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1959

1959

1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It is also a song by The Sisters of Mercy on the album Floodland.

Events

January


- January 1 - Cultivars of plants named after this date must be named in a modern language, not in Latin.
- January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when forces of Fidel Castro advance.
- January 2 - CBS Radio cuts four soap operas: Backstage Wife, Our Gal Sunday, Road of Life, and This is Nora Drake.
- January 2 - Castro's troops approach Havana.
- January 3 - Island of Addu in the Maldives declares independence.
- January 3 - Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
- January 4 - In Cuba rebel troops lead by Che Guevara and Glenfuego enter Havana.
- January 4 - In Léopoldville 42 people are killed during clashes between the police and participants of a meeting of the Abako party.
- January 6 - Fidel Castro arrives in Havana.
- January 7 - The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
- January 8 - Charles De Gaulle inaugurated as the first president of French Fifth Republic.
- January 13 - Cuban communists execute 71 supporters of Fulgencio Batista.
- January 22 - Knox Mine Disaster - water breaches River Slope mine in Port Griffith, Pennsylvania - 12 miners dead.

February


- February 1 - A referendum in Switzerland turns down female suffrage.
- February 3 - The chartered plane transporting musicians Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper goes down in an Iowa snowstorm, killing all four occupants on board. The tragedy is later termed "The Day the Music Died," popularized in Don McLean's song, "American Pie."
- February 6 - At Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile is accomplished.
- February 15 - Mattel's Barbie doll goes on sale in the USA.
- February 16 - Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba.
- February 16 - Blizzard causes a massive power outage in Newfoundland.
- February 17 - USA launches Vanguard II weather satellite.
- February 18 - Jesus Sosa Blanco, murderer of 108 people, executed in Cuba.
- February 18 - Women in Nepal vote for the first time.
- February 19 - The United Kingdom grants Cyprus its independence.
- February 22 - Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500.
- February 26 - Author Walter Mene throws acid on Rubens painting in Munich.

March-May


- March 1 - USS Tuscaloosa, USS New Orleans, USS Tennessee and USS West Virginia struck from the Naval Vessel Register.
- March 1 – Archbishop Makarios returns to Cyprus from exile.
- March 8 - Last television appearance of The Marx Brothers, in The Incredible Jewel Robbery.
- March 9 - The Barbie doll debuts.
- March 17 - Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet and travels to India.
- March 18 - American President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs bill allowing for Hawaiian statehood.
- March 19 - Two other islands join Addu in the United Suvadida Republic (abolished September 1963).
- March 31 - Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida is dedicated and opens its gates.
- March 31 - Dalai Lama leaves Tibet.
- April 9 - NASA announces its selection of seven military pilots to become the first US astronauts (see Mercury Seven).
- April 25 - The St. Lawrence Seaway linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean officially opens to shipping.

May-July


- May - First Ten Tors event held in Dartmoor.
- late May / early June - import tariffs lifted in the United Kingdom.
- May 24 - British Empire Day becomes Commonwealth Day.
- June 3 - Singapore becomes a self governing crown colony of Britain with Lee Kuan Yew as Prime Minister.
- June 5 - A new government of the State of Singapore is sworn in by Sir William Goode. Two former Ministers were re-elected to the Legislative Assembly.
- June 8 - The USS Barbero and United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via Missile Mail.
- June 9 - The USS George Washington is launched as the first submarine to carry ballistic missiles.
- June 14 - A three-front revolutionary invasion by air and sea takes place in the Dominican Republic consisting of exiles aided by Fidel Castro whose purpose was to overthrow dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. Within a few days all but four are captured and executed. Trujillo is killed less than two years later by men partly inspired by the deaths of the 1959 martyrs.
- June 23 - Sean Lemass becomes the third Taoiseach of Ireland.
- June 23 - Convicted Manhattan Project spy Klaus Fuchs is released after only nine years in prison and allowed to emigrate to Dresden, East Germany (where he resumed a scientific career).
- June 26 - Queen Elizabeth II and US Dwight Eisenhower open Saint Lawrence Seaway.
- July 2 - Royal wedding in Belgium: Prince Albert marries the Italian princess Paola Ruffo di Calabria.
- July 4 - With the admission of Alaska as the 49th U.S. state earlier in the year, the 49-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- July 7 - 14:28 UT Venus occulted the star Regulus. The rare event which will next occur on October 1, 2044 was used for determining the diameter of Venus and the structure of Venus' atmosphere.
- July 15 - Steel industry strike in USA.
- July 24 - At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, US vice-president Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev have a "kitchen debate."

