B-side "Torch"
"Colours" Format 7"
12"
CD Label Merciful Release | Released September 1987 Length 10:55 | |
Recorded 1987 at Power Station Studios (Manhattan, New York) | ||
"This Corrosion" is a song from the album Floodland by The Sisters of Mercy. It was released as a single in 1987 reaching number 2 in the UK Charts.
Contents
The song was written by Andrew Eldritch and produced by Jim Steinman, and is recognised as one of the band's most well-known songs. It uses a 40-piece choir, and the LP version of the song lasts for nearly 11 minutes (the single versions are substantially shorter). Eldritch's lyrics concern his previous band members leaving The Sisters of Mercy to form The Mission. The lead singer of The Mission, Wayne Hussey was once a guitarist for the Sisters of Mercy, and Andrew Eldritch once described his lyrics as being "a string of cliches." The lyrics of the song are meant to be a parody of Hussey's lyrics.
Legacy
The track was featured in the 2013 science-fiction comedy film, The World's End, with star Simon Pegg playing a 40-something who had been a "goth"/alternative rock fan in the 1980s as a youth who still styled himself on The Sisters of Mercy front man, Andrew Eldritch. It's played 2 times in the film and in the film's closing credits. The 7" version/single edit (4:27) appears on the soundtrack to the film.
Track listing
- "This Corrosion" - 4:27
- "Torch" - 3:50
- "This Corrosion" - 8:37
- "Torch" - 3:50
- "Colours" - 7:13
- "This Corrosion" - 11:21
- "Torch" - 3:55
- "Colours" - 4:16
While none of the mixes have names, the 7", 12" and CD versions of "This Corrosion" are all different. "Colours" is an edited version on the CD single.