Andrew Eldritch
Andrew Eldritch (born Andrew William Harvey Taylor, 15 May 1959) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the Sisters of Mercy, a band that emerged from the British post-punk scene, transformed into a gothic rock band, and, in later years, flirted with hard rock.
Andrew Eldritch
Andrew William Harvey Taylor
15 May 1959
Ely, Cambridgeshire, England
- Vocals
- guitar
- keyboards
- drum machine
- drums
- percussion
- bass guitar
Formerly a drummer, Eldritch also programs the tracks for the Sisters of Mercy's drum machine (known as "Doktor Avalanche") and plays guitars and keyboards in its studio recordings but uses live shows to focus solely on his vocal performance. Eldritch is well known for his deep and melancholic bass-baritone singing voice as well as his poetic (and sometimes politically charged) lyrics.
The Sisters of Mercy is regarded as a major influence on gothic rock, and Eldritch, with his (former) shock of black hair, bass-baritone vocal style and pale and thin look (with prominent cheekbones), was described in the media as a poster boy for the genre, earning him the label "the Godfather of Goth",[1] which he frequently rejects.
He also established the record label Merciful Release. In addition to the Sisters of Mercy, in 1986 Andrew Eldritch established a side-project, the Sisterhood, which was quickly abandoned in favour of continuing working under the Sisters of Mercy.
Early life and education[edit]
Andrew Eldritch was born on 15 May 1959 in the small cathedral city Ely. He later wrote a piano song named "1959", referring to the year of his birth and starting with the line "Living as an angel in the place that I was born".
Eldritch studied French and German literature at the University of Oxford before moving to Leeds around 1978 to study Mandarin Chinese at the University of Leeds: he left both courses before graduating. He speaks fluent French and German and has some knowledge of Dutch, Italian, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, and Latin, but stated he had forgotten the Chinese he learned.[2] During this period, Eldritch was a freelance drummer in the local Leeds punk scene.