Alice (The Sisters of Mercy song)

"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.

"Alice"
Single by The Sisters of Mercy
B-side"Floorshow"
Released21 November 1982
Genre
Length3:35
LabelMerciful Release
Songwriter(s)Andrew Eldritch
Producer(s)John Ashton
The Sisters of Mercy singles chronology
"Body Electric"
(1982)		 "Alice"
(1982)		 "Anaconda"
(1983)

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
EP by
The Sisters of Mercy
ReleasedMarch 1983
Recorded1982
Genre
Length17:12
Label
ProducerJohn Ashton
The Sisters of Mercy chronology
Alice
(1983)		 The Reptile House E.P.
(1983)
Singles from Alice
  1. "Alice/Floorshow"
    Released: November 1982

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.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Alice"Andrew EldritchEldritch3:35
2."Floorshow"EldritchCraig Adams, Eldritch, Gary Marx3:41

12" EP (1983)

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Alice"EldritchEldritch3:35
2."Floorshow"EldritchAdams, Eldritch, Marx3:41
3."Phantom"InstrumentalAdams, Marx7:11
4."1969" (Originally performed by the Stooges)James OsterbergDave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Osterberg2:45

Personnel

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
  1. Dave Thompson: Beautiful Chaos. The Psychedelic Furs. Helter Skelter Publishing 2004, page 108.
  2. "Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - 25/08/1982 Sisters Of Mercy". BBC. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  3. George Gimarc: Punk Diary. Backbeat Books 2005, page 684.
  4. "The Sisters of Mercy Ultimate Resource Guide - Official Releases". Ultimatesistersguide.org. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  5. "The Sisters Of Mercy - Alice". Discogs.com. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  6. David Quantick: New Boots And Panzers, New Musical Express, 15 December 1990, page 30.
  7. "Two sisters, at our mercy! (part one)". Ultimatesistersguide.org. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  8. "Two sisters, at our mercy! (part two)". Ultimatesistersguide.org. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  9. Gary Marx interview, Myheartland website, 6 July 2003
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