August-December


- August 4 - Martial law declared in Laos.
- August 7 - Explorer program: The United States launches Explorer 6 from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- August 8 - Flood in Formosa leaves 2,000 dead.
- August 14 - Explorer VI sends the first picture of Earth from space
- August 15 - Cyprus gains independence.
- August 16 - Explorer VI sends back the first picture of Earth from space.
- August 21 - Hawaii is admitted as the 50th U.S. state.
- August 24 - Cyprus joins United Nations.
- September 13 - Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon as the first man-made object.
- September 14 - Luna II reaches Moon as the first man-made object.
- September 15 - Russian probe Luna 2 sends back first photos of the far side of Earth's Moon.
- September 25 - Ceylon's prime minister SWRD Bandaranaike assassinated.
- October 12 - At the national congress of APRA in Peru a group of leftist radicals are expelled from the party. They will later form APRA Rebelde.
- October 12 - Large scale diamond robbery in London.
- October 13 - USA launches Explorer VII.
- October 21 - Mau Mau leader Dedan Kimathi is arrested in Nyeri, Kenya.
- October 21 - In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens to the public. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
- October 31 - Riots in the Belgian Congo.
- October 31 - Lee Harvey Oswald announces in Moscow he won't ever return to US.
- November 1 - Ice Hockey: After being struck in the face with a hockey puck, Montreal Canadiens goaltender, Jacques Plante offered to return to play on the condition that he can wear his protective face mask. It was the first time such equipment was used in a regular NHL game.
- November 2 - Quiz show scandals: "Twenty-One" game show contestant Charles Van Doren admits to a Congressional committee that he had been given questions and answers in advance.
- November 15 - Four members of the Herbert Clutter Family murdered at their farm outside Holcomb, Kansas.
- November 19 - The Ford Motor Company announces the discontinuation of the unpopular Edsel automobile, which had been introduced to the American public on "E Day" only two years earlier -- September 4, 1957.
- November 28 - Anti-USA demonstrations in Panama.
- December 1 - Cold War: Antarctic Treaty signed - 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign a landmark treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on that continent (this was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War).
- December 2 - Malpasset dam in southern France collapses and water flows over the town of Frejus - 412 dead.
- December 14 - Makarios selected first president of Cyprus.

Unknown date


- The neutrino is first experimentally detected, by Cowan and Reines.
- TAT-2 cable goes into operation.
- Workers World Party is founded by Sam Marcy.
- The first skull of Australopithecus is discovered by Louis Leakey and his wife Mary Leakey in the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.
- Serengeti becomes a nature preserve.
- "Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry opens on Broadway in New York.

Births

Unknown date


- Claudia Benton, American murder victim (d. 1998)
- Graham Docherty, Scottish rugby player and businessman

January-February


- January 1 - Azali Assoumani, Comorese president
- January 6 - Kathy Sledge, American singer
- January 9 - Rigoberta Menchú, Guatemalan writer, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- January 16 - Sade, Nigerian-born singer
- January 17 - Susanna Hoffs, American singer (The Bangles)
- January 24 - Nastassja Kinski, German actress
- January 27 - Keith Olbermann, American news correspondent and sportscaster
- February 4 - Lawrence Taylor, American football player
- February 14 - Renee Fleming, American soprano
- February 16 - John McEnroe, American tennis player
- February 22 - Kyle MacLachlan, American actor
- February 23 - Richard Dodds, British field hockey player
- February 26 - Rolando Blackman, Panamanian basketball player

March-April


- March 6 - Tom Arnold, American actor and comedian
- March 8 - Aidan Quinn, American actor
- March 10 -Mike Wallace, NASCAR race car driver
- March 9 Rodney A. Grant, American actor
- March 15 - Harold Baines, baseball player
- March 16 - Flavor Flav, American rapper
- March 16 - Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway
- March 17 - Danny Ainge, American basketball player, coach, and baseball player
- March 18 - Luc Besson, French film producer, writer, and director
- March 21 - Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese composer
- March 22 - Matthew Modine, American actor
- March 29 - Perry Farrell, American musician
- April 3 - David Hyde Pierce, American actor
- April 10 - Brian Setzer, American guitarist (Stray Cats)
- April 16 - Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player
- April 21 - Robert Smith, British musician (The Cure)
- April 22 - Catherine Mary Stewart, Canadian actress
- April 22 - Ryan Stiles, American actor
- April 27 - Sheena Easton, Scottish Singer
- April 30 - Stephen Harper, Canadian politician

May-June


- May 3 - Uma Bharati, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
- May 3 - Ben Elton, British comedian and writer
- May 5 - Steve Stevens, American guitarist
- May 14 - Patrick Bruel, French singer
- May 15 - Andrew Eldritch, British musician (The Sisters of Mercy)
- May 20 - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, American singer (d. 1997)
- May 20 - Bronson Pinchot, American actor
- May 22 - Steven Morrissey, British singer
- May 29 - Adrian Paul, British actor
- June 12 - John Linnell, American musician (They Might Be Giants)
- June 26 - Mark McKinney, Canadian actor and comedian
- June 27 - Clint Boon, British musician (Inspiral Carpets)
- June 30 - Vincent D'Onofrio, American actor

