Paint My Name in Black and Gold: The Rise of the Sisters of Mercy

Leeds, 1980. Amidst the city's grim backdrop of violence and decay, an extraordinarily vibrant post-punk scene flourished. From this environment emerged the Sisters of Mercy. Over the subsequent five years, they transformed from local heroes into a leading alternative band, only to implode on the cusp of major rock stardom. Their journey was marked by brilliant singles, astonishing EPs, exceptional album tracks, and legendary live performances.

Two classic line-ups were formed and subsequently dissolved: Andrew Eldritch on vocals, Craig Adams on bass, Gary Marx and Ben Gunn – later replaced by Wayne Hussey – on guitars, and a drum machine named Doktor Avalanche. Hussey and Adams, self-styled as the Evil Children, embraced a hard-living rock and roll lifestyle both on and off stage. Neither Gunn nor Marx were natural wild men, yet the latter performed with such abandon that it was hard to believe he also penned the Sisters' most delicate and beautiful music. Eldritch, however, was the most peculiar and compelling of them all – a singular and mesmerising blend of T. S. Eliot and David Bowie, who laid a powerful claim to being the greatest rock star of his generation.

Drawing on dozens of interviews with band members and key figures in the Sisters' journey, Paint My Name in Black and Gold offers the most complete account yet of how, against all odds and reasonable expectation, these young men created transcendent and life-changing music.