The Mission gave us ‘Deliverance’ at Brighton Chalk

THE MISSION + SALVATION – CHALK, BRIGHTON 12.4.22

The weather had been pretty decent during the day, but early evening turned wet and grey (not unlike a dry ice machine) on this Tuesday night that I chose to see The Mission kick start their ‘Deja Vu’ tour.

It was originally booked at Brighton’s Chalk at least a year ago, but of course had been delayed for Covid related reasons. This was to be the first warm up date for the tour in question which would climax with two dates at Shepherds Bush Empire in London, before heading off to Ireland. The Mission have been working and rehearsing intensely in deepest darkest Cornwall for this tour and have had the extra task of training up a new drummer due to local lad Mike Kelly, leaving the ranks just before this rescheduled tour was about to happen. You could say that the stakes were high (not a vampire reference).

For the uninitiated, here’s a bit of a potted history of the band in question. They formed in 1986 from the ashes of the mighty Sisters Of Mercy and briefly went under the moniker of The Sisterhood. They hail from the Gothic capital of Leeds and have at least ten albums under their bullet belts. Their breakthrough debut album ‘God’s Own Medicine’ was a staple for any self respecting Goth/alternative back in the 80’s and their 2nd album (‘Children’) sealed their rock god status at the time, by being produced by Led Zeppelin’s very own John Paul Jones. They even did a tour supporting Robert Plant and the ‘Children’ album went to number two in the UK charts in 1987.

In recent years, I saw them celebrate their 25th Anniversary at Brixton Academy with Fields Of Nephilim and Gene Loves Jezebel (who are playing The Prince Albert in Brighton incidentally, on the 24th of April) and I have fond memories of seeing them headlining Reading Festival in the distant and hazy times of 1987.

First up tonight, were another established Gothic band called Salvation. They also hail from Leeds and they are a band that I knew in name but not in music. They began way back in 1983 and could be considered one of the original bands in this particular field of music. Their singer Danny Mass worked with Sister Of Mercy’s Andrew Eldritch and released their first single on ‘Merciful Release’ Records (Sisters Of Mercy have even supported them in the early days). The Mission’s Wayne Hussey has produced them in the past so you could say both bands tonight were very familiar with each other (Blood Brothers maybe?).

After a 17 year hiatus they are back and ready to rock and rattle the gravestones of everyone in attendance tonight. The gig tonight was brought forward at the last minute to a 6pm start, so much rushing and speed eating of chips was achieved in order to catch Salvation’s set at the unearthly time of 6.45pm (we really had to be on our toes/winkle pickers). Luckily (for us) there were technical issues onstage involving their drum machine so pints were ordered and our feet and potato based stomachs were planted at the front of the stage in anticipation. The drum machine problems created a slightly awkward situation from the stage and I felt sympathy for them whilst praying for the correct lead to find the correct hole (did Sisters Of Mercy’s Doktor Avalanche ever suffer the same problem?). Danny (the singer) coped with the situation by the humorous threat of sending the keyboard player back home on the first bus in the morning. Before we knew it, sound was achieved from the problematic computer, which was rewarded with a big cheer from the crowd.

They launched themselves into their opening song (‘The Answer’) and soon had the appreciative crowd in their palms. My favourite song was the third one (‘The October Hour’) which had a killer guitar hook and a catchy chorus. Danny (the singer) wouldn’t look amiss in a Garage Punk band (I spied a Rocket From The Crypt patch on his jacket) and he had good banter with the audience. They even played a ‘Donovan’ cover (‘Sunshine Superman’) which I hadn’t heard in a very long while.

They continued their own brand of alternative rock by playing ‘She’s An Island’ and ‘Pearl Necklace’ (cough) and then ended proceedings by playing their biggest hit ‘The Shining’. The crowd and myself enjoyed their set and I’m glad I got to see them at last. I had a short chin wag with them later on in the bar and very nice blokes they were too.

Salvation setlist:
‘The Answer’
‘Paint It Rose’
‘The October Hour’
‘Sunshine Superman’ (Donovan cover)
‘(Clearing Out The) Debris’
‘She’s An Island’
‘Pearl Necklace’
‘The Shining’
‘All And More’ 

Check them out HERE if you get the chance.

Next up, after much anticipation (from the crowd AND band) were The Mission. By this time, the obligatory dry ice had filled the room to welcome these Gothic sages from Leeds. They opened with ‘Beyond The Pale’ (I’d forgotten about that one!) from their 2nd ‘Children’ album which soon whipped their Eskimo following into a frenzy.

The line up tonight was Wayne Hussey (vocals, guitar and wine bottle), Simon Hinkler (guitar), Craig Adams (bass) and their new drummer Alex Baum who incidentally did a sterling job throughout. Wayne Hussey said he was his son and I’m not going to argue with him.

They then played a couple of fan favourites, ‘Hands Across The Ocean’ and ‘Into The Blue’ from their ‘Carved In Sand’ album. The sound tonight was a little muddy at first but midway through the next song I realised I was listening to ‘Garden Of Delight’ from their debut ‘God’s Own Medicine’ album which I would be quite happy to hear in its entirety.

Wayne Hussey played the intro to the classic ‘Severina’ and the crowd went wild, waving their arms around in the air in true goth fashion. Craig Adams on the thick string guitar had a go at the high pitched angelic vocals but you just can’t top Julianne Regan’s vocals on the original version. It was great to hear this song again. Towards the end of the main set, they played us the crowd pleaser ‘Wasteland’ which triggered the crowd into a frenzy accompanied by a sky of rose petals and confetti. Upon entering the venue, we saw signs saying “At the venue’s request please refrain from sitting or standing on each other’s shoulders” which basically meant ‘Stop doing Goth stuff’. That didn’t stop one person though during ‘Wasteland’ but he was soon curtailed by the venue’s fun police. The set was rounded off with ‘Deliverance’ which pleased the gathering here tonight.

There was a short break before the first encore, which started off with the classic ‘Blood Brother’ which reminded me fondly of times gone by when things were more tribal. They followed this with ‘Hungry As The Hunter’ and ‘Swan Song’ from 2013’s ‘The Brightest Light’ album. We were then treated to a 2nd encore starting with ‘Butterfly On A Wheel’ and ending with the epic ‘Tower Of Strength’.

I overheard a few people saying that they disagreed with a few song choices tonight as a few deeper cuts were presented to us, but I’m sure the fans as a whole were more than happy with this evening’s performance. I know I was. Tonight, had a great atmosphere and I was especially pleased to see my wife Mel, feeling happy and at ease in these anxious and uneasy Covid times. Wayne Hussey at the end of the gig, handed his wine bottle into the audience and said “I’ve Missed You”. I can guarantee the crowd thought the same. It was really nice seeing a band like The Mission in an intimate setting and I think Chalk is shaping up to be one of the best venues in Brighton. As we were leaving, someone shouted “Pub!”. Myself and the crowd were not about to disagree. To not partake would be of course, ‘Sacrilege’.

The Mission setlist:
‘Beyond The Pale’
‘Hands Across The Ocean’
‘Into The Blue’
‘Metamorphosis’
‘Garden Of Delight’
‘Naked And Savage’
‘Fearful’
‘Severina’
‘Grotesque’
‘Belief’
‘Wasteland’
‘Deliverance’
(encore 1)
‘Blood Brother’
‘Hungry As The Hunter’
‘Swan Song’
(encore 2)
‘Butterfly On A Wheel’
‘Crystal Ocean’
‘Tower Of Strength’

The Mission merch is available HERE and for further information on The Mission, visit www.themissionuk.com