5-688: This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell , founder of the British record label 4AD . 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 . The project became known for its gothic, dream pop sound, and released three full albums, beginning in 1984 with It'll End in Tears . Watts-Russell had founded 4AD in 1980, and
10-573: A few members of Modern English. 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
15-522: 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; Gordon Sharp of Cindytalk (later known as Cindy Sharp or Cinder); and
20-522: 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..."), 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: This Mortal Coil
25-515: Was not a band, but a unique collaboration of musicians recording in various permutations, the brainchild of 4AD kingpin Ivo Watts-Russell. The idea was to allow artists the creative freedom to record material outside of the realm of what was expected of them; it also created the opportunity for innovative cover versions of songs personal to Ivo. One of the label's earliest signings was Modern English . In 1983, Watts-Russell suggested that
#443556