One week at number one on w/e 22nd February 1986
When we last visited the NME Indie Number One spot, we bore witness to a group riding the wave of some arguably unjustified hype with a nonetheless marvellous single. If Easterhouse have since become largely forgotten, nobody could fairly begrudge them their one moment in the sun. “Giving Ground”, on the other hand, is a bird of a different feather, a one-off indie hit created through gossip and confusion with some of the public potentially not understanding who the group even were.
The Sisters Of Mercy began to have some serious wobbles while recording their second (aborted) album, the prophetically and provisionally titled “Left On Mission And Revenge”. Guitarist Wayne Hussey offered a series of songs to Andrew Eldritch for potential inclusion, all of which were promptly rejected by either Eldritch or guitarist Craig Adams. Eldritch then put forward his minimal ideas, one of which, according to Hussey, consisted of just one chord. Adams and Hussey promptly left the group due to the usual (and in this case not inaccurate) claim of “musical differences”, and formed their own group The Sisterhood, announcing their plans to the music press and releasing news of a forthcoming live show and radio session with Janice Long.
Eldritch, however, was rattled by this, seeing the name The Sisterhood as a deliberate continuation of The Sisters of Mercy brand, which all parties had agreed not to use after the group’s dissolution. As a result, he considered his limited options, and decided to put a single out using that band name himself – later stating in Melody Maker that they “patently had to be stopped. And when they wanted to be called the Sisterhood, there was nothing I could do but be the Sisterhood before them – the only way to kill that name was to use it, then kill it.”
He promptly registered a company under the name and spent five days recording the single “Giving Ground”, playing all the instruments himself and giving lead vocal duties to recent Merciful Release signing James Ray (of James Ray & The Performance) to avoid any contractual complications.
Meanwhile, Hussey and Adams were left at a sticky wicket, and had to record their Radio One session under the ungainly pub rock name The Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams Band, reverting to the name The Mission at the end of February. Eldritch responded with a press release stating “We assume that their choice of name is entirely unconnected with the forthcoming Andrew Eldritch album that for some months has had the working title ‘Left on Mission and Revenge’”. This might have suggested further legal brouhaha was to follow, but fortunately the bickering stopped there (in public at least; Hussey has since said that various solicitor’s letters still circulated in private).
This soap opera played out in the press and on the airwaves across a number of weeks, and gave both parties more gossip column and news section inches than they would ordinarily receive – for some reason, there is little music fans enjoy more than two stubborn, egocentric band members at loggerheads with each other. Such things are usually the preserve of rock monsters rather than cult goth bands who had yet to score a single hit, but the subsequent publicity seemed to drive fans into record stores out of curiosity. As well as those swept along by the press, there may also have been a few confused fans in the mix who thought they were buying Hussey’s new record due to his earlier announcement.
And what were these unfortunate souls getting for their money? Not much. “Giving Ground” suffers from being a rushed creation recorded with a strategy, rather than a strong creative outcome, in mind. Opening with a minute of Numanoid synths before introducing a somewhat tedious bassline and basic drum machine track, it takes an indulgent two minutes to bring Ray’s vocals properly into the mix, which are hesitant and slightly too bright, failing to sell the idea (such as it is). The song then spends seven-and-a-half minutes going nowhere in particular. You wait and wait for something to emerge – a chorus, a change of mood, a rush of adrenalin or fury, or even some ambience - but the track bumps along the seabed, a flatulent seacow mooing along a dull, non-divergent course.
Fans of Eldritch may find elements to admire here. As a non-fan who only loves a few Sisters of Mercy singles, I find this single overlong and bereft of either experimentation, atmosphere, intrigue or interesting melody. A more ambitious production may have created a moderately acceptable purse out of this pig’s ear, but inevitably nobody involved really had the motivation to spend a fortune on what was effectively a legal block on 45.
In the event, Eldritch didn’t keep his promise to ditch the Sisters of Mercy name, and even recorded again using The Sisterhood guise, ostensibly as another legal block to cash in on some major label chips (though by this point, I'm losing the will to explain all the Judge Rinder elements of this). The subsequent 1986 album “Gift” included “Giving Ground” accompanied by a number of other doomy electronic tracks, some of which pulse with a frantic urgency seldom found in Eldritchland, others of which are yet more gloomy, half-baked indulgence.
