, Alternative rock and Indie Guitar rock. Two of the biggest players were Sisters of Mercy and The Mission who made major impact on the UK charts.

The sisters of mercy were formed in 1980 and began as a quartet Doktor,Eldritch,Marx and Adams. Andrew Eldritch was see as the main singer and the single 'temple of love' helped the band achieve major success and Wayne Hussey joined the band to help cement there upcoming success. However, the band started to fragment and Adams and Hussey left the band to form Sisterhood but Andrew Eldritch protested about the similar name and they decided to change it to The Mission.

With Andrew Eldritch left to his own self devices he went on to produce the new 'floodland' album with Jim Steinmann. The album featured the classic song 'this corrosion' which peaked at number 7 in the UK charts and this was followed up by 'dominion' and 'lucretia my reflection' also hitting the top 20 UK singles chart. When the album was released he essentially wotked with a drum machine and Patricia Morrison on bass, who was to feature heavilly on the marketing of the album as the gothic lady. As the eighties drew to a close, the band saw several line up changes but essentially Andrew Hildritch has remained the regular in the band.


The Mission were formed from Sisters of Mercy with Adams and Hussey joining forces with Mick brown and Simon Hinckler as a four piece Gothic rock band in 1986.

They released 3 albums in the 1980s with debut 'Gods own medicine' in 1986 and was followed up by 'The first chapter' in 1987 and 'children' in 1988. The album 'gods own medicine' reached number 14 in the UK album charts and the 'Children' reached a healthy number 2 in the charts and was widely regarded as there best album.

In terms of single success, they enjoyed plenty of releases and hits but only 2 went into the top 20 UK singles charts during the 1980s. The first was 'wasteland' that peaked at number 11 in 1987 and this was followed in 1988 by 'tower of strength' which reached the heights of number 12 in the charts.

The late 1980s saw a real power struggle in the sales between the two and on the evidence, the Mission were more productive in terms of albums and live dates where they often headlined festivals. Quite often groups form out of others by musical differences and usually end up playing the same type of music like the Human league/heaven 17 scenario but there is no doubt these two bands had plenty of ideas to satisfy there legion of fans.

Recommended purchasing or further listening

The Jesus and Mary Chain and Spear of Destiny

Jesus and Mary Chain were a alternative rock band from Scotland formed in 1983 with the brothers Reid at the helm.

The band relocated to London and courted controversey with there live sets where violence would occur and a lot of councils banned them fearing they were the new Sex Pistols. However, on the single front they released 'upside down' which was one of the best selling indie singles of the 80s and stayed in the indie charts for over a year.

This led to a new record deal and the release of the iconic album 'psychocandy' and from that 2 singles were released that hit the top 50 'never understand' and 'just like honey'. The album peaked just outside the top 30. The band continued touring but beset with problems such as playing later than planned and more violence occurred at the venues.

They did some work on radio 1 for the John Peel show and released a stripped down version of 'some candy talking' which went to number 13 in the charts. However, the song was banned by radio 1 as there was in there opinion a song that championed drugs.

A second album 'Darklands'followed in 1987 and the title track was released as a single, the album reached number 5 in the UK album charts. Also the album saw a top 10 single 'April Skies' and towards the end of the 1980s a third album was released 'Automatic' the album was not a great success but the singles 'head on' and 'blues from a gun were released. Despite what went on in the 1980s, the band split in 1999 but reformed in 2007 and still rocking.


Spear of destiny were another alternative rock band that formed in 1983 and the founding members Kirk Brandon, Stan Stammers, Chris Bell and Lascelle James.

During the 1980s the band released 5 albums Grapes of wrath, one eyed jacks, world service, Outland and the price you pay. World Service and Outland albums both hit the top 20 UK album charts.

The singles chart success was limited but in 1987 'never take me alive' from the outland album was a top 15 hit in the UK single charts and this led to more exposure to the public. On the back of that there live shows were selling out and also a support tour with rock giants U2.

The band has gone through various personnel changes but Kirk still remains despite his illness in the 1980s which saw the band put everything on hold whilst he recovered and the band are still touring and releasing material as late as 2010.
Recommended listening or purchasing

New Model Army v Fields of Nephilim

New Model Army (NMA) were a punk/alternative rock band which formed in Bradford in the 1980s. They took the name from Oliver Cromwell army.

