Bristol born & bred, and passionate Liverpool FC supporter, Wayne Hussey, lauded by some as maverick legend and others as charlatan, has been making music since the day he was first inspired to pick up a guitar by watching Marc Bolan & T.Rex on Top of the Pops.
A long and excessive and sometimes just downright scandalous road has led Wayne to where he is today. One thing is certain about Wayne, he’s certainly a divisive character.
Playing with various “punk” bands in Liverpool (UK) at the tail end of the 70′s, and after enjoying the dubious pleasures of touring for the very first time with Pauline Murray & the Invisible Girls, he eventually met the flamboyant Pete Burns who asked him to join the then fledgling ‘Dead or Alive’.
Two years spent in the service of the Scouse ‘Boy George’, schooled Wayne in such subjects as hairstyle, fashion, & gender bending.
It was the early 80′s after all, a period of time where style really was more prevalent than substance.
After many failed hairstyles and with a suitcase full of stolen dresses and a couple of ‘hit’ singles, Wayne decided to leave Liverpool and Dead or Alive.
He headed across the Pennines to Leeds (UK) to answer the call from Andrew Eldritch & The Sisters of Mercy.
The Sisters needed a guitarist who could wear sunglasses in the dark and would spray paint provocative slogans on his guitar – Wayne was more than able and willing.
After another two years spent touring the world and developing some very bad habits, and contributing his song writing talents along with his very distinctive guitar sound to the seminal TSOM ‘First & Last & Always” album, Hussey, in a fit of inspired pique, left the Sisters with bassist Craig Adams to form The Mission.
The Mission went on to considerable global success in the late 80′s and early 90′s, enjoying album sales in excess of four million worldwide with notable works such as ‘God’s Own Medicine’ and ‘Carved In Sand’ amongst others and enjoying an unbroken run of 14 UK Top 40 singles!
They forged a reputation that still stands today as one of the best ‘live’ bands in the world, thanks in no small part to the charisma & energy that Hussey exudes & exerts on stage.
The Mission took a break of 5 years in the mid 90’s in which time Wayne relocated from the UK to Southern California and spent his time remixing, producing, and making music for film.
The band reconvened in 1999 and to this day they tour the globe and released highly acclaimed albums in late 2001 entitled ‘AurA’, and ‘God Is A Bullet’ in May 2007.
Original members Simon Hinkler, Craig Adams, and Wayne Hussey re-united in late 2011 to celebrate their 25 year anniversary with a sell out tour, and released a new album containing 12 Hussey newly penned songs, the very brilliant ‘The Brightest Light’ in September, 2013.
In 2002 Wayne, armed with just an acoustic guitar and piano and a bulging song-book, started playing solo shows alongside his activities with The Mission. Wayne’s solo show is spontaneous and the set list is largely dictated by the involvement of the audience and will usually consist of new, intimate readings of ‘classic’ and lesser known Mission songs, a smorgasbord of entertaining cover versions, and brand new songs. Wayne’s creed; ‘give ’em a little of what they want, a little of what you want, and a little of what you think they need!’
Since 2002 Wayne has played successful shows throughout the UK, Europe, Latin America, USA, & South Africa. In 2008 Wayne released his first, and so far only, solo album called ‘Bare’. A brand new solo album is promised for September 2014 and Wayne will tour extensively to support it’s release.
Wayne resides, and has done since 2001, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.