The very definition of a cult band, The Sisters of Mercy have been something of an obsession for many fans over a period of decades: for some, merely copying the look of the band is the priority, for others it’s attending as many gigs as possible by the group, and for others still, arguably the largest of these three sub-group constituencies, the fascination manifests itself in the mania of collecting.
Collectors become obsessed with tracking down every item, and indeed every last alternative version of each item, within their own specialism. The recent Record Collector special edition devoted to Siouxsie Sioux padded out its content with what turned out to be very interesting interviews with a variety of collectors and their most valued pieces, and when Ian C suggested in the Moderators’ chat group for Phil Verne’s 1980-1985 The Sisters of Mercy unofficial Facebook fan page that he felt that members of that Facebook group would be interested in hearing from some of the foremost Sisters collectors, we were delighted when Bruno Bossier agreed to be interviewed about how his legendary collection had developed over the years. Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with Bruno’s name as he has generously provided images of many items from his collection to illustrate blog posts here for more than a decade, so it’s especially interesting to learn about the provenance of the items and the fan behind the collection.
Each collector tends to specialise in a specific area - for some it might be bootleg live LPs, for others, it might be different versions of First And Last And Always from around the world, and Bruno is well-known amongst Sisters aficionados for his unrivalled collection of concert ephemera (posters, tickets, flyers etc) from the 1989-1985 era in particular.
The world of collecting in the pre-internet days was a shadowy milieu of PO Boxes and under the counter deals in backstreet record shops, but although the Web has brought items into a more easily accessible domain, many collectors guard their sources and tricks of the trade as closely as European families keep the secret of a wild truffle location. So we are particularly indebted to Bruno for not only taking the time and trouble to give such detailed answers to the questions that follow, but also for his characteristic generosity in sharing some tips to help other collectors fill gaps in their own collections.
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Hi Bruno, thanks for agreeing to the interview, and I’m delighted to see that you’ve brought a few items along to share with us, but before we get onto those rare items, everyone has a starting point. How did your own obsession with The Sisters of Mercy begin?
Before I talk about my obsession, let me take you back to the very beginning.
I discovered The Sisters of Mercy back in 1983 with Alice and Temple of Love—like probably many others. I was 15 at the time, and if memory serves me right, it must have been through someone at school. I was immediately hooked and became a huge fan.
When I started going out to parties, the highlight of the night was always when Temple of Love came on. Most people would leave the dancefloor, making space for the “tough” crowd. I can still picture myself dancing and pogoing with all the others dressed in black.
I began following the Sisters, but you have to understand—there was no internet back then, and I wasn’t subscribed to any music magazines. It was really difficult to stay informed about upcoming concerts, especially those outside my local area. That’s why I had no idea they played Lier and Deinze in 1984, or Ghent and Genk in 1985.
However, I still vividly remember a classmate telling me he was going to the concert of the year that evening : The Sisters of Mercy at the Vooruit in Ghent, on April 12th, 1985. I was incredibly jealous, of course—but it was already sold out, and there was no way I could get from my hometown to Ghent and back. I didn’t have a driver’s license, and my parents certainly weren’t going to drive me 50 kilometers there and back.
As you know, I was lucky enough to be at that gig at the Vooruit, the first show without Gary, and it was certainly a memorable night, such a shame that you missed it. How did you get from that initial interest to what I keep terming an ‘obsession’?
Well, I kept listening to First and Last and Always constantly after it was released in Belgium. Then, a year later, in 1986, during my second visit to the Seaside Festival, I read in the program guide that Wayne and Craig had formed The Mission after splitting from the Sisters. That was actually the first time I realized the Sisters had broken up. The Mission’s concert at Seaside blew me away, and my interest naturally shifted more toward them—especially as I believed the Sisters no longer existed.
In the second half of the ’80s, during high school, my best friend was more into metal. My own musical focus gradually shifted back to the heavier sounds I’d grown up with in the early ’80s—the New Wave of British Heavy Metal—while my interest in the Sisters, The Mission, and the broader new wave scene faded into the background.
