# The Mission (band)
**The Mission** is an English gothic rock band formed in Leeds in 1986 by guitarist and singer Wayne Hussey and bassist [Craig Adams](https://www.edgepedia.org/craig-adams-musician) after they left the [Sisters of Mercy](https://www.edgepedia.org/sisters-of-mercy), joined by guitarist Simon Hinkler and drummer Mick Brown. Known as The Mission UK in the United States because of a naming clash with a Philadelphia R&B band, the group became one of the most commercially successful acts of the late-1980s goth scene, selling more than four million albums worldwide.[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mission-mn0000477613)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Formed | Late 1985/1986 in Leeds, England, by Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams after leaving the Sisters of Mercy[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) |
| Original line-up | Hussey (vocals, guitar), Adams (bass), Simon Hinkler (guitar), Mick Brown (drums)[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) |
| Debut album | *God's Own Medicine* (Mercury, November 1986), UK No. 14, gold certified, produced by Tim Palmer[3](https://themissionukband.com/albums) |
| Commercial peak | *Children* (1988), produced by John Paul Jones, reached No. 2 on the UK album chart[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mission-mn0000477613) |
| Sales | Total worldwide album sales exceed four million[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) |
| Break-ups | Disbanded in 1996 and again in 2008, with a reunion from 1999[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/gods-own-medicine-mw0000650504) |
| Later albums | *Aura* (2001, No. 1 on the German alternative chart for eight weeks) and *Another Fall From Grace* (2016, first UK Top 40 album in over 20 years)[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) |
## Origins
Hussey had joined the Sisters of Mercy in 1984 and co-wrote most of the music on the band's 1985 debut album *First and Last and Always*, though frontman [Andrew Eldritch](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-eldritch) led the band and wrote its lyrics.[5](https://www.loudersound.com/features/robert-plant-said-we-captured-the-spirit-of-zeppelin-i-think-he-meant-we-were-as-debauched-as-they-were-the-chaotic-story-of-the-mission-the-goth-band-who-wanted-to-be-led-zeppelin) The relationship soured, and in late 1985 Hussey and Adams left the group. Eldritch did not want to use the songs Hussey had written for a second Sisters album, and nearly all of them ended up on the first Mission album instead.[6](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/the-making-of-the-sisters-of-mercy-first-and-last-and-always)
The pair first called themselves The Sisterhood, a name the remaining Sisters of Mercy leader Eldritch objected to strenuously.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mission-mn0000477613) Eldritch threatened legal action and rush-released his own recording under the Sisterhood banner, prompting the name change to The Mission.[7](https://thequietus.com/interviews/the-mission-wayne-hussey-interview/) The new name drew partly on Hussey's hi-fi speakers and partly on a Mormon missionary diary his parents had given him.[5](https://www.loudersound.com/features/robert-plant-said-we-captured-the-spirit-of-zeppelin-i-think-he-meant-we-were-as-debauched-as-they-were-the-chaotic-story-of-the-mission-the-goth-band-who-wanted-to-be-led-zeppelin) Completing the line-up were drummer Mick Brown of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and Sheffield-born guitarist Simon Hinkler, formerly of Artery and an early version of Pulp.[5](https://www.loudersound.com/features/robert-plant-said-we-captured-the-spirit-of-zeppelin-i-think-he-meant-we-were-as-debauched-as-they-were-the-chaotic-story-of-the-mission-the-goth-band-who-wanted-to-be-led-zeppelin) • [8](https://www.loudersound.com/music/the-mission-best-albums)
## Commercial peak
The band released two independent singles that each reached No. 1 in the UK alternative charts before signing a worldwide deal with Phonogram.[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) Their first single for the label, "Stay With Me", entered the UK chart at No. 30, and the debut album *God's Own Medicine* followed in November 1986 at No. 14, later going gold.[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) • [3](https://themissionukband.com/albums) Recorded and mixed in five weeks, the album featured the anthemic single "Wasteland" and established the band as a leading name in the goth rock scene.[5](https://www.loudersound.com/features/robert-plant-said-we-captured-the-spirit-of-zeppelin-i-think-he-meant-we-were-as-debauched-as-they-were-the-chaotic-story-of-the-mission-the-goth-band-who-wanted-to-be-led-zeppelin) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/gods-own-medicine-mw0000650504) Critics often compared the record to [Led Zeppelin](https://www.edgepedia.org/led-zeppelin) and Yes; a review in the US magazine Trouser Press dismissed it as "a horrible amalgam of Led Zeppelin, Yes and Echo & The Bunnymen", a comparison Hussey took with good humor.[9](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/the-mission-gods-own-medicine-anniversary-interview)
