| "Alice" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Sisters of Mercy | ||||
| B-side | "Floorshow" | |||
| Released | 21 November 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:35 | |||
| Label | Merciful Release | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Andrew Eldritch | |||
| Producer(s) | John Ashton | |||
| The Sisters of Mercy singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Alice" is a song by the British rock band the Sisters of Mercy, written by vocalist Andrew Eldritch. The song was released as a non-album single by the band's own label by Merciful Release, on 21 November 1982. It was re-released in March 1983 as a 12" EP.
Recording
After one week of pre-production at Andrew Eldritch's flat in Leeds, four tracks were recorded over two weekends with producer John Ashton of the Psychedelic Furs at Kenny Giles's studio in Bridlington: "Alice", "Floorshow", Stooges cover "1969" and the unreleased "Good Things". [1] The same four songs had been previously recorded for a BBC radio session in August 1982. [2]
"Alice" and "Floorshow" were released as the band's third 7" single on 21 November 1982. [3]
Alice (EP)
| Alice | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| EP by | ||||
| Released | March 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 17:12 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer | John Ashton | |||
| The Sisters of Mercy chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Alice | ||||
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With two additional tracks, "1969" and the new recording "Phantom", the 12" EP Alice was released in March 1983.
Ashton financed a US release (the band's first) of the 12" EP on Island Park, New York label Brain Eater Records. [4] [5]
The EP was never released as a stand-alone CD, but was included on the Some Girls Wander by Mistake collection.
Track listing
7" single (1982)
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Alice" | Andrew Eldritch | Eldritch | 3:35 |
| 2. | "Floorshow" | Eldritch | Craig Adams, Eldritch, Gary Marx | 3:41 |
12" EP (1983)
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Alice" | Eldritch | Eldritch | 3:35 |
| 2. | "Floorshow" | Eldritch | Adams, Eldritch, Marx | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Phantom" | Instrumental | Adams, Marx | 7:11 |
| 4. | "1969" (Originally performed by the Stooges) | James Osterberg | Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Osterberg | 2:45 |
Personnel
- Andrew Eldritch – vocals
- Craig Adams – bass guitar
- Ben Gunn – guitar
- Gary Marx – guitar
- Doktor Avalanche (drum machine) – drums
Artist commentary
- Andrew Eldritch (1990): “My attitude to 'Alice' has changed over the years. I wrote it in ten minutes about pills and tranks when I used to care about watching people I know get dragged down by that. Now I really don't care.” [6]
- Gary Marx (1983/2003): “Ben joined us last year. The first single that we did with him was 'Alice', which was like our break in a very small way, as it got us into the indie charts [...] The Psychedelic Furs put up all the costs so it was no skin off our noses. What happened was, Andy went to see the Furs a long time ago and gave them our first tape, which they liked and gave to various people, including their manager. So we've had a lot of help and advice from them. John Ashton, the Furs' guitarist, produced 'Alice' which was the reason why it was so good. With a bit of luck he might help us with the next one.” [7] [8] “The guitar sound was my old £85 Shergold in the early days, something I’d borrowed off Jon Langford or other friends of the family, or one of Andrew’s guitars [...] We’d made ‘Alice’ with John Ashton producing who did a brilliant job, and rather than invite him to work with us again Andrew believed he’d learnt everything he could from John and took sole responsibility for [the band's follow-up single] ‘Anaconda’.” [9]
- Les Mills (manager, 2004): “I arranged for them to record with John as I felt it would benefit both parties, as the Sisters' previous recorded work had been dire and John wanted to get into production.” [1]
References
- ^ a b Dave Thompson: Beautiful Chaos. The Psychedelic Furs. Helter Skelter Publishing 2004, page 108.
- ^ "Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - 25/08/1982 Sisters Of Mercy". BBC. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
- ^ George Gimarc: Punk Diary. Backbeat Books 2005, page 684.
- ^ "The Sisters of Mercy Ultimate Resource Guide - Official Releases". Ultimatesistersguide.org. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "The Sisters Of Mercy - Alice". Discogs.com. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ David Quantick: New Boots And Panzers, New Musical Express, 15 December 1990, page 30.
- ^ "Two sisters, at our mercy! (part one)". Ultimatesistersguide.org. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
- ^ "Two sisters, at our mercy! (part two)". Ultimatesistersguide.org. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
- ^ Gary Marx interview, Myheartland website, 6 July 2003