Fast forward to 1993. I made new friends who introduced me to the gothic/wave scene in Belgium. I discovered many new bands—mostly German—and became part of the vibrant scene in Waregem, which was the mecca for gothic and wave music in Belgium at the time. Not only did I discover new music, but I also rediscovered the ’80s new wave, with leading bands like the Sisters, The Mission, and Fields of the Nephilim.
There’s one specific moment I remember clearly—when my obsession with the Sisters truly began. It was 1996, and I was 28. I was browsing the vinyl section in a local record store in my hometown when I stumbled upon a pristine copy of The Reptile House EP. I bought it, listened to it again, and was completely blown away. That was the moment something clicked : I decided I was going to start collecting the entire Sisters catalog.
And it didn’t stop with just the official releases. I started going to record fairs, where I discovered all kinds of unofficial material. I was like a kid in a candy store. At one of these fairs, I met Robin Colman. He must have noticed me eyeing Sisters unofficial releases, and we started chatting. I learned he was a huge collector and already had an impressive collection. I asked if I could visit him sometime, and he kindly agreed.
I was overwhelmed by what I saw at his place. That visit only fueled the fire inside me to keep collecting. I’m extremely grateful for all the advice Robin gave me in those early years. He was something of a mentor to me as a budding Sisters collector.
So what was the first collectors item that you bought (i.e. not routine vinyls) ?
That must have been an original The Damage Done and the Body Electric 7”. I don’t consider them just routine vinyl, even back in the ’90s they were already rare and sought after. I bought them together online from Vinyl Tap. By the time I got serious about collecting, the internet was around and online shopping had become fairly common. I paid £200 for The Damage Done — with the correct labels, for the connoisseurs! — and £80 for Body Electric. That was still a lot of money in those days.
Another early collector’s item I bought was an original poster for the concert at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool on March 29th, 1985. I purchased it for £150 from Vinyl Addiction in Leeds. I had it framed, and it hung on the wall of my apartment for many years. In fact, I bought quite a lot of items from Vinyl Addiction during the early days of my collecting journey. It’s this one :
But the coolest story is about my first WEA promo box. This is a very well-known collector’s item among Sisters fans — maybe even the holy grail for some. It’s also a highly debated piece :was it actually released by WEA, or perhaps just by Eldritch himself to promote the back catalogue to journalists after Merciful Release signed with WEA ? Either way, I bought that box over the phone from a record shop in Leeds — after seeing an ad in Record Collector magazine (though I can’t remember the shop’s name anymore)— for just £30 😊. That was by far the luckiest find I’ve ever had as a collector. It’s this one :
That’s an incredible bargain when it has sold on occasions for more than £1000! I know that you’ve already alluded to this, but can you tell us more about how collecting has changed since you first started ?
The rise of the internet, social media platforms, and auction sites—combined with the sheer volume of material now being produced and shared online almost daily—has completely transformed the way collecting works. As a collector today, you have to be much more alert and quick, or risk being outpaced by fellow collectors. eBay is a perfect example of how competitive it has become. Prices have skyrocketed. Take The Damage Done, for instance: I paid £200 for an official copy back in 1996—now it’s listed for at least £1,000, sometimes even more.
Another thing that’s changed is the mentality around collecting. Collectors invest a lot of time, effort, and money into building their collections. These days, there’s more of a mindset that everything should be available for free. A good example is the video recording of the concert at the Mudd Club in Gothenburg, Sweden, on May 16th, 1985. It was publicly released by someone on YouTube a few years ago for everyone to enjoy. That would have never happened in the early days of collecting. Back then, if I or another Sisters collector had found that video, we would likely have paid a lot of money for it—and kept it private in our collection. It was much more competitive in those days.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I actually appreciate that more people now have the opportunity to discover and enjoy the rich history of the Sisters. That’s why I like sharing photos and scans from my collection in the Facebook group. But of course, I won’t share everything—especially not digital items I spent a lot of money on, just to give them away freely to the world. I see a few other collectors doing the same, and I think that’s a positive evolution.