July-September


- July 3 - Julie Burchill, British journalist
- July 6 - Richard Dacoury, French basketball player
- July 7 - Ben Linder, American engineer (d. 1987)
- July 10 - Janet Julian, American actress
- July 11 - Richie Sambora, American musician
- July 11 - Suzanne Vega, American singer
- July 13 - Richard Leman, British field hockey player
- July 16 - Gary Anderson, American football player
- July 26 - Kevin Spacey, American actor
- July 29 - Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor
- July 29 - Ruud Janssen, Dutch artist
- August 1 - Joe Elliott, lead singer for band Def Leppard.
- August 2 - Apollonia Kotero, American actress and singer
- August 3 - Koichi Tanaka, Japanese scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- August 10 - Rosanna Arquette, American actress
- August 14 - Magic Johnson, American basketball player
- August 18 - Dorothy Bush Koch, sister of George W Bush and daughter of George H W Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush
- August 21 - Jim McMahon, American football player
- August 29 - Timothy Perry Shriver, son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and nephew of John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy and Edward M Kennedy
- August 29 - Stephen Wolfram, British scientist
- August 30 - Mark 'Jacko' Jackson, Australian footballer and actor
- September 4 - Kevin Harrington, Australian actor
- September 8 - Mary Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy.
- September 14 - Morten Harket, Norwegian singer (a-ha)
- September 21 - Dave Coulier, American actor
- September 22 - James Mark Roth, American author, teacher, missionary, blogger
- September 29 - Benjamin Sehene, Rwandan writer

October-December


- October 3 - Fred Couples, American golfer
- October 3 - Greg Proops, American comedian
- October 3 - Jack Wagner, American actor
- October 9 - Michael Pare, American actor
- October 15 - Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York
- October 21 - Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor
- October 23 - "Weird Al" Yankovic, American singer and parodist
- October 25 - Nancy Cartwright, American voice actress
- October 27 - Rick Carlisle, American basketball coach
- November 10 - Linda Cohn, American sports reporter
- November 14 - Paul McGann, British actor
- November 23 - Dominique Dunne, American actress (d. 1982)
- November 25 - Charles Kennedy, Scottish politician
- November 28 - Judd Nelson, American actor
- December 13 - Nadia Russ, Ukrainian-born artist
- December 14 - Dana Childs, American radio personality and basketball coach
- December 21 - Florence Griffith Joyner, American athelete (d. 1998)
- December 27 - Gerina Dunwich, American author
- December 31 - Val Kilmer, American actor

Deaths


- January 21 - Cecil B. DeMille, American film director (b. 1881)
- January 22 - Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (b. 1929)
- February 3 - Killed in a private plane crash:
  - The Big Bopper, American singer (b. 1930)
  - Buddy Holly, American singer (b. 1936)
  - Richie Valens, American singer (b. 1941)
- February 3 - Vincent Astor, American philanthropist (b. 1891)
- February 11 - Marshall Teague, American race car driver (b. 1922)
- February 14 - Baby Dodds, American jazz musician (b. 1898)
- February 15 - Owen Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- February 28 - Maxwell Anderson, American screenwriter (b. 1888)
- March 3 - Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (b. 1906)
- March 4 - Maxey Long, American athlete (b. 1878)
- March 26 - Raymond Chandler, American novelist (b. 1888)
- March 29 - Barthélemy Boganda, first President of the Central African Republic (b. 1910)
- April 9 - Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect (b. 1867)
- May 5 - Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentine politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1878)
- May 14 - Sidney Bechet, American musician (b. 1897)
- May 24 - John Foster Dulles, United States Secretary of State (b. 1888)
- June 9 - Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
- June 23 - Boris Vian, French writer, poet, singer, and musician
- July 11 - Charlie Parker, English cricketer (b. 1882)
- July 15 - Ernest Bloch, Swiss composer (b. 1880)
- July 15 - Billie Holiday, American singer (b. 1915)
- August 5 - Edgar Guest, English poet (b. 1881)
- August 6 - Preston Sturges, American film director and writer (b. 1898)
- August 15 - Blind Willie McTell, American singer (b. 1901)
- August 16 - Wanda Landowska, Polish harpsichordist (b. 1879)
- August 19 - Jacob Epstein, American-born sculptor (b. 1880)
- August 28 - Bohuslav Martinů, Czech composer (b. 1890)
- October 7 - Mario Lanza, American tenor (b. 1921)
- October 14 - Errol Flynn, American actor (b. 1909)
- October 16 - George C. Marshall, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b.1880)
- October 18 - Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete (b. 1898)
- November 15 - Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
- November 17 - Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer (b. 1887)
- November 17 - Nichijun Horigome, Japanese priest (b. 1898)

Nobel Prizes


- Physics - Emilio Gino Segrè, Owen Chamberlain
- Chemistry - Jaroslav Heyrovský
- Medicine - Severo Ochoa, Arthur Kornberg
- Literature - Salvatore Quasimodo
- Peace - Philip John Noel-Baker
- ko:1959년 ja:1959年 simple:1959 th:พ.ศ. 2502

Common year starting on Thursday

This is the calendar for any common year starting on Thursday (dominical letter D). e.g. 2009 (A common year is a year with 365 days -- in other words, not a leap year.) This kind of year has 53 weeks in the ISO 8601 week - day format.
Millennium Century Year
2nd Millennium: 19th century: 1801 1807 1818 1829 1835 1846 1857 1863 1874 1885 1891
2nd Millennium: 20th century: 1903 1914 1925 1931 1942 1953 1959 1970 1981 1987 1998
3rd Millennium: 21st century: 2009 2015 2026 2037 2043 2054 2065 2071 2082 2093 2099
3rd Millennium: 22nd century: 2105 2111 2122 2133 2139 2150 2161 2167 2178 2189 2195
Category:ThursdayCategory:Weeksko:목요일로 시작하는 평년th:ปีปกติสุรทินที่วันแรกเป็นวันพฤหัสบดี



