January 1986 - Former Sisters of Mercy guitarist Wayne Hussey and bassist Craig Adams steal two British confreres to form the Mission - guitarist Simon Hinkler from Artery and drummer Mick Brown from red Lorry Yellow Lorry. A logical move - the dole office has just told Craig there's no future in music but they've found him this lovely job as a park keeper; Simon has been fixing vacuum cleaners; Wayne's been dipping elements in acid and cleaning kettles, and Mick has just been sacked from his construction job after accidentally pinning the site manager to the wall of his office with a forklift. Enter the Mission (known in the U.S. as the Mission U.K., due to previous ownership of the name The Mission)

March 1986 - On tour with The Cult in Europe, newly-christened lead singer Wayne learns to sing into the microphone instead of blithely serenading the band. "I think he sang about ten different songs to us one night," says Craig.

May 1986 - The Mission U.K. release their self-produced debut single "Serpents Kiss," for the independent British label Chapter 22 (7" version b/w "Wake;" 12" also featuring "Naked and Savage"). "Serpents Kiss" enters the indie chart at #1.

The Mission U.K. begin their first British headlining tour. Their antics earn them the reputation of, as Wayne so cheerfully puts it, "a bunch of good-time girls."

July 1986 - "Garden of Delight," The Mission U.K.'s second self-produced single, is released on Chapter 22 (7" b/w Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane;" 12" also b/w "The Crystal Ocean" and "Over the Hills and Far Away"). The Mission U.K. make history as the first new band ever to have their first two releases enter the indie cart at #1.

August 1986 - The band spend time rehearsing and refining their party skills and in between also manage to record and album. (See November 1986).

Wayne is overpowered by an impassioned female Mission fan, who, unable to contain herself, hustles him into the ladies loo of a Leeds nightclub.

At Britain's Reading Rock Festival, Wayne leans over the front of the stage, peers out into the crowd and falls into the photo pit. Nonetheless, The Mission U.K.'s set is still documented as the best performance of the day.

September/October 1986 - The Mission UK. Begin their first headlining European tour. Melody Maker's Mat Smith describes their Bonn, West Germany, performance: "The Mission can be pissed as rats but they'll play like demons. They can be almost incapable of standing up, yet they can still strut, sweat and sneer their way through a performance with an uncontrollable whiplash energy that is a pure joy to behold... "They can, on their night, blow virtually anyone else away."

October 1986 - The Mission U.K. sign with Phonogram worldwide and release their third British single, "Stay With Me" (7" b/w "Blood Brother," 12" also b/w "Island in a Stream").

October/November 1986 - The band embark on yet another UK tour, surprising fans with several unexpected set additions. "As far as cover versions go, they're not premeditated," Wayne explains. We just do 'em at rehearsals and if we fall into hysterics, we do them onstage. The latest one we're doing is 'Tomorrow Never Knows.' In the songbook it's got only one chord, but we've added two more to it. That's how talented we are,'" he says archly. "We can fuck about with Beatles songs."

November 1986 - The Mission U.K. release their debut album Gods Own Medicine, in Britain. The LP, co-produced by the band and Tim Palmer, enters the charts at #14. The critics say:

"Love me to death...' whispers a brazen Hussey in a voice you just wish you could eat or drink or even take to bed with you... if you badly wanted the first Mission album to be stupendous, as I did, you won't be cheated." - Neil Perry, Sounds

"Whatever antics the Mission launch their music on, at the end of the day, they have powerful tuns." - Neil Taylor, NME

"The first time I was really impressed by the Mission was the night they became the only Top Thirty band in the universe to be turned away from the Limelight for not being famous enough. The second time I was really impressed by The Mission was last week when I finally started to listen to their music. - Carol Clerk, Melody maker

Wayne Hussey says: "It's sometimes incongruous, the lyrical content of our songs and our public persona. We're portrayed as these wild rock and roll animals, yet we come out with these quite sensitive songs." This same man, however, has also been known to describe the band's music as "intense, ridiculous, over-the-top, colorful, magnificent and self-indulgent -- but with criterias."

December 1986 - The band get time off for bad behavior and practice being good for Kris Kringle.

January, 1987 - The Mission U.K. clean up in the Sounds Readers Poll, taking #1 honors for Best New Band, Best British Band, Best Live Act and Best LP.

