Now updated with new material, Paint My Name in Black and Gold tells the extraordinary story of how the Sisters of Mercy came to leave an indelible mark on music.

Leeds, 1980. Amid the violence and decay, the city was home to an extraordinarily vibrant post-punk scene. Out of that swamp crawled the Sisters of Mercy. Over the next five years, they would rise from local heroes to one of Britain's leading alternative bands, producing brilliant singles, astonishing EPs, a landmark debut album and legendary live shows before blowing apart on the verge of major rock stardom.

At the centre was Andrew Eldritch, a singular and mesmerising frontman who combined the literary intensity of T. S. Eliot with the otherworldly glamour of David Bowie. Around him came two classic line-ups: Craig Adams on bass, Gary Marx and Ben Gunn, later replaced by Wayne Hussey, on guitars, and a drum machine called Doktor Avalanche.

Hussey and Adams styled themselves as the Evil Children and played hard both on and off stage; Gunn and Marx were very different characters, with Marx responsible for some of the Sisters' most delicate and beautiful music. Together, this unlikely collection of personalities created a sound and mythology that came to make transcendent and life-changing music.



Mark Andrews is a writer and journalist whose acclaimed series of articles for The Quietus explored the early years of the Sisters of Mercy. He has also written for Louder, Middle East Times, Bangkok Metro and Flanders Today. Originally from Warwickshire, he has lived and worked in the UK and Egypt and now lives in Belgium.