Gary Marx (Sisters Of Mercy / Ghostdance)

Nearly 13 years after first coming into being Nineteen Ninety Five and Nowhere receives its first official release on the French independent label D-monic this Winter. Recently completed and re-mastered the new 10 track album features songs originally written in 1995 by The Sisters of Mercy co-founder(with Ben Gun) Gary Marx at the invitation of Sisters’ supremo Andrew Eldritch. The material was intended to represent the pair’s first collaboration since the landmark Sisters’ album ‘First and Last and Always’ of 1984, but the notoriously wilful singer pulled out of the project without uttering a single word. The backing tracks went unheard until relatively recently when Marx, convinced of the material’s obvious strength, decided to finish the songs himself, writing lyrics and adding his own distinctive vocals. The response on hearing the results among the Sisters fan-base was immediate and the clamour for the tracks prompted him to make 7 of the songs available via the internet. Despite continual pressure to make the songs more widely available Marx had refused to be drawn until the approach of the Paris based label. Now with all 10 songs included for the first time the album has been re-mastered and re-packaged and is due for release on December 1st 2007. Despite (or perhaps because of ) the twisted path the songs have had to walk these long years, the album works as much more than a mere taste of what might have been – it serves as ample reminder of Marx’s undoubted ability as a writer and guitarist and is essential listening for anyone who has followed his career to date or for newcomers looking for an introduction to his work.The start of Ghostdance came when Gary Marx left THE SISTERS OF MERCY at almost the same time as Anne Marie left the SKELETAL FAMILY, Anne Marie contacted Gary suggesting they join forces either for a one off venture or a more permanent set-up. They knew each other by sight from the Leeds/Bradford music scene and had toured together when the Skeletal Family supported the Sisters on their Black October UK tour in 1984. Steve Smith had left RED LORRY YELLOW LORRY some short time before this and was poised to help out in any new venture Gary put together. 1986 was a landmark year for the band with three 12” singles released and the line-up changing until finally settling with the five people who would work together for the next three years. There is no definite end date to the Ghostdance story but the final gig was in Amsterdam on December 4th 1989 a little over four years after their very first gig at N.E. London Poly.Find also Gary Marx on www.virb.com at : www.virb.com/garymarx