The Sisters of Mercy

:For the religious organisation of this name, see Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters of Mercy are a Gothic Rock band that came out of the British post punk scene in 1980-1981. The band cited Leonard Cohen, The Stooges, Suicide and Motörhead as among their influences. The group has recorded three original studio albums, of which the last was released in 1990. Each album was recorded by a different line-up, the only constant member was singer and songwriterAndrew Eldritch. Some ex-members of the group established bands Mission UK and Ghostdance. The group ceased activity in 1993 when it effectively went on strike against its record company TimeWarner, which it accused of withheld royalties and incompetence. Although TimeWarner eventually let the band go in 1997, it has never released more recordings and is kept alive as a touring outfit only. Bands influenced by The Sisters of Mercy include James Ray Gangwar, Corpus Delicti, The Merry Thoughts, Rosetta Stone and Marionettes, among others. The group is one of the most popular and influential among the gothic rock scene, although since the 1990s they have tried to disassociate themselves from that scene.

History

Foundation (1980)

The band was formed in Leeds, England in 1980 by F-club regulars Gary Marx and Andrew Eldritch to satisfy their intent to hear themselves on the radio; somewhere in the process band t-shirts were made and a single, "Damage Done/Watch/Home of the Hit-men", was recorded and released. The name was influenced by Robert Altman's filmMcCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), which featured the Leonard Cohen song of the same name ("because The Captains of Industry weren't as funny"), and was supposed to reflect the ambiguity of a rock'n'roll band - "half saints, half prostitutes"
- .
- (anybody who has seen the film will understand this joke)' On the single (claimed by the band to have been played twice by John Peel) Gary Marx played guitar through a practice amplifier and Andrew Eldritch was on drums. The partners each wrote and sang on a song.

Early years (1981-1983)

The band regrouped with Adams on bass, while Eldritch's drumming was replaced by a drum machine, leaving him to concentrate on vocals. The drum machine was christened Doktor Avalanche, and all of its numerous successors kept this name. Andrew Eldritch took over lyrics-writing, Doktor-programming, and record-producing duties, while sharing the music-writing with Gary Marx. The first gig with the new lineup was played on February 16, 1981, in Vanbrugh College, York, England - this is considered the "proper" start of The Sisters of Mercy. Later that year, Ben Gunn established himself as the second guitarist after several others came and went. Eldritch's melancholic baritone, Craig Adams's pulsating bass, Doktor Avalanche's beat and Gary Marx's flowing guitar led the band to early underground success. Ben Gunn did his best not to spoil the picture. The band's singles were regularly featured in UK independent charts; some became single of the week in various UK indie magazines. John Ashton of Psychedelic Furs produced the early classic "Alice". "Reptile House" EP is another example of early Sisters work and marks the maturing songwriter Eldritch (who wrote, produced and (reportedly) played all instruments on it). The live performances featured many cover versions: among those, a medley consisting of Sister Ray (by Velvet Underground) / Ghostrider (by Suicide) / Louie Louie (by Richard Berry) became a live staple. Only three of them, The Stooges's 1969, The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" and Hot Chocolate's Emma were eventually recorded and released on Sisters records (all as b-sides). In late 1983, following highly successful "Temple of Love" single, the band signed a contract with major record label WEA. At the same time Ben Gunn left in an atmosphere of unanimous bitterness. Gunn stated that he did not agree with the direction Andrew Eldritch was taking the band - which, according to Gunn, started out as a joke on serious rock'n'roll outfits, but eventually became one. Gunn also mentioned personality conflicts with Andrew Eldritch as a reason for his departure.

First and Last and Always era (1984-1985)

Ben Gunn was replaced by Wayne Hussey, who, in addition to being a more-than-reasonable guitarist, also became the third songwriter. His guitar skills tremendously improved the live side of the band. The Black October UK tour (October-November 1984) confirmed the underground cult status of the band. However, the growing alienation between Eldritch and the rest of the group was getting out of hand during the recording of the debut First and Last and Always album. Eldritch's deteriorating health and psychological problems worsened the situation. Most songs on the album were written and rehearsed by Marx, Hussey, and Adams, with Eldritch stepping in at the latest stage to write lyrics and add vocals. Following the release of First and Last and Always, produced by Dave Allen (March 11, 1985 - 1985 in music), Gary Marx split from the band in the middle of a supporting tour, citing inability to continue working with Andrew Eldritch. The group completed the tour as a three-piece act, and said farewell to the fans with the final gig in London's Royal Albert Hall on June 18, 1985. Video recordings of the last show (touted "the festival of remembrance") were later released as "Wake".

