| This Mortal Coil | |
| Origin: | United Kingdom |
| Years Active: | 1983–1991 |
| Label: | 4AD |
| Spinoffs: | The Hope Blister |
| Past Members: | Ivo Watts-Russell John Fryer |
This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD.[1] Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom were otherwise associated with 4AD, including members of Cocteau Twins, Pixies and Dead Can Dance.[2] The project became known for its gothic, dream pop sound, and released three full albums, beginning in 1984 with It'll End in Tears.[3]
Watts-Russell had founded 4AD in 1980, and the label established itself as one of the key labels in the British post-punk movement. Following several releases, Watts-Russell developed the idea of collaborating under the name This Mortal Coil. The name is taken from lyrics to the song Dream Within A Dream by Spirit ("...Stepping off this mortal coil will be my pleasure..."),[4] which in turn is a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet ("... what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil...").
The 4AD website said:
One of the label's earliest signings was Modern English. In 1983, Watts-Russell suggested that the band re-record two of its earliest songs, "Sixteen Days" and "Gathering Dust", as a medley. At the time, the band was closing its set with this medley, and Watts-Russell felt it was strong enough to warrant a re-recording. When the band rebuffed the idea, Watts-Russell decided to assemble a group of musicians to record the medley: Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins; Cindy Sharp of Cindytalk; and a few members of Modern English.[5] An EP, Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust, resulted from these sessions. A cover of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren", performed by Fraser and Guthrie alone, was recorded as a B-side for the EP. Pleased with the results, Watts-Russell decided to make this the A-side of the 7" single version of the EP, and the song quickly became an underground hit, leading Watts-Russell to pursue the recording of a full album under the This Mortal Coil moniker, 1984's It'll End in Tears.[5]
In June 1998, Watts-Russell began releasing albums in a similar vein to his TMC projects, under the name The Hope Blister.[6]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [7] | UK Indie [8] | NL [9] | NZ [10] | |||
| It'll End in Tears | 38 | 1 | — | 42 | ||
| Filigree & Shadow |
| 53 | 2 | — | — | |
| Blood |
| 28 | — | 58 | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
| Title | Album details | |
|---|---|---|
| 1983–1991 |
| |
| This Mortal Coil |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK Indie | BE (FL) [11] | NL [12] | NZ [13] | ||||
| "Song to the Siren" | 1983 | 66 | 3 | — | 39 | 8 | It'll End in Tears | |
| "Kangaroo" | 1984 | 92 | 2 | — | — | — | ||
| "Come Here My Love"/"Drugs" (limited release) | 1986 | 90 | 2 | — | — | — | Filigree & Shadow | |
| "You and Your Sister" (Benelux and France-only release) | 1991 | — | — | 42 | 13 | — | Blood | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||