The band release their next British single, "Wasteland" (7" b/w "Shelter from the Storm;" 12" also b/w the Stooges' "1969")

Simon and Wayne get itchy fingers. They solve the problem by twiddling knobs for burgeoning Brit band All About Eve (whose leader singer just happens to be the backup angel on Gods Own Medicine). The resulting single, "Our Summer," goes Top 10 on the indie charts.

Having survived a year without anyone spontaneously combusting, The Mission U.K. celebrate their first birthday with a performance on "the Tube."

The Mission U.K. begin yet another European tour.

In keeping with their promise of worldwide domination, PolyGram release Gods Own Medicine in America.

February 1987 - At a photo shoot in Holland, Craig and Mick get into the spirit of things by running around in front of a windmill shouting "Dick Van Dyke, Dick Van Dyke," while Simon attempts to juggle with an empty bottle and ends up hitting himself on the head.

The band completely unnerve the German traffic police by skateboarding down the Autobahn, tied to the back of their tour transport. After a brief 120 mph chase, Wayne, Mick and Simon are corralled. Craig, however, triple somersaults his way to freedom and continues down the freeway, dodging Volkswagons and sipping from his trusty wine bottle yelling "Look Fritz, no Hans!"

Wayne hops across the Atlantic for a quick American press jaunt. Rolling Stone, Star Hits and Creem are among the medial regaled with tales of the Mission U.K.'s exploits -- they discuss music too!

March 1987 - The Mission U.K. release "Severina" in Britain (7" b/w Free's "Wishing Well;" 12" also b/w the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows").

After a brief UK tour, the band throw a party at their adopted London home, the Columbia hotel. Wayne catwalks across the roof to visit several unsuspecting guests; various hotel rooms get trashed and the Columbia's management disinherit their wayward sons.

"The Mission U.K.'s songs mix dark, introspective lyrics and sweet pop hooks. There is enough promise in their debut album to give the band credibility." - Robert Hilburn, Los Angeles Times

"This album contains a variety of melodies that convey the band's individual creativity. It hails the ingenuity that has been missing from the pop mainstream of late and leads one to wonder when groups from America will produce such efforts."

- Lance Laskosky, Houston Post

May 1987 - The band performs on Fox Televisions "Late Night" with Joan Rivers. Joan presents Wayne with a bottle of his favorite nail polish and asks why the band chose this particular name. Wayne explains: "We're all Robert DeNiro fans and we decided this was better than being called Raging Bull."

At the Mission U.K.'s Dallas, Texas show, 25 people are arrested for underage drinking. Wayne is outraged that the police are carting off his beloved fans -- especially when all they've been drinking is watered down beer!

After the band's L.A. concert, Craig gets into a snit with the desk clerk at the Hyatt Hotel and chucks his boots at him. The LAPD comes racing to the rescue, and the Hyatt not-so-politely suggest the band find another hotel; the manager claims The Mission are the worst band they've ever had - rather a cheeky comment from the hotel dubbed "the Riot House" for Led Zepplin's exploits there! Craig, in a fit of pique, punches a plate glass window. He's sent home for "rest and recuperation" and the band are lucky enough to find a fan who knows all the songs to fill in. Wayne quips, "I always did want a blond in the band."

Continuing their assault on America, the Mission U.K. sign on as the opening act for the Psychedelic Furs.

June 1987 - At New York's radio City Music Hall, 5800 of Wayne's closest friends serenade him with "Happy Birthday."

July 1987 - The mission U.K. open for U2 in Leeds, returning to their home turf in glory.

The First Chapter, a compilation of the band's indie singles is released in Britain. The album also features a previously-unreleased studio version of Patti Smith's "Dancing Barefoot."

Once again, the Mission U.K. take to the road, this time playing the European festival circuit. "we've always wanted to go out and do long stupid tours and be irresponsible in public," says Craig. "We're good at it. We can fall down anywhere."

August 1987 - The band prepares to headline the opening night of the Reading Rock festival's 25th anniversary. Wayne comments: "I'm looking forward to playing Reading 'cause I can't remember a thing about the last time I was there. I want to go back and see if it really was a 20-foot drop."

September 1987 - PolyGram releases The First Chapter in the U.S., with "Tomorrow Never Knows" as a bonus track.

The Mission U.K. return to the studio to begin their next round of music and mayhem. To quote Simon, "If anything's worth doing, it's worth making a habit of."