The split (1985-1986)

Shortly after the last gig Eldritch relocated to Hamburg, while Hussey and Adams announced their decision to split off to form their own group, citing artistic and personal differences with Eldritch. During the highly publicised soap opera that followed, the new band started playing concerts under name of The Sisterhood, playing Hussey's songs originally written for the Sisters but vetoed by Eldritch. These include the song Dance On Glass, which had originally been recorded (but not released) by the Sisters with Eldritch on vocals, but which Hussey went on to record with his band. Meanwhile Eldritch protested their usage of Sisterhood name as too similar to The Sisters of Mercy, and in an attempt to stop the practice released the single Giving Ground by his own band, Sisterhood. The single was later followed by the album Gift. The other band eventually christened themselves The Mission amidst suspicions that the whole affair had been a PR stunt to jumpstart Mission's career. According to some sources, with these releases Andrew Eldritch allegedly won over Hussey and Adams a race for £25,000 (a sum opening the song Jihad on the Gift album) advance offered by the publishers to the first member of The Sisters of Mercy to release any output. However, Eldritch stated elsewhere that the "2" "5" "0" "0" "0" which opens "Jihad" on the Sisterhood LP represents the sum of money he won from the Mission in the civil courts. He states in an interview disc, recorded in Boston, and made briefly available by a now-defunct Italian music zine, that the English courts did not recognize either his or the other members' of the band's legal right to the name "The Sisterhood." He said the courts required a release for anybody to claim ownership of the band name, which was the motivation for the initial Sisterhood single. After that single had been released, Eldritch officially owned the name, and could sue, which he did. He won 25,000 pounds in his lawsuit, and opened the Sisterhood album with that number in order to show his gratitude to Wayne Hussey and the Mission UK for their generous financial contribution, and to indicate that the matter was closed with no hard feelings.

Floodland era (1987-1989)

Left to his own devices, Eldritch recorded the Floodland album (November 13, 1987 – 1987 in music), marking a shift away from guitars-based rock towards keyboard-oriented explorations pioneered in Gift. The album was produced by Eldritch and Larry Alexander, with contributions from Jim Steinman on two songs. American singer and bass-player Patricia Morrison was recruited from the Gun Club, a band which had toured with the Sisters during their previous incarnation. Eldritch stated on a Bak2Bak interview picture disc, which also featured Morrison, that Morrison's role was as a sounding board to help him define the direction of his music. Morrison confirmed this during the recorded interview. However, Eldritch later stated that Morrison had been brought on to maintain the illusion of a group during promotional appearances, a claim which Morrison contested. She left the group in the early 90s, amid rumors that that money was not paid as due from Eldritch. The band did not play live during this period.

Vision Thing era (1990-1993)

The next incarnation of The Sisters of Mercy featured an unknown German guitarist, Andreas Bruhn, whom Eldritch apparently discovered playing in a Hamburg pub; controversial bassist Tony James (ex-Sigue Sigue Sputnik and Generation X mainman); and last-minute recruit Tim Bricheno, formerly of All About Eve, on guitars. The new line-up kicked off with Vision Thing album, released October 22, 1990 (1990 in music), produced by Eldritch (one song was a co-production with Jim Steinman). The album also featured guitarist John Perry with backing vocals by Maggie Reilly. Designed as an assault on USA policies, it marked another change of direction, this time towards guitar-oriented rock. The band launched 1990-1991 world tour to promote the album. In 1991 they organized a controversial North American tour in double-act with Public Enemy. Fearing a clash between white fans of Sisters with the black following of Public Enemy, several towns banned the performances, and the tour was cancelled halfway through. In late 1991, Tony James left the group for his solo career; bass duties were transferred to Doktor Avalanche. The USA tour fiasco did not help the already strained relationship between Eldritch and the Sisters' new record company EastWest, a WEA subsidiary (the band was assigned to it 1989 following an internal shuffle in WEA). Conflicts with WEA led to termination of band's USA record distribution deal circa 1991-1992, so the last records of the group are only available in USA as imports. Under the insistence of the record company the band rerecorded their early single Temple of Love (with Ofra Haza on additional vocals) to promote the collection of their early independently released singles, entitled Some Girls Wander By Mistake (1992). At the end of the year, Tim Bricheno left the band and was replaced in 1993 by Adam Pearson. Adam Pearson was the only guitarist on the Under the Gun single, which also featured Terri Nunn on backing vocals. The single was recorded to promote the Best of compilation A Slight Case Of Overbombing (1993). The single and the record releases turned out to be the last from the band until this day. Andreas Bruhn was reportedly out of the band in spirit by this time, but continued to tour with it in 1993. Following the last concerts in December 1993, The Sisters of Mercy went into what Andrew Eldritch called a "strike against EastWest".

Late years (1996-)

The band was revived in 1996 for several gigs supporting the Sex Pistols. Andreas Bruhn's place was taken by a new guitarist by then. The contract with EastWest was terminated in 1997 after the company agreed to accept material recorded under the SSV name instead of two albums for which the Sisters of Mercy had contractual obligations. The company agreed to accept the material (techno-like droning featuring mumbling vocals by Andrew Eldritch, without drums) without listening to it first. The recordings were never officially released and circulated only through pirate MP3s. The band failed to secure a new contract and refused to release new material independently. According to rumours, Eldritch's starting negotiating position is $3 million USD for 3 albums. The band was revived for short tours every year since 1996, except 2004. The live performances do not resemble a nostalgia act, to the disappointment of some audiences - the band plays an increasing catalogue of new unreleased songs, obscure B-sides, and reworked old classics. The new album is reportedly being recorded in no hurry, and, according to Eldritch, can be completed in a few months if such need arises.

