Photography Floodland era

THE place for your Sisters-related comments, questions and snippets of Sisters information. For those who do not know, The Sisters of Mercy are a rock'n'roll band. And a pop band. And an industrial groove machine. Or so they say. They make records. Lots of records, apparently. But not in your galaxy. They play concerts. Lots of concerts, actually. But you still cannot see them. So what's it all about, Alfie? This is one of the few tightly-moderated forums on Heartland, so please keep on-topic. All off-topic posts will either be moved or deleted. Chairman Bux is the editor and the editor's decision is final. Danke.
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Villemorien
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Hi all!

For a book about postpunk/wave/goth 1980-1990 I'm also looking for photos of The Sisters of this era - basically because it's my own favourite era and the promotional photos are quite spread, I've noticed. However, it's still rather hard to trace down the photographers and HQ files (which is needed when printing in books obv.).

I'm basically looking for promophotos of Andrew and Patricia. I really love the shooting they did for the Dominion video and booklet. The following shoot was published in a german mag Image *example pic*

My questions:
1. Have you photographed the band around this time yourself OR do you know any photographers who did.
2. Does anyone own the poster that was in the Dominion box? What photographer is mentioned in this release?

p.s. I'm looking for less spread promo photos too. Like photos in series that weren't used as the final promo one.

Hope some of the fans can help me out :)
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dinky daisy
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Hi,

I'm surprised by your research skills, BUT...

There's also a booklet / sleeve that comes with your favorite goth album.

If you take a look inside, you will find, for instance, a mister called Tom Sheehan. (don't tell anyone)

Now google this Tom Sheehan combined with the word "photography" and a miracle might happen.

Or not.

Cheers.
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LyanvisAberrant
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dinky daisy wrote:Hi,

I'm surprised by your research skills, BUT...

There's also a booklet / sleeve that comes with your favorite goth album.

If you take a look inside, you will find, for instance, a mister called Tom Sheehan. (don't tell anyone)

Now google this Tom Sheehan combined with the word "photography" and a miracle might happen.

Or not.

Cheers.
But keep your head down ;)
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Villemorien
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You obv didnt read well. You have no clue what research is done apart from also dropping a message on a board like this one too. It could be the case someone (roadies?) on here ever was involved making that video / remembers from old magazines/promophotos who shot those. I'm asking a longgoing fanbase here, not a smartass like you.

First of all, i'm not talking about Floodland booklet/CD but the Dominion shoots. The ones in Jordan. More photographers have been involved around this area, and of course i heard of them. I'm only looking for the dominion/jordan photos (preferably). I've got a idea would that would be (P.(aul?) Rider (that was in the jordan interview in a german magazine). He has not confirmed he did this (yet).
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markfiend
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Blimey.

Moderator hat on

Can we try not to be obnoxious to people asking valid questions please?

Moderator hat off

Villemorien: IIRC there are some people on here with quite long-standing connections to the band who might be able to help. I just don't remember who they are.
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
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Villemorien
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Also i don't own the floodland album (this corrosion version is annoying and so are 2 other songs) - and discogs/google often gives: ''Alistair Thain, Mike Owen'' as photographers for this album. Those are in researchlist/have been contacted too.

I'm not really looking for empty replies like the first, If there's more constructive information by one of the fans on here, email instead; postpunkproject@gmail.com

@ markfiend: thanks.
I'm really looking for obscure stuff and/or never seen material as well. Some photos of that era are supercommon, i'm very willing/enthusiastic to dig up more. This nest of Mercy fans seems the best source/place to start digging in (private!) fan archives.
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Villemorien
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Aso, I'm speaking about this dominion box set poster, so you know

Image

more photos have been shot in this series in jordan - does someone own the poster (I sadly don't) and can have a quick look if it mentiones photocredits on it/inside the box?
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Big Si
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Unfortunately there are no photo credits in the box set.

Smash Hits Magazine did a feature back in 1988 on the video production though. It appeared that one of their journalists and a photographer accompanied the band to the shoot in Petra.
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Pista
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Was it Smash Hits?
I recall Sounds doing something.

But just found your old post here

http://www.myheartland.co.uk/viewtopic. ... 972#375972
Cheers.
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Being645
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This one is from German ME/Sounds May 1988

Image

see http://www.ultimatesistersguide.org/doc ... htm#div010

No info about the photographer, though ...
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paint it black
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I have a couple from the desert set taken Feb 88. They belong with a WEA German press release first published 12.02.88.

The guys behind sisters promotion at that time were Rush Release Limited in London SW12 9SJ

I have in mind I have a couple of interviews about the photo shoots. In particular one with Pat laughing about the size of his head. I have a very large number of press articles so it might take time to find

.... goes off muttering about gold
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mh
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By odd coincidence, I just came across these earlier today: http://www.ultimatesistersguide.org/doc ... zines1.htm
Why didn't you tell Andrew that it looked like his head had been cut out, enlarged and stuck back on his shoulders on the cover of "Dominion"?