That seems very fair, and I think most fans are delighted with what you do share with us. In terms of collecting items related to The Sisters of Mercy, which areas do you specialise in ?
While I consider myself more of an all-round collector, my main focus over the past 10 years has been on memorabilia—things like concert tickets, posters, backstage passes, promo items, and so on. What I love most about memorabilia is that it captures a visual snapshot of a specific moment in time. Each piece tells a story and connects you directly to a particular event or era in the band’s history.
Which leads nicely onto my next question. Which eras of the band do you specialise in ?
I collect only the classic era, which is basically the period 1980-1985. It aligns with my musical preference which is also limited to that era. I know some collectors also include the Floodland period and others just collect everything.
Now for the question everyone wants to know the answer to - how do you track down the more unique items ?
Haha, that’s like asking a magician to reveal his tricks 😉 !Simply put, it’s all about being in the right place at the right time—and being smart about it. The biggest investment you need to make to find unique items is time and effort. Collecting can easily become a full-time job if you’re truly dedicated.
Without going too deep into specifics or giving away too many secrets, let me share a few general tips. First and foremost :make use of the resources that are available to you. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a wealth of material online these days—it’s just a matter of knowing where to look. But don’t expect rare items to fall into your lap. You need to be proactive and reach out to people or sources that you think might have something special.
And finally, there’s one element you simply can’t control : luck. Take the example of that WEA promo box I mentioned earlier—finding that was pure luck.
Would you say that that WEA promo box is your most prized possession, or would it be something else ?
The crown jewel of my collection—and also the most expensive item I’ve ever purchased—is a test pressing of The Reptile House EP personally dedicated to journalist Steve Sutherland. I bought it directly from him. While there are 23 known test pressings of this particular cut of The Reptile House EP, what makes this one truly unique is the handwritten messages from Andrew Eldritch specifically addressed to Steve. It offers a rare and fascinating glimpse into Eldritch’s world and mindset at the time.
Here are some photos of the item :
I’d also like to highlight one piece from my poster collection that I’m extremely proud of. It’s not the most expensive poster I’ve ever bought, and from a design perspective, it’s nothing particularly special. But it’s the story behind it—and the locations featured—that make it perhaps my most cherished poster of all.
It’s this one, promoting two concert dates in the summer of 1984 :
I bought this poster from a woman who had been a student in New York City living in the East Village in the summer of 1984. She told me that this exact poster had been hanging on a wall in front of a construction site—and she peeled it off herself. You can still see remnants of the original glue on the back, which adds to its character and authenticity.
What I love most about this poster is that it promotes not just one, but two concerts—both held at iconic venues in one of the most iconic cities in the world : New York City. These shows took place during the New Music Seminar, an annual event that, at the time, was one of the most influential music industry conferences globally. The city came alive with events and performances, and the Sisters were part of that unique cultural moment.
A few years ago, I spent a holiday week in New York City with my family—and of course, I took the opportunity to visit both of those legendary venues. It was a special feeling to stand in those spots, knowing that decades earlier, the Sisters had played there. The Ritz, where one of the shows took place, is still standing but has since been renamed Webster Hall. Here are some photos from that visit:
Those are two amazing items, a rare poster and a unique, personalised copy of arguably the band’s greatest release. Is there anything that you don’t yet have but hope to add to your collection one day ?
There’s still a lot missing in my collection, of course—but let me highlight two specific items that are at the top of my wishlist.
The first is an acetate of an official release. That would truly be my holy grail. I know of other collectors who own one or more of these, but they’re incredibly rare. I doubt I’ll ever find one in the wild unless I manage to purchase it directly from another collector. Acetates are extremely unique because there’s usually only one made per version—they’re used for test and mastering purposes before vinyl goes into mass production, making them some of the rarest and most valuable pieces in music collecting.