The band was led by Justin Sullivan and the band worked closely with punk poet Joolz Denby who was there first manager and wrote some lyrics to help the band. The band released 4 studio albums in the 1980s starting with the debut 'Vengeance' in 1984 followed by 'No rest for the wicked' on the heels of this they released 'The ghost of cain' and finished the decade with 'Thunder and consolation'.

The last album 'Thunder and consolation' reached number 20 in the UK album chart which represented there best effort on the charts.

The band released 10 singles in the UK during the 1980s starting with the debut 'Bittersweet' in 1983 and ending the decade with 'Green and Grey'. There best effort on the UK singles chart was in 1985 when the single 'No rest' peaked at number 28.

The band will be best remembered for the logo and artwork on there records and merchandise, also in some quarters they will also be remembered for some of there lyrics which were very powerfully politically motivated with humanitarian messages. One famous song '51st state'was about American Imperialism which gained them popularity at the time but basically any hope of cracking America dissapeared. The band are still active under justin and released a studio album as late as 2009 with
'Today a good day'.

The Fields of Nephilim are a true hard core gothic band who hailed from Stevenage in the early 1980s.

The band consisted of lead singer Carl McCoy, Gary Wisker, Tony Pettit, Paul Wright and Alex Wright. Although commercially they have not hit the heights but they have influenced many other bands with there hard hitting sound.

They had an unusual look wearing cowboy western clothes with big hats and dusters to give that rough look. They released two albums in the 1980s with the debut 'dawnrazor' in 1987 and a year later followed with 'nephilim'. The latter peaked at number 14 in the UK album charts to critical acclaim.

During the 1980s they released 6 singles debuting with 'power' in 1987. There last 2 singles of the decade reached the top 40, with the iconic 'moonchild' peaking at 28 and the follow up 'psychonaut' reaching number 35.

The band went into a split in the early nineties when lead singer McCoy left the band to pursue other music and the rest carried on but in a different name. The original band did get back together for a tour and have released new material, the name and the look still remains iconic and one of those bands that has mystique about them. The music was loud and produced to the maximum to concentrate on the guitar and bass with a lot of there work produced by Pink Floyd producer Andy Jackson.
Recommended listening or purchasing

All about Eve v Cocteau Twins

All about Eve consisted of Julianne Regan on vocals backed with Andy Cousins and Tim Briceno. There type of sound was associated to alternative rock with a hint of Goth rock.

The band released a number of independent singles ranging from with 'D for Desire' and 'In the clouds' amongst others.

The band did have links with The Mission where Julianne sang on there album 'Gods own medicine' The band enjoyed mainstream success and released 2 albums in the 1980s.

They debuted with 'All about eve' and 'Scarlet and other stories'. The 2 albums hit the top 10 in the UK album charts. The debut album peaked at number 7.

In terms of singles released, the band released 11 singles in the UK and enjoyed 2 top 30 singles in the UK, where 'Martha's harbour' reached number 10 and the follow up single 'What kind of fool' peaked at number 30.

Martha's harbour was unusual song as it just featured an acoustic guitar and the sound of the sea. However, the band featured on BBC Top of the Pops where they had to mime the song but when they were due to go, the sound was not transmitted to the band so they sat there quiet whilst the audience could hear everything! as a result of that the band were invited back next week to perform and the surge of interest in the song saw sales rise.


A band that formed in late 1979 as a alternative rock band from Scotland.

The original band consisted of Elizabeth Fraser on vocals and supported by Rob Guthrie, Will Heggie and Simon Raymonde.

The main focal point of the band was Fraser soprano vocals which made words hard to decipher but was incredibly enchanting and went with the mood of the music they offered.

The band released 6 albums in the 1980s debuting with 'Garlands' in 1982 and ending the decade in 1988 with 'Blue bell knoll'.

In terms of UK album chart success, two of the albums went top 20 with 1986 'Victoria land' peaking at number 10 and in 1988 'blue bell knoll' reaching a credible 15 in the charts.

In terms of UK charts single success the band released 10 singles mainly EP's and debuted in 1982 with Lullabies EP and ending the decade with 'Carolyns fingers' which did not chart.

Only 1 single broke the top 40 which was 'Pearly-dewdrops drops' which peaked at 29 in 1984. The success duly arrived in the nineties when after the house and madchester scene, there was a market for there more ambient sound and some of there earlier material was used.

The band eventually split in 1996 due to personal issues for Fraser and Guthrie but the sound they made still holds relevance and the vocals of Fraser and the sound they produced was quite unique. Recommended listening or purchasing