Members

Current band members are shown in bold.
- Gary Marx, guitars, vocals on one early track (1980-1985)
- Andrew Eldritch, vocals, keyboards, guitars, Doktor Avalanche (1980-)
- Craig Adams, bass (1981-1985)
- Ben Gunn, guitars (1981-1983)
- Wayne Hussey, guitars, backing vocals (1984-1985)
- Patricia Morrison, perhaps pretending to play bass (1985-1989)
- Andreas Bruhn, guitars (1989-1993)
- Tony James, bass (1989-1991)
- Tim Bricheno, guitars (1990-1992)
- Adam Pearson, guitars, backing vocals, bass (1993-)
- Chris Sheehan, guitars, backing vocals (1996; 2000-2003)
- Mike Varjak, guitars (1997-1999)
- Chris May, guitars, backing vocals (2005-) Note: this list does not include short-lived members from 1980-1981, and live band members from 1990 onwards (in 1990-1991 they had one keyboardist; from 1992 - 1993, one keyboardist and one keyboardist/singer; and from 1996 onwards, a Doktor Avalanche operator)

Discography

Albums


- First and Last and Always (1985)
- Floodland (1987)
- Vision Thing (1990)
- Some Girls Wander By Mistake (1992) Collection of early singles.
- A Slight Case Of Overbombing (1993) Best Of, includes the last two singles.

Singles

"Detonation Boulevard", which was never released as a single, reached #17 on US Modern Rock chart.

External links


- [http://www.the-sisters-of-mercy.com The Sisters of Mercy official homepage]
- [http://www.myheartland.co.uk Unofficial The Sisters Of Mercy discussion pages]
- [http://www.sisterswiki.org/ The Sisters Wiki] (Unofficial fan wiki)
- [http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/1217/ 1959 And All That] (commentary about band's lyrics)
- [http://gps.tsom.org/history.html The Sisters of Mercy history]
- [http://tsom.org Assorted The Sisters of Mercy fan pages]
- [http://tours.tsom.org/ The Sisters of Mercy Tours page] Sisters of Mercy, The Sisters of Mercy, The Category:Leeds Sisters of Mercy, The Sisters of Mercy, The Sisters of Mercy, The

Floodland

Floodland is the second album by The Sisters of Mercy, released in 1987. Composed and produced by Andrew Eldritch, it marked a change of direction from guitar-oriented indie rock towards synthesizer-based productions. It includes, among other things, choral singing, typically bombastic Jim Steinman productions (on "Dominion/Mother Russia" and "This Corrosion") and the first and last piano-and-vocals-only Sisters song (the piano programmed on synthesizer). Andrew Eldritch himself described Floodland as "a fine album". Despite his frequent objections to the designation "Goth", it has been lauded as a classic gothic rock album; Alternative Press ranked it at number forty-three of the "Top 99 of '85 - '89" and included it in their list of "10 Essential Goth Albums". Eldritch claims that bassist Patricia Morrison, the only other official member of The Sisters of Mercy at the time, did not perform on the album and was hired only for the purpose of promotional appearances only. This claim is contested by Morrison. She is not credited on the album's sleeve, although her image appears in its artwork. The Sisters of Mercy did not follow the album with live performances. While far from a concept album, Floodland still has many recurring themes and images. The most obvious one is the flood itself, an erotic, post-apocalyptic reference to tidal floods after nuclear war. The driving dance-floor hit "Lucretia My Reflection", with its repeating bassline, has become something of a nightclub staple. The album arguably sent the Gothic music genre spiraling away from the guitar-driven sound of the early and mid 1980s and inspired the next wave of goth bands such as London After Midnight and Switchblade Symphony.

Track listing

Written by Andrew Eldritch. Produced by Eldritch with Larry Alexander except "This Corrosion" produced by Jim Steinman; "Dominion/Mother Russia" produced by Steinman/Alexander/Eldritch; "Torch" produced by Eldritch. Choir vocals on "Dominion/Mother Russia" and "This Corrosion" by The New York Choral Society. Backing vocals on "This Corrosion" by Holly Sherwood; Curtis King; Brenda King; Tawatha Agee; Gina Taylor; Vaneese Thomas. #Dominion/Mother Russia (7:01) #Flood I (6:22) #Lucretia My Reflection (4:57) #1959 (4:09) #This Corrosion (10:55) #Flood II (6:47) #Driven Like The Snow (6:27) #Never Land (a fragment) (2:46) Bonus tracks: #Torch (3:51) (On cassette or CD only) #Colours (7:18) (On CD only)

Singles


- This Corrosion - September 1987
- Dominion - February 1988
- Lucretia My Reflection - June 1988

External links


- [http://www.thesistersofmercy.com/gen/discog.htm Discography section of the official tSoM website] Category:The Sisters of Mercy albums Category:1987 albums Category:Rock albums Category:Elektra Records albums

Cultivar

In botany, a cultivar is a cultivated selection that can be propagated reliably in a prescribed manner. This may be by seed, by grafting or it may be vegetatively propagated, i.e, be a clone. The word cultivar is a portmanteau coined from "cultivated" and "variety". Cultivars may be either particularly desirable selections from populations of a single species, or hybrids between species. Sometimes a cultivar can be placed within a species, but this is not required; in popular genera (such as Dahlia, Hosta or Rosa) the breeding lines are so complex that it would be impossible to ascribe most cultivars to any particular species.

