For Cinthya the one true love of my life, whilst all others have been merely pretenders. Only you and you alone know the truth of who I am.
Tinkerbellies, Tinkerbellies
For Mum and Dad, without whom.
In the end, its not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away. Shing Xiong.
Foreword by Gary Numan
Its very rare that I hear a song that is so perfect, so beautifully written, that listening to it becomes a genuinely bittersweet experience. The pleasure you feel from letting something truly exceptional wash over you battles against the painful realisation of knowing that you will never write anything that good. Thats what I have to deal with every time I listen to Tower Of Strength. It puts things into perspective thats for sure.
I know Wayne has a real issue with the Legend label that comes his way so often but, to me, he deserves it. As the brightest star of an entire genre he could have packed his guitar away decades ago and retired, rightfully considering himself a glorious success in a brutal and difficult business. But he has no interest in that, not in retiring or looking at himself too seriously. He just keeps working, delivering music of exceptional quality year after year and touring constantly, in one form or another. This is what separates the genuine career musician from everyone else. This is for life, not two albums and back to your day job. Wayne Hussey is the real thing.
So many artists come along, have some success, fade away, fuck it up, lose the drive, whatever. Only a few are able to navigate their way through the endless minefields of music business treachery and disaster and yet stay positive and enjoy a career that spans decades. Its incredibly difficult, and only those that have truly devoted their life to music, to being in a band, to being an artist, to living the life, can ever hope to achieve the longevity and gloriously high moments that Wayne Hussey has achieved, and he shows no signs of stopping.
Im proud to call him a friend. I dont see him nearly as much as I would like but thats part of the sacrifice. Weve had some seriously mad nights together, shared our deepest problems and bared our souls to each other more than once, and it is an honour to be given the opportunity to write this little piece for his book. He is one of a kind, and whether he likes it or not, hes an absolute legend, and I cant think of anyone on planet Earth who has a better story to tell.
Gary Numan
January 2019
Foreword by Iggy Pop
I toured a lot with The Mission in the 90s and Wayne was much too bright and nice a guy to be in the rock business. I suppose thats why he never really was. I mean, his voice was nothing short of commanding, and his grooves were more goth and operatic than the run of the mill. But Wayne always had a sense of humour, and thats where the rock kicked in, because sometimes its just fucking fun. Hes living in Brazil now, and his new album ( As Irms Siamesas ) is worlds away from his past. And thats a beautiful thing.
Iggy Pop
January 2019
Preface & Disclaimer
This book may be a pack of lies. Or the unmitigated truth. It really depends what you prefer to believe. I have dutifully researched, as well as trawled the memory banks of myself and others, but have written without being slavish to fact. These are my memories and I cant demand absolute accuracy of them, so neither should you. My story is certainly based on very true events but even the most honest of men and women are prone to exaggeration in the pursuit of self-mythology, wouldnt you agree?
My apologies for putting words into the mouths of others. Conversations are recorded here but I must confess that liberties may well have been taken in their recall. Who can remember verbatim a conversation that took place merely an hour ago let alone 40 years? Its the gist of the conversation thats important rather than the actual words. Its the gist that is remembered.
As a musician I dont consider myself a writer as such, Im only in this position of writing a book because of my achievements whilst making music. But Ive enjoyed the process of writing. The disciplines involved. The finding of words. And memories long forgotten. Ive enjoyed the remembering, mostly.
Flaubert once wrote, our worth should be measured by our aspirations more than our works. Well said, that man.
For each chapter in this book I have constructed a playlist that pertains to the content of that particular chapter, or were hits in the time period I am writing about. Designed to enrich the reading experience, we have set up playlists for you with Spotify and YouTube (see instructions below). Where I was unable to find a particular song thats listed in the book I have substituted it with another that has some relevance, however tenuous.
I must add that a few of these choices are purely for context, but most are because I love the songs. Despite my eventual moral ruin, of which you shall soon be reading, my heart continues to beat fiercely, insanely, to the same incessant rhythm of love for music that propelled me to pick up a guitar in the first place. And in music there is redemption. Believe you me. Its because of music that this book exists. Its only right that there should be a soundtrack to its reading. You dont even need to read the book to enjoy the playlists!
For Spotify :
Open and log-in to the Spotify app, type husseysaladdaze into the search engine. Upon results go to the husseysaladdaze Profile . On Overview click on All and you will then have access to the playlists for all 20 chapters. Choose the corresponding number for the chapter you are currently reading.
For YouTube :
Type Wayne Hussey into the search engine, filter the search to channel and then click on the Wayne Hussey Official icon. Once on the official channel page, highlight playlists, and, again, choose the corresponding chapter for the one you are currently reading.
Wayne Hussey
January 2019
Contents
PLAYLIST:
1. Refrain Lys Assia2. Heartbreak Hotel Elvis Presley3. You Make Me Feel So Young Frank Sinatra4. Whos Sorry Now Connie Francis5. Blue Moon Elvis Presley6. Only The Lonely Frank Sinatra
It was summer, 1956. Britain and her Tory prime minister, Anthony Eden, were embroiled in a developing ruckus over the Egyptian Suez Canal. Heroin had recently been criminalised in Britain, joining cocaine as a Class A. Elvis Presley had scored his first hit with Heartbreak Hotel and Switzerlands Lys Assia, wearing a powder-blue ankle-length dress, had just won the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest with a charming ditty called Refrain. It banes me to record that Manchester United were crowned league champions of England, while their more likeable neighbours, City, won the FA Cup by beating Birmingham 3-1 in a game best remembered for the courage of their goalkeeper, German Bert Trautmann, who played on to the end despite breaking his neck in the 75 th minute. Liverpool were languishing in Division Two. Frank Sinatra topped the maiden UK album chart with Songs For Swinging Lovers . It was still a year away from John Lennon meeting Paul McCartney for the first time.
In Mangotsfield, Bristol, 17-year-old Wendy Lovelock, as is the wont of teenagers, found herself in conflict with her mum, Edith. To escape the restrictions imposed by her disciplinarian mater, she left the family home to live with her friend Beryl in Arlesey, Bedfordshire. Finding menial work in a local factory putting little wires into computer things Wendys routine was like that of most young people of the time, before and since: work all week, count down the hours until the weekend, then let your hair down. Once a month Wendy and Beryl, two pretty young British girls, were invited to the dances at the local US Air Force base in Biggleswade where they met quite a wild lot. They were always having parties, and there was always drink there, you know what its like. Oh yes, I do.