The second item is an official concert poster for the Sisters’ legendary final show of the classic era at the Royal Albert Hall in London on June 18th, 1985. There’s a common misconception that the official poster was a black one with gold lettering and the head & star logo—but that’s actually a well-known unofficial one, which exists in several sizes. The true official poster for that concert is much more in line with the First and Last and Always design aesthetic, and it looks like this:
Yes, I remember seeing those posters in London that June, even on the walls in the tunnels of stations on the London Underground. We’ve heard about your greatest successes in collecting, like the WEA box, but could you tell us about your biggest collecting ‘fail’, like for example buying a fake, buying something you forgot you already had, or something else like that ?
While you always hope it never happens—unfortunately, it did. I’ve never accidentally bought something I already owned, as I keep my collection very well documented and I’m fully aware of what I have. However, I have, on a few occasions, ended up buying items that later turned out to be fakes. It’s not a pleasant experience, but I suppose it’s part of the collecting journey. Each time, it’s a reminder to do your due diligence and to be even more cautious going forward.
I won’t go into too many specifics, but I will share one story—not about fake items, but about items I paid for and never received, resulting in a fairly significant financial loss.
A few years ago, I was actively searching for an official concert poster from the show in Genk, Limburghal, on April 13th, 1985. Being from Belgium, this particular piece meant a lot to me. One day, a Dutch guy posted a photo of exactly that poster in the Sisters Facebook group. I contacted him, asked if it was his, and whether he was willing to sell it. He agreed, and we quickly came to an agreement on the price.
He then mentioned he had other posters too and shared photos. Most of them I didn’t have, so in the end we settled on a total package deal. I paid him via bank transfer, and everything seemed fine at first.
But then things took a turn. He claimed the money never arrived in his bank account. I contacted my bank, and after investigation, they confirmed the transfer was successful. Next, he claimed he had shipped the parcel, but it never arrived. I asked for a tracking number—he said he didn’t have one and assumed the parcel was lost.
By then, I started to feel nervous—and eventually angry—as it became clear that this guy was likely a scammer. Then, out of nowhere, he said the posters had been returned to him. Naturally, I expected him to send them again—but he never did. It was obvious at that point : he had never had the posters in the first place.
I filed a complaint at my local police station, and it was eventually forwarded to the Dutch police. I tried to follow up, but the last update I received was that the case was still with Dutch authorities. That was seven years ago, and I never heard anything more. I lost several hundred euros. On a brighter note, I did eventually find the Genk poster a few years later—and this time, I picked it up in person at the seller’s house. It was a great feeling to finally add that piece to my collection, especially after what had happened.
Another great item, well worth the wait, and hopefully the justice system eventually catches up with that scammer. Do you collect other bands or just The Sisters of Mercy ?
Just The Sisters of Mercy. At one point, I also had a small collection related to The Mission and a bit of Joy Division, but I no longer collect those. In fact—and this might come as a surprise to most readers—I made the decision to stop collecting some time ago. I’ve already started scaling down my collection. I sold off all my unofficial releases years ago, and more recently, I parted with all my magazines and fanzines.
My goal now is to keep a very small, focused collection consisting of just the official releases and photos (most of which are digital anyway). I’ll still keep an eye out for the occasional gem—like a test pressing or that elusive acetate—you never know. So, I haven’t stopped 100%, but almost.
What made me decide to downscale was the realization that, over time, collecting had become more about the thrill of the hunt and the excitement of receiving a new item, rather than the joy of actually owning and appreciating it. And when that happens, you start asking yourself : what’s the point in keeping it all ?
That said, I truly enjoyed collecting over the past 30 years, and I’m proud of what I’ve built and owned. I’m also very grateful to everyone who was willing to part with their unique items and make them available to me. So when the opportunity came along to sell part of my collection in a fair deal, I decided to take it—but only after I was confident the items would end up in good hands and be well cared for. In that way, I hope the legacy of The Sisters of Mercy continues through a new generation of dedicated collectors.
My thanks to Bruno for agreeing to the interview and for sharing his story and some of his most treasured items with us, as he has done on many occasions in the past.
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