Cultivar names

Cultivars are identified by uniquely distinguishing names. Names of cultivars are regulated by the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP, commonly known as the "Cultivated Plant Code") and registered with an International Cultivar Registration Authority and conform to the rules of the ISHS (International Society for Horticultural Science) Commission for Nomenclature and Cultivar Registration. There are separate authorities for different plant-groups. In addition, cultivars may get a trademark name, protected by law (see #Trade Designations and "Selling Names"). A cultivar name consists of a botanical name (of a genus, species, infraspecific taxon, interspecific hybrid or intergeneric hybrid) followed by a cultivar epithet. The cultivar epithet is capitalised and put between single quotes: preferably it should not be italicized. Cultivar epithets published before 1 January1959 were often given a Latin form and can be readily confused with the specific epithets in botanical names: after that date, new cultivar epithets must be in a modern vernacular language to distinguish them from botanical epithets. :Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' :Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Aureomarginata' (pre-1959 name, Latin in form) :Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Golden Wonder' (post-1959 name, English language) :Pinus densiflora 'Akebono' (post-1959 name, Japanese language) :Some incorrect examples: ::Cryptomeria japonica "Elegans" (double quotes are unacceptable) ::Berberis thunbergii cv. 'Crimson Pygmy' (this once-common usage is now unacceptable, as it is no longer correct to use "cv." in this context; Berberis thunbergii 'Crimson Pygmy' is correct) ::Rosa cv. 'Peace' (this is now incorrect for two reasons: firstly, the use of "cv."; secondly, "Peace" is a trade designation or "selling name" for the cultivar R. 'Madame A. Meilland' and should therefore be printed in a different typeface from the rest of the name, without any quote marks, for example: Rosa Peace.) Where several very similar cultivars exist, these are termed Cultivar Groups; the name is in normal type and capitalised as in a single cultivar, but not in single quotes, and followed by "Group" (or its equivalent in other languages) :Brassica oleracea Capitata Group (the group of cultivars including all typical cabbages) :Brassica oleracea Botrytis Group (the group of cultivars including all typical cauliflowers) :Hydrangea macrophylla Groupe Hortensis (in French) = Hydrangea macrophylla Hortensia Group (in English) Where cited with a cultivar name the Cultivar Group should be enclosed in parentheses, as follows: :Hydrangea macrophylla (Hortensia Group) 'Ayesha' Some cultivars and Cultivar Groups are so well 'fixed' or established that they 'come true from seed', meaning that the plants from a seed sowing (rather than vegetatively propagated) will show very little variation. In the past, such plants were often called by the terms 'variety', 'selection' or 'strain'; these terms (particularly variety, which has a very different botanical meaning) are best avoided with cultivated plants. Normally, however, plants grown from seed taken from a cultivar can be very variable and such seeds or seedling plants should never be labelled with, or sold under, the parent cultivar's name (See [http://www.rhs.org.uk/learning/publications/plantsman/0605/opinion.asp] an article by Tony Lord of The RHS Plant Finder).

Trade Designations and "Selling Names"

Cultivars that are still being developed and not yet ready for release to retail sale are often coded with letters and/or numbers before being assigned a name. It is common for this code name to be quoted alongside the new cultivar name or trade designation when the plant is made available commercially (for example RosaFascination = 'Poulmax') and this may continue, in books or magazines and on plant labels, for several years after the plant was released. Because a name that is attractive in one language may have less appeal in another country, a plant may be given different selling names from country to country. Quoting the code allows the correct identification of cultivars around the world and helps to avoid the once-common situation where the same plant might, confusingly, be sold under several different names in one country, having been imported under different aliases. Another form of what the Cultivated Plant Code calls a trade designation is the plant "variety", as defined in the UPOV Convention. Not to be confused with the botanical rank of variety.

Cultivars in the natural world

Many cultivars are "naturalized" in gardening, in other words they are planted out and largely left to their own devices. With pollination and regrowth from seed, true natural processes, the distinct cultivars will disappear over time. The cultivar's genetic material however may become part of the gene pool of a population, where it will be largely but not completely swamped. Cultivars that have originated as hybrids of different species are exotic, as is a plant from a different continent, or even a different part of the same country. They are a threat to the true type of a species, and should never be planted out in the wild, or where they are likely to cross-pollinate with their wild relatives.

Legal points

With plants produced by genetic engineering becoming more and more widely used, it is important to note that the companies producing these plants (or plants produced by traditional means) often claim a patent on their product. Thus the notion that "letting seed germinate and grow into a crop is the most natural thing in the world" is no longer appropriate; it can be illegal to harvest seeds (even in one's own fields) from a patented "variety" (which may or may not also be a cultivar) except for personal use. Such plants are often labelled "PBR", which stands for "plant breeders' rights", or "PVR", which stands for "plant variety rights"). The practice of patenting living plants is often considered unethical, especially where a "variety" has simply been selected from a wild population or is a chance sport among cultivated plants. However, where the "variety" is the result of a deliberate breeding programme by a nurseryman or plant breeder it may be the result of years of dedicated work involving painstaking trialling and selection. The patent (which is itself expensive to obtain) is thought to protect the breeder's right to obtain some financial reward for their work, normally for a limited period and geographical area.

