Songs or artists forgotten by time

OGG said:
Sisters of Mercy isn't so much "forgotten" as they are simply a lesser known band that never really achieved mainstream breakthrough visibility, especially in the USA. They are rightfully considered among the absolute royalty of the foundational "Goth" scene. More accessible than Bauhaus (but not by much), but also a few solid later in hitting the scene. It is a very interesting band in that it kinda "wasn't". The original lineup was a virtual allstar cast of future legends, but was short lived. Soon after the first record was finished, the band imploded. The core members/real talent (Wayne Hussey, Craig Adams, Simon Hinkler) split off to for "The Sisterhood" which incensed frontman Andrew Eldritch and started an epic legal battle. In short order, The Sisterhood became "The Mission" (known as The Mission UK in America). The Mission then set about a fierce run of killer music that was light years better. Andrew took his ball and his drum machine "Doktor Avalanche" (originally a Sequential Circuits DMX) and went home. He then emerged with a revolving door of band mates and supporting musicians to release the next two albums... which were still pretty good, but nothing as epic as The Mission were doing. He went full bombast with the 10+ minute "This Corrosion" from the second album. It was so absurdly over the top that it managed to crack the surface of mainstream breakthrough with plenty of airtime on MTV (in a much shorter edit) and radio. It has gone on to be a Goth Anthem rivaled only by Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead" and is a staple to this day in Goth clubs.

After the 1989 release of "Vision Thing" Andrew stumbled around for a while before embarking on several attempts to resurrect the name by touring with backing tracks and a couple of hired gun young guitarists. One such show stands out for me as the single worst show I've ever seen, and was so offensively awful that I still want my fucking money back 12 years later. He's still at it, but it's a joke.

Paul Hardcastle: These days, I call him a friend through years of mutual friends and projects. Brilliant guy, but if I'm honest... hasn't done much of substance beyond creating a gazillion different mixes and versions of his one hit "19". The song was definitely poignant and impactful at the time, but good grief Paul! Leave it alone already! :)

Wall of Voodoo is among my elite top tier favorite bands. I loved all their output whether it was the first incarnation with Stan Ridgway or the second with Andy Prieboy. My first three real concerts included WoV including the US Festival 1983. I just love them. Stan is still doing his solo thing and is always fun to watch. Sadly, little remains of the band today. Two key members passed away long ago.

I was 12 years old when my older brother in law got me hooked on their first album "Dark Continent" which I went out and bought on cassette with money I earned mowing lawns. Inside the inner foldout was a little blurb that read "Correspondence" and had a P.O. Box in Los Angeles. Being a stupid kid, I wrote a fan letter and sent it that address. A few weeks later I got a hand written reply from Stan Ridgway that included a pair of buttons (the kind we all used to pin on our Army jackets). It was a really sweet and genuine gesture that made me a fan for life. I still have that letter. The pins were lost over three decades ago.
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Sisters Of Mercy achieved some recognition in the UK, enough for a couple of Top Of The Pops appearences at least. He must be doing OK as I saw them advertised at The Roundhouse a few months ago. Can't imagine there will be anyone in the audience under 40 though.

Thats what reminded me of them and got me listening again. I'd forgotten all about The Mission though! Thanks for the reminder, going to jump down that rabbit hole now :thu:
 
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Chad said:
When I bought my record player a few weeks ago, I went into my record collection. Half of my records are ones I bought in the 80s when I was into metal and punk, the other half are my uncles old records. My uncle lived with us until I was 13 and he was into all kinds of music, but I mostly have his mellower ones, like Poco, CSYN, Buffalo Springfield and this little gem.


I didn't remember this record and for the life of me couldn't remember the band Fools Gold. Put on the record and knew every song word for word. It was crazy.
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They were Dan Fogelberg's back up band. In fact a great Fogelberg song is on that album.

How about this one? Written by Nick Lowe
 
iamjethro said:
They were Dan Fogelberg's back up band. In fact a great Fogelberg song is on that album.

How about this one? Written by Nick Lowe
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Well that explains it. My uncle was a huge Fogelberg fan. I have 3 or 4 of his records too.
 
^^^^ I have the 12" vinyl of that. Sad, but true.

@Bones McHorror I was thinking more about Propaganda for you. You seem to like northern European women fronting synth tunes.
 
pmc100 said:
Sisters Of Mercy achieved some recognition in the UK, enough for a couple of Top Of The Pops appearences at least.
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The Sisters of Mercy were a big deal in UK alternative music in the 80s, you went into any little town in the country and you'd see some goth in a black biker jacket with the 'Merciful Release' sign painted on the back.

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I saw them at Wembley Arena in '91.
 
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Lloyd Cole & The Commotions were another kinda big deal in 80s British indie pop. He was a bit of a rival for The Smiths for a while in mainstream charts penetration, then just dropped off.

I think of him as being the 'Simple Minds' to The Smiths' 'U2'.
 
No nononono .... Lloyd Cole is a major artist; he's not been forgotten at all.

His band circa 1990 (after the dissolution of the Commotions) included Fred Maher, Robert Quine and Matthew Sweet. That's pretty amazing. Next band had Dave Derby and Jill Sobule. He released a bunch of well-received albums, and then sort of effortlessly eased into his dotage/legacy phase, doing acoustic tours with his son and releasing albums of both guitar-based songs and synth drones.

His songs are not only covered by a wide range of artists, but referred to in others' songs, which IMHO makes him far from lost to time.

Here's a great song that didn't even make an album. Quine is all over this in his typically tasteful way.

 
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