Interviews

Andrew Eldritch on 120 Minutes - 1991-1-28

I transcribed Andrews appearance on 120 minutes for you UK and cable-less people out there. Andrew was most amusiong and ANYTHING he says should be taken with a bit of salt, as his facial,eyebrows expressions really indicate when he's not serious.

I couldn't make note of it all or this would be HUGE.

Andrew Eldritch on 120 Minutes-1/28/91

My comments and Andrews facial expressions are in()

Andrew holds an unlit cigarette throughout the interview and has his dark

glasses on so you can't see his eyes

+++++++++++++cut here if it will make you feel better+++++++++++++++++++++++++

brief clip of "Black Planet"

Dave Kendall-It's MTV's 120 Minutes. Andrew Eldritch of the Sisters of Mercy is

here.

Andrew-(waves)

D-And if there was any doubt about the Sisters of Mercy's latest album title

Vision Thing being a reference to the lack of George Bush's vision

thing, that doubt is dispelled by a lyric in the title track where you

talk about the million points of light.

A-(shows t-shirt with Bush/Noriega 88 on it)

D- Oh, Bush/Noriega. Can we get a close-up of this wonderous shirt?

A-It says on the back, "a desperate choice for desperates times."

D-Now did you read about Bush's lack of vision thing in the press? How did

you, is that widely reported in Europe?

A-It came from his own mouth. Yes it is widely reported in Europe. Not only

widely reported, but probably more widely listened too than in America.

D-And you, you've been living in Hamburg for the past, what, few years now.

A- Yeah, about six years now on and off. yeah

D- And since we're talking politics. What do you think of Mr. Bush's war?

A-I wish it wasn't his war. Think there has to be a war. But I wish it wasn't

so much his war, that not his fault. That's the fault of other people

for not joining in enough. I just wish he was doing the right thing for

the right reason.

D- Why does there have to be a war?(Dave gets in over his head here)

Do you mean Christianity and Islam? Or just about this specific issue?

A-About Kuwait. I don't like the Kuwait government more than anybody else. But

it's the government of Kuwait(short pause before each word to sort of

convey the least vile of two choices but I don't have to like it kind

of thing)

D-Now as an album, Vision Thing is probably as horrific and intense as pretty

much anything including classical music. Now when you're writing

songs.....

A-(interrupts, playfully indignant) It's a very jolly record!!!

D-Oh yeah, right. (somewhat incredulous) A barrel of laughs, right.

A-It is, it is! (short pause, then serious again) Anyway, yes.

D-Are you in a rage when you write lyrics?

A-No, I was in a very droll mood when we wrote Vision Thing. I don't thik

it's a very angry record. It's a gung-ho record, but it's not angry because

it's very confident. I think people only get angry when they're

frustrated. And for me there's no sense of frustration or victim on

this record. It's wonderfully cruel, wonderfully arrogant. And very

droll I think. I think it's avery jolly record.

D-More on Vision Thing. Right here the first video. This is MOre from the

Sisters of Mercy.

plays More

D-More from the Sisters of Mercy. Andrew, who are the women appearing in that

video?

A-(smiles) If they'd taken their masks off at any stage I'd be able to tell

you. (pause) They're people from Los Angeles...that's like a lifeform

which is kinda like New York people, but substantially different.

D-Now also making an appearance in that video is the Sisters of Mercy's

newest member, Tony James of Sigue Sigue Sputnik. I wanna ask you just

why you hooked up with him in the second 60 of 120 minutes.

A-(Smiles at Dave's segue)

120 theme music plays

D-Dave Kendall with you for the second 60 of 120 Minutes. Andrew Eldritch of

the Sisters of Mercy is here, I'll be talking with him in just a few

minutes...

more words, plays 2 vids then....

bit of Lucretia My Reflection

D-Welcome back to 120 Minutes. Andrew Eldritch of the Sisters of Mercy is here.

the band's new line-up includes Tony James of Sigue Sigue Sputnik.

A-Generation X. I tend not to think of him as a person in Sigue Sigue Sputnik.

(smiles)

D-Do you admire him more for his work in Gen X then...

A-As a bass player undoubtedly because uh, Sputnik weren't really a musical

phenomenon. I respect Tony as a person more for what he did with

Sputnik , but I wouldn't _dream_ of enjoying them through their records

Which really were peripheral.

D-Now also in the new line-up is Andreas Bruhne

A-Very good(finger punctuation gesture)

D-Thanks(somewhat bemused) Where is he from?

A-He's from Hamburg. He lives right around the corner from me in Hamburg. We

started working together about 18 months ago when I knew I wanted

someone else to work with. Someone who could play the guitar, someone

who played rock guitar. Real heavy. Real tight. When I wasn't sure that

we wanted a band. So really it's me and him that put the album together

And the band took shape while we were making the record.

D-Now the last album, Floodland, had Patricia Morrison playing bass on it.

Why didn't she work out....

A-Uh, that's an assumption which a lot of people make.

D- She didn't actually play bass? She was...

A- Well I'm, I'm not...

D- ...at liberty to say?

A-I'm not at liberty to say. But obviously I question the assumption.(sort of

half smiles amusedly)

D-What about some of the darker elements of your music. Do you personally not

that very seriously? As you sometimes imply in your interviews?

A-T think our music just reflects the world as it is. I do take that very

seriously. We make hard records for a hard world. We make records for

a hard world you can get by in and that you can have fun in and get off

on. And really that what the records are about. 1)it's a damn hard

world, secondly) you can get by in it, it ain'y so bad.

D-the one-two punch on the Sisters of Mercy's new album Vision Thing. Any

tour plans?

A- We've just come off the road in Europe. And we're about to go on the road,

(very pregnant pause) in Europe.(BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

D- How about the states?

A- We're looking at the states. The problem with America is our audience here'

is not very big, it's loyal but it's not very big. And we are not a

club band.(does an odd eyebrow roll kinda thing that I find impossible

to describe adequetely)It's a long time since we played in front of

less than 5,000 people and we don't intend to start now,(Its been a

long time since you played period!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) That's the problem

We'll see, if the record goes great, we'll BE here. If it doesn't, um

we'll fly over America on the way to somewhere else.(laughs and smiles)

It's sad, but that the way it is. I've got 3 trucks. I've got 3 buses.

I've got 39 people in my crew. I've got to pay'em. I can't come over

here and lose money I don't have.(notice how it's become me instead of

we now that money is involved in the conversation?)

D-Well it's the carrot and the stick approach. Buy Vision Thing and maybe

you'll get to see the Sisters of Mercy live.(I DID, i want my concert!)

Thanks very muh for coming by.

A-You're very welcome.

D-Good luck. Right here's a video off the Sisters of Mercy's last album,

Floodland. This Corrosion.

plays TC

FIN