External links


- [http://www.ishs.org/sci/icracpco.htm Latest Edition (February 2004) of The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants]
- [http://www.ishs.org/sci/icralist/icralist.htm International Cultivar Registration Authorities]
- [http://www.hcs.ohio-state.edu/hcs/TMI/HORT234/Nomenclature.html The Language of Horticulture]
- [http://www.rhs.org.uk/learning/publications/plantsman/0605/opinion.asp Opinion piece by Tony Lord] (from The Plantsman magazine) Category: botanical nomenclatureCategory: HorticultureCategory: AgricultureCategory: Forestryja:品種

Plant


- Land plants (embryophytes)
  - Non-vascular plants (bryophytes)
    - Marchantiophyta - liverworts
    - Anthocerotophyta - hornworts
    - Bryophyta - mosses
  - Vascular plants (tracheophytes)
    - Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses
    - Equisetophyta - horsetails
    - Pteridophyta - "true" ferns
    - Psilotophyta - whisk ferns
    - Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues
    - Seed plants (spermatophytes)
      - †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns
      - Pinophyta - conifers
      - Cycadophyta - cycads
      - Ginkgophyta - ginkgo
      - Gnetophyta - gnetae
      - Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Magnoliophyta Plants are a major group of living things (about 300,000 species), including familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, and ferns. Aristotle divided all living things between plants, which generally do not move or have sensory organs, and animals. In Linnaeus' system, these became the Kingdoms Vegetabilia (later Plantae) and Animalia. Since then, it has become clear that the Plantae as originally defined included several unrelated groups, and the fungi and several groups of algae were removed to new kingdoms. However, these are still often considered plants in many contexts. Indeed, any attempt to match "plant" with a single taxon is doomed to fail, because plant is a vaguely defined concept unrelated to the presumed phylogenic concepts on which modern taxonomy is based.

Embryophytes

:See main article at Embryophytes Most familiar are the multicellular land plants, called embryophytes. They include the vascular plants, plants with full systems of leaves, stems, and roots. They also include a few of their close relatives, often called bryophytes, of which mosses and liverworts are the most common. All of these plants have eukaryotic cells with cell walls composed of cellulose, and most obtain their energy through photosynthesis, using light and carbon dioxide to synthesize food. About three hundred plant species do not photosynthesize but are parasites on other species of photosynthetic plants. Plants are distinguished from green algae, from which they evolved, by having specialized reproductive organs protected by non-reproductive tissues. Bryophytes first appeared during the early Palaeozoic. They can only survive where moisture is available for significant periods, although some species are desiccation tolerant. Most species of bryophyte remain small throughout their life-cycle. This involves an alternation between two generations: a haploid stage, called the gametophyte, and a diploid stage, called the sporophyte. The sporophyte is short-lived and remains dependent on its parent gametophyte. Vascular plants first appeared during the Silurian period, and by the Devonian had diversified and spread into many different land environments. They have a number of adaptations that allowed them to overcome the limitations of the bryophytes. These include a cuticle resistant to desiccation, and vascular tissues which transport water throughout the organism. In most the sporophyte acts as a separate individual, while the gametophyte remains small. Devonians (Pteridophyta) more closely allied to seed plants than they are to clubmosses (Lycopodiophyta)]] The first primitive seed plants, Pteridosperms (seed ferns) and Cordaites, both groups now extinct, appeared in the late Devonian and diversified through the Carboniferous, with further evolution through the Permian and Triassic periods. In these the gametophyte stage is completely reduced, and the sporophyte begins life inside an enclosure called a seed, which develops while on the parent plant, and with fertilisation by means of pollen grains. Whereas other vascular plants, such as ferns, reproduce by means of spores and so need moisture to develop, some seed plants can survive and reproduce in extremely arid conditions. Early seed plants are referred to as gymnosperms (naked seeds), as the seed embryo is not enclosed in a protective structure at pollination, with the pollen landing directly on the embryo. Four surviving groups remain widespread now, particularly the conifers, which are dominant trees in several biomes. The angiosperms, comprising the flowering plants, were the last major group of plants to appear, emerging from within the gymnosperms during the Jurassic and diversifying rapidly during the Cretaceous. These differ in that the seed embryo is enclosed, so the pollen has to grow a tube to penetrate the protective seed coat; they are the predominant group of flora in most biomes today.

Algae and Fungi

The algae comprise several different groups of organisms that produce energy through photosynthesis. However, they are not classified within the kingdom plantae but in the kingdom protista instead. The most conspicuous are the seaweeds, multicellular algae that often closely resemble terrestrial plants, but as stated above are not plants, found among the green, red, and brown algae. These and other algal groups also include various single-celled creatures and forms that are simple collections of cells, without differentiated tissues. Many can move about, and some have even lost their ability to photosynthesize; when first discovered, these were considered as both plants and animals. Now they are considered neither, but protists. The embryophytes developed from green algae; the two are collectively referred to as the green plants or Viridiplantae. The kingdom Plantae is now usually taken to mean this monophyletic group, as shown above. With a few exceptions among the green algae, all such forms have cell walls containing cellulose and chloroplasts containing chlorophylls a and b, and store food in the form of starch. They undergo closed mitosis without centrioles, and typically have mitochondria with flat cristae. The chloroplasts of green plants are surrounded by tw