WAYNE HUSSEY
10.07.2010,В 'Modern Theater, Sofia - Bulgaria
words byВ Nick the Stripper, photos: DerCircle

Well, it only took 24 years. Still, it may take England four times that to win the World Cup. At least some of us can now safely say we've seen a live Wayne Hussey performance on Bulgarian soil. Granted, it wasn't The Mission, but we got the only member, ever-present throughout their quaint history.

Nowadays Wayne is a happy vegetarian, who doesn't do drugs and lives peacefully in Brazil. He is also a Liverpool fan...Well, no one is perfect. And although there's a new Mission album out, called "Dum Dum Bullet", Wayne has opted to do a solo tour of sorts. It's probably much easier (not only logistically) and he seems to really be enjoying himself.

He comes onstage for his first ever Bulgarian show to warm applause from the small, but loyal and grateful crowd in Sofia's Modern Theatre. There are people who've been into his music since the mid 80s, some have travelled a long way for this gig.

Bottle of Bulgarian red by his side, Mr. Hussey sits himself on a stool, straps his acoustic guitar on and says hello with an inspired rendition of "Beyond the Pale". His voice sounds as good as ever, in fact better than on some live recordings through the years.

He does an acoustic cover of "Personal Jesus". In fact, there are a few covers in the set and he, himself, has been asking fans on his website's forum to contribute ideas for his repertoire. During the set he also does U2's "With or Without You" (included in 2008's solo outing "Bare") and incorporates some Radiohead into "Wasteland".

He does 3-4 songs on his acoustic, then switches to the keyboard/piano, then back to the acoustic again. For me, the guitar stuff worked better. In any case he's no sombre, morose, miserable Goth. In between songs he chats to the audience, asks us what we want to hear, cracks a joke or two, sips some wine…

It's all very relaxed and intimate, as we all hoped it would be. We get to hear all the Mission classics like "Severina", "Like A Child Again" (personally I love the "Masque" album) and "Tower of Strength". There's some brand new stuff too and it's bloody great, especially the third song of the set, whose name I didn't quite catch.

Oh well, guess a setlist will turn up somewhere on the net. All in all, a most pleasurable experience. You're welcome back anytime, Wayne!