Having recently commemorated the thirtieth anniversary of
the departures from the band of Gary Marx then Craig Adams, it would be
churlish (temptingly so) to fail to do the same for Wayne Hussey, one of the
dozen or so guitarists who have been members of the band over the past
thirty-five years.
In terms of longevity, Hussey would barely make it into the
top ten TSOM guitarists, having survived a mere eighteen months in the band, but his absence
still casts a shadow over the band today for many fans of that era,
particularly those whose love affair with the band started with First and Last
and Always.
Leaving aside (for now) the bitter circumstances of his
departure, Hussey was always a polemical figure amongst Sisters fans. For those
who had followed the band closely throughout 1982 and 1983 (the Ben Gunn
years), the era of blistering love performances and the “golden run” of
Merciful Release singles topping the independent charts, there were already
suspicions of the band’s direction now that a major label deal had been signed,
and the recruitment of Hussey hardly served to allay these fears. The guitarist’s
recent past as a seemingly willing clothes horse in Dead Or Alive’s ever more
desperate attempts to crack the charts certainly didn’t help to convince any
doubters, but neither did the first release from the new TSOM line-up (the insipid Body & Soul) nor his growing
presence in interviews and live shows. Whereas Marx and Gunn had been happy for
Von to do the talking, and had shyly kept their distance from the media, Hussey
relished the limelight and seemed to have a growing influence over events, with
Eldritch’s health apparently beginning to decline.
The same was true at gigs, with Hussey happy to flirt with the audience
and mingle freely with the fans before and after shows, never far from a bottle
of wine, seemingly breaking down some of the mystery and mystique his leader
had deliberately created and indeed increased during that era, with the introduction
of hats, dry ice, more subtle lighting etc.
Worse was to follow, with some blatantly chart-friendly
compositions (Walk Away, for example)
a far cry from the Reptile House and Floorshow days. Tensions within the band
inevitably came to a head, and it came
as little surprise to many that Marx (his role and influence diminished) left the band, shortly followed by Hussey
and Adams. Eldritch had always made it clear that TSOM was effectively his band
(with Marx seemingly willing to play a secondary role), but Hussey’s increasing
dominance and apparent megalomania meant that a parting of the ways could not
be avoided.
In the war of words which followed, I found myself clearly
in Von’s camp, and was delighted that he won the battle for the band’s name. As
much because of Craig Adams as anything, I tried to like Hussey’s new band, but
found the predictable melodies and vacuous lyrics not to my taste, although
they quickly built up a sizeable following which they retain to this day. I
found the live spectacle even less palatable, the turgid, bombastic music
matched by the over-bearing self-congratulatory pact between singer and
audience, as he eagerly lapped up the adulation he had always craved. On both
occasions I saw them (Sheffield Uni, November 1986 and Birmingham Hummingbird,
March 1988) it was the support band (Rose of Avalanche and Red Lorry Yellow
Lorry respectively) that stole the show in my (admittedly minority) opinion,
and I have not been back to see them since.
Over the years, my opinion of Wayne Hussey has mellowed
significantly. He now seems to be a sorted, humorous guy who respects the fact
that the fans have stood by him, and his song-writing and singing have both
improved, to the extent that I enjoy watching clips on YouTube of recent solo
tours. And I’ve even revised my view on his time in the Sisters. Although a
major disappointment to me at the time, FALAA
is still an excellent album by most standards, and in Marian he contributed significantly one of the band’s signature
songs. Subsequent revelations about Von’s health and working practices in the mid-80s
might also lead one to a more generous appraisal of some of Hussey’s
decision-making at the time, and he himself probably had demons which were also
an influence on his actions. TSOM's subsequent releases and media game playing (particularly in the Floodland era) also helped me to cast Hussey less in the role of pantomime villain.
All that being said, however, I can't imagine any circumstances in which I'd like to see him back in TSOM, and there's more chance of Mrs L convincing me to go and see Blood Brothers the musical than me going along with old goth pals to see The Mission.
Good post, interesting to read how your opinion has changed over time. Be good to really know what was going on behind the scenes back when the band fell apart, but I can't see a definitive account ever surfacing - suspect your take is pretty near the mark though.
ReplyDeleteKeep the posts coming, really enjoying reading the old gig research.
Cheers,
a lapsed Heartlander (Mothra)