"Ha! Why don't you tell him. I wish somebody else would!
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dinky daisy
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Well, i'm sorry for sounding not so friendly.

I lived in a cave for ages.
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stufarq
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Pista wrote:Was it Smash Hits?
I recall Sounds doing something.

But just found your old post here

http://www.myheartland.co.uk/viewtopic. ... 972#375972
There was definitely a Smash Hits one too. (I read Smash Hits at the time but not Sounds.) That was the article where Patricia said she'd convinced a reluctant Von to buy the white suit by telling him "It'll make you shine like a god."
Any more of that and we'll be round your front door with the quick-setting whitewash and the shaved monkey.
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Pista
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stufarq wrote: That was the article where Patricia said she'd convinced a reluctant Von to buy the white suit by telling him "It'll make you shine like a god."
:lol:
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Road Kill
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OP, find out who owns copyright on the shots/era you're looking for. The photographer does not always own/retain copyright - often it gets transferred to the person/s who commissioned the shoot.

There's no point contacting the photographer if the photographer didn't retain copyright.

One-time publication rights for editorial shouldn't be too hard, depending on how much image control is exercised and/or how desperate a band is for publicity and exposure.

Hope that helps.

A lot of people back in the day thought whoever held the negatives held the copyright. Not so.

Oh, BTW, if there's any coin to be made in rock photography, can you let me know about it :lol:
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iesus
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Today i heard the best first-timer comment about the white suit in Dominion/Mother Russia era in Petra, see image below

Image

"Omg, that costume is like a milkman's suit..." ;D

Thanks to my 73 year old Daddy for a memorable sisters related quote :notworthy: :notworthy:
'Are we the Baddies?'...
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bearskin
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stufarq wrote:Patricia said she'd convinced a reluctant Von to buy the white suit by telling him "It'll make you shine like a god."
I am a huge fan of the suit itself, I think it's a good thing. It just doesn't really suit him.

I actually thought the whole Dominion video (and photos) was ridiculous. TSOM lost me a bit there.
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million voices
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Maybe someone misheard, I cold have been "s**t like a job" (as in big).
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Perki
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bearskin wrote:
stufarq wrote:Patricia said she'd convinced a reluctant Von to buy the white suit by telling him "It'll make you shine like a god."
I am a huge fan of the suit itself, I think it's a good thing. It just doesn't really suit him.

I actually thought the whole Dominion video (and photos) was ridiculous. TSOM lost me a bit there.
It was ridiculous, but brilliant too. I've always loved the video because it's so different from everything else they had done. I think it suits the song (and the suit suits Eldritch :innocent:)
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mh
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Dominion and the suit (no, let's make it "The Suit") were my first real intro to the Sisters so I've always had a soft spot for that image, although I was convinced that Eldritch was blind for a short while back then.
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Being645
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The whole Dominion video with that bombast setting in the Middle East, with the white clothes (suit AND dress),
Eldritch with beard, shades and walking stick, Morrison with overlong black finger nails and lots of black mascara,
the white Mercedes and the whole Eldritch . /. Patrica "storyline" is a giant joke ... and even gaining in the long run ... :lol: ...
* well ok, politically, the joke is still true but not so lovely ... *sigh


Btw,
Patricia said she'd convinced a reluctant Von to buy the white suit by telling him "It'll make you shine like a god."
:lol: :lol: ... oh hell, I wonder, what exactly was convincing in this suggestion ... Image
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Road Kill
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Correct me if I am wrong (or confirm if I am right, please) but Andrew Eldritch admitted to be thoroughly drunk during the filming of that white suit video?

(We all have our own individual way of 'limbering up' before something important, right?)

OP, how about you contact Mick Mercer, whoever he is, and pick his brains....
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stufarq
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mh wrote:Dominion and the suit (no, let's make it "The Suit") were my first real intro to the Sisters so I've always had a soft spot for that image
Me too. And the suit works perfectly for the video (which works perfectly for the song). It's that old fashioned thing about wearing a white suit in the tropics.
Any more of that and we'll be round your front door with the quick-setting whitewash and the shaved monkey.
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bearskin
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[quote="stufarq"It's that old fashioned thing about wearing a white suit in the tropics.[/quote]

Yes - that's exactly what I like about it. it's old school and cool - in many ways a bit like Von himself - but I just don't think it looks right on him.

What others seem to like about the video etc, is what I don't like about it. I really didn't like the whole over-the-top video thing - with TC and Dominion, where it looked to me that Eldritch was just our trying to spend as much as possible. To me, TSOM were more grungy than that - I always thought of them playing small dingy clubs dressed in black (and leather) and wearing shades indoors. The whole big-budget thing wasn't what I needed from them.
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