The History of a Hit (2): THE SISTERS OF MERCY – “Temple of Love”

In the first part, we talked about the creation of the cult song “Temple of Love” by The Sisters of Mercy, which was released on October 7, 1983. You can read the story here.

The music video

The intro to the video is a sun that repeatedly disappears behind clouds. It merges into the song’s striking artwork. Footage by Andrew Eldritch, taken from the 1988 clip “Lucretia My Reflection”, is mixed with that of Ofra Haza and other impressions. A white dove can be seen as a recurring element.

A grand entrance:

The 1992 version of “Temple of Love” has a fan that would not necessarily have been expected for this piece. When star designer Kris van Assche presented his collection for Dior Homme for the fall/winter season at Fashion Week in New York in 2010, he chose “Temple of Love” as the background music for the catwalk show. The catwalk and the rest of the stage set for the presentation of the collection were kept dark, with an oversized, white circle of light hovering above. The models walked elaborate routes along the catwalk and a connected ring to the catchy rhythm of the piece. The show was coordinated so that the main presentation lasted the entire duration of “Temple of Love”.

The chart placement

The first version of “Temple of Love” topped the independent charts just one week after its release in October 1983. The remix with the voice of Ofra Haza is The Sisters of Mercy‘s highest charting single to date. In the UK, the track made it to number 3, while in Germany “Temple of Love” reached number 5 and stayed in the charts for a total of 28 weeks. The accompanying compilation album “Some Girls Wander by Mistake” achieved gold status in Germany with 250,000 copies sold.

Katrin Hemmerling

In the next part we talk about other locations of the “Temple of Love” and, the artwork and the recordings.

THE SISTERS OF MERCY at “DARK ROCK” – listen & follow