| The Merry Thoughts | |
|---|---|
The Merry Thoughts |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Germany |
| Genres | Gothic Rock |
| Years active | 1983–2000 |
| Labels | Dion Fortune, SPV Oblivion |
| Website | http://themerrythoughts.com |
| Members | |
| Marvin Arkham - Voice Aldi Althaus - Guitar The Thoughtmachine - Drums, Strings, Bass, Synthesizers |
|
| Past members | |
| Sonja Jordan - Guitar, Bass Carsten Mainz - Guitar, Synthesizer Olaf Wollschläger - Synthesizer, Drum Machine Pino Eichhorn - Guitar |
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Contents |
Formed in 1983 by Carsten Mainz (guitar, synthesizer) and Olaf Wollschläger (synthesizer, drum machine) in Neuss, Germany.
Marvin Arkham joined and after first playing the synthesizer, he became the singer. Sonja Jordan was another add to the group in late ´83, she also played synthesizer first and took over the guitar later.
In 1991 Sonja Jordan and Marvin Arkham recorded a demo of 'Second Generation', one of the first Songs written by The Merry Thoughts. It was later released as The Merry Thoughts' first single.
After the second Single 'Pale Empress' (1993), the first album 'Millennium Done I: Empire Songs' was finally released.
1996 the second album, 'Psychocult', followed and entered the German Alternative Charts Top Twenty where it would stay for more than two months. Due to problems with their record company and the long process of recording, the band was basically destroyed after finishing 'Psychocult'.
Up until 2000 Sonja and Marvin still played live and continued to record and write new material. Sonja Jordan left the group in 2000 after their last concert at Albion New York City.
The band played a number of high profile shows throughout Europe during their career, including an appearance at the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig in 1995,[1] and the Whitby Gothic Weekend in 1997.
Referring to Marvin Arkham, the influences of The Merry Thoughts are such as David Bowie, Queen and Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft. The Merry Thoughts are often considered to be a gothic-rock band because of their great success in the 90s gothic-rock scene, the band describes their music as 'counterpop'.
In 2011 the band are ready to release a new single and album!