“Giving Ground” is probably one of the worst indie number ones we’ve covered so far, down there with the Anti Nowhere League and some of the worst Oi! honkers Gary Bushell ever pushed in the faces of poor, unsuspecting teenagers. At least the bearded future Sun columnist knew no better.
New Entries Elsewhere In The Charts
11. Depeche Mode - Stripped (Mute)
Peak position: 4
Given that it’s the opening track of their second compilation “Singles 86-98”, it’s tempting to see “Stripped” as a new dawn for Depeche Mode; the emergence of a serious alternative group rather than the continuation of a "mere" synth-pop band.
This ignores numerous complexities – the fact that the likes of “Blasphemous Rumours” and “Shake The Disease” had already moved far away from the likes of “Meaning Of Love”, and also the fact that despite their existing progression, “Stripped” isn’t exactly Xmal Deutschland or Cabaret Voltaire either. Depeche were closer, at this point, to synthetic rock than dark, dank artful burblings.
Still, it’s a complicated and beautifully strident single which deserves more time and thought than we’re able to give it here; some fans have wondered whether the entire thing is a tribute to Winston and Julia’s rural escapades in “1984”, which brings a new meaning to the otherwise somewhat stilted lines “Let me hear you make decisions/ without your television/ let me hear you speaking just for me”.
I doubt the theory is correct, but the territory being covered is much the same; the couple in the song experience love and sexual intimacy against a hostile, dystopian urban backdrop. In the video, the group smash up cars in time to the track’s sledgehammer rhythms, while images are projected over them. It’s the kind of idea Radiohead would play with frequently many years later, but in 1986, this expression of Ludditism, technophobia and future fear from a synth band felt fresh, contradictory and very interesting.
12. Swans - Time Is Money EP (Bastard)
Peak position: 10
If Depeche’s populism at number 11 doesn’t immediately feel apparent, wrap your ears around the heavy industry at number 12. It’s possible to join the dots between Gahan and Gore and Swans here, but you get the impression the latter wouldn’t be flattered by you doing so.
“Time Is Money” is an impressive creation in that there’s barely a single traditional use of standard non-rhythmic instrumentation anywhere, but it still has a clear structure, and hangs together much more impressively than the single in the number one position. In fact, the fury behind this rarely stops being startling and compelling, even once you think you’ve got the hang of the idea.
13. The Television Personalities - How I learned To Love The ...Bomb! (Dreamworld)
Peak position: 13
Dan Treacy was beginning to get a bad rap at this point – or praise, depending on who you spoke to - for “inventing twee/cutie bands”, but this single proves that he was often a lot more acerbic than that. “Bomb” is a deliberately sarcastic shot against all the “adults” and “realists” in society who were doing their best to make us feel safe in those dark nuclear days, often only succeeding in making us feel more anxious.
Its piercing sneer probably felt like a cathartic revelation in 1986. It doesn’t exactly feel irrelevant in 2025 either.
19. Rema - Germaine (Gas)
Peak position: 19
26. Revolting Cocks - No Devotion (Beauty and Beast)
Peak position: 26
Debut appearance for the industrial “supergroup” consisting at this point of Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc Van Acker and Al Jourgensen of Ministry. The name was derived from an insult a French waiter fired at Jourgensen in a restaurant after he practiced his revolting French expressions out on him while ordering a meal.
Compared to the vulgar and harsh directions the group eventually went in, “No Devotion” is surprisingly subtle and almost funky in places; like Fad Gadget going to the electro disco.
28. Cherry Bombz - Hot Girls In Love (Lick)
Peak position: 10
None of us really expected to see Anita Chellemah of Toto Coelo return as the front person of a rock band, but there she was, proud and larger than life, singing for eighties glam rockers Cherry Bombz. If Toto Coelo were somewhat stylised, choreographed and aloof, her performances by 1986 made Wendy James seem introverted.
As the promo video proves, she slotted into her new role unbelievably well, to the point where Mercury Records got excited by their potential and signed them for a deal. It was all for nought, though. While Cherry Bombz were known for their thrilling live shows, their recordings ultimately weren’t distinctive enough to stand out from the numerous other soft rockers and glam rockers in that era. While their cover of Loverboy’s “Hot Girls In Love” has a rawness and edge the original lacks, it wasn’t enough to break them overground.
Billy Ocean - "When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going" (Jive)
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