**Children.** The second album, *Children* (1988), was produced by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and reached No. 2 on the UK album chart, becoming the band's best-selling album.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mission-mn0000477613) • [10](https://theaudiophileman.com/the-mission/) It contained the eight-minute "Tower of Strength", which Hussey has called the band's evergreen anthem, along with "Beyond the Pale".[3](https://themissionukband.com/albums) The subsequent world tour took the band to arena level.[7](https://thequietus.com/interviews/the-mission-wayne-hussey-interview/)
*Carved in Sand* (1990) followed, produced once more by Tim Palmer, and was the band's most commercially successful album to date at that point.[8](https://www.loudersound.com/music/the-mission-best-albums) • [7](https://thequietus.com/interviews/the-mission-wayne-hussey-interview/) Hinkler left the band midway through the supporting American tour.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mission-mn0000477613) By 1992 Hussey was the only original member left.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mission-mn0000477613) The 1992 album *Masque*, originally conceived as a Hussey solo project, found little favor with the band's fan base as grunge changed the musical climate.[7](https://thequietus.com/interviews/the-mission-wayne-hussey-interview/)
## Break-ups, reunions and later years
The band released *Neverland* (1995) and *Blue* (1996) with a new line-up before disbanding in 1996.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mission-mn0000477613) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/gods-own-medicine-mw0000650504) In 1999 the group reunited for a year-long tour visiting Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, the USA, South Africa and Greece, culminating in a European tour in late 2000.[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) The album *Aura* followed in 2001, topping the German alternative chart for eight weeks.[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography)
In March 2008 Hussey disbanded the group again to concentrate on solo work, closing with a sold-out European tour that ended with four shows at the London Shepherds Bush Empire.[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) Three quarters of the original line-up, Hussey, Adams and Hinkler, reformed in 2011 with drummer [Mike Kelly](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-kelly) for a sold-out 25th-anniversary European tour ending at the [Brixton Academy](https://www.edgepedia.org/brixton-academy).[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) The albums *The Brightest Light* (2013) and *Another Fall From Grace* (2016) followed; the latter, produced by Hussey with Tim Palmer and featuring guests including Julianne Regan, Gary Numan and [Martin Gore](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-gore), was the band's first UK Top 40 album in over 20 years.[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography)
## Legacy
The Mission remained active decades after their formation, announcing four 40th-anniversary shows for *God's Own Medicine* at the O2 Forum in London in November 2026, alongside limited MWIS/Demon Records reissues of their first three albums.[1](https://themissionukband.com/biography) • [11](https://themissionukband.com/themissionmmxxvi) Contemporary assessments have been mixed: critics have described the band as melodramatic and bombastic, yet the group built a devoted audience, with fans known as Eskimos or Missionaries.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mission-mn0000477613) • [5](https://www.loudersound.com/features/robert-plant-said-we-captured-the-spirit-of-zeppelin-i-think-he-meant-we-were-as-debauched-as-they-were-the-chaotic-story-of-the-mission-the-goth-band-who-wanted-to-be-led-zeppelin) In contrast to the Sisters of Mercy, which stopped being a recording band after 1990, The Mission has continued to produce albums across nearly four decades.[12](https://moshville.co.uk/reviews/album-review/2016/10/review-the-mission-another-fall-from-grace/)
## References
1. [Biography, The Mission (official site)](https://themissionukband.com/biography)
2. [The Mission: Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic (James Wilkinson)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mission-mn0000477613)
3. [Albums, The Mission (official site)](https://themissionukband.com/albums)
4. [God's Own Medicine: Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic (Chris True review)](https://www.allmusic.com/album/gods-own-medicine-mw0000650504)
5. ["Robert Plant said we captured the spirit of Zeppelin": The chaotic story of The Mission, Louder/Classic Rock (Stephen Dalton)](https://www.loudersound.com/features/robert-plant-said-we-captured-the-spirit-of-zeppelin-i-think-he-meant-we-were-as-debauched-as-they-were-the-chaotic-story-of-the-mission-the-goth-band-who-wanted-to-be-led-zeppelin)
6. [The difficult birth of The Sisters of Mercy's First and Last and Always, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/the-making-of-the-sisters-of-mercy-first-and-last-and-always)
7. [The Mission Celebrate Their Quarter Century: Wayne Hussey Interviewed, The Quietus (Ben Graham)](https://thequietus.com/interviews/the-mission-wayne-hussey-interview/)
8. [Nine albums by The Mission to listen and one to ignore, Louder/Classic Rock](https://www.loudersound.com/music/the-mission-best-albums)
9. [Wayne Hussey looks back on The Mission's debut album, God's Own Medicine, Louder (Dave Ling)](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/the-mission-gods-own-medicine-anniversary-interview)
10. [The Mission: A Fan-filtered LP with Led Zep fingerprints, The Audiophile Man](https://theaudiophileman.com/the-mission/)
11. [The Mission MMXXVI, The Mission (official site)](https://themissionukband.com/themissionmmxxvi)
12. [Review: The Mission – Another Fall From Grace, The Moshville Times](https://moshville.co.uk/reviews/album-review/2016/10/review-the-mission-another-fall-from-grace/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › Indie and alternative bands › Post-punk and new wave bands › First-wave post-punk and gothic rock*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license