40 years ago, in November 1986, The Mission released their debut album God’s Own Medicine, an atmospheric and emotive work of spiralling guitars, impassioned vocals and anthemic songs that became a landmark album of both the ‘80s alternative and gothic scenes.Recorded in six weeks with producer Tim Palmer, the album charted at #14 and featured the Top 20 hit ‘Wasteland’, as well as the Top 30 singles ‘Severina’ (featuring All About Eve’s Julianne Regan on guest vocals) and ‘Stay With Me’. Bowing to record company pressure at the time, the album featured a running order that was contrary to the band’s original intentions and also had an edited version of fan-favourite ‘Love Me To Death’.
Newly mastered by George Shilling and on coloured vinyl for the very first time (Aside /Bside – Aqua Blue/Purple), along with a deluxe EMBOSSED gatefold sleeve and printed inner sleeve, this version restores the original running order and for the very first time includes the full-length version of ‘Love Me To Death’.
Lead singer Wayne Hussey is naturally pleased to see the band’s vision finally realised, saying: “It made sense for the album’s arc that ‘Stay With Me’ should be near the end of the album. But, once it was released as a single, there was no way Mercury would let it stay on Side Two, so we had to swap it for ‘Severina.’ Of course, ‘Severina’ was really a great powerful song where it had originally been intended. That swap made the rest of the album seem a little wrong, so we swapped ‘Dance On Glass’ and ‘And The Dance Goes On’ as well. It wasn’t the biggest problem in the world – at least all the songs were there – but it has frustrated us all a little over the years. It’s great to have it out correctly now.”
Following the success of God’s Own Medicine which saw the band tour the US and Europe with The Cult, The Psychedelic Furs and U2 on their Joshua Tree tour, The Mission expanded their sound with a collection of epic, emotionally charged songs that combined soaring melodies, dramatic atmospherics and arena-sized ambition.
For their second studio album, the gold-selling Children in 1987, The Mission enlisted Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones to produce and the resulting album is a bona fide classic, establishing The Mission as one of the most influential bands of their generation on the alternative music scene. It charted in the UK at #2 and featured the #12 hit single ‘Tower Of Strength’ – within months The Mission were headlining arenas around the world.
As with the new edition of God’s Own Medicine, this newly mastered and limited edition pressing of Children is the first time the album has been available on coloured vinyl (A-side/B-side Gold/Black) and features a deluxe embossed gatefold sleeve with spot gloss finish and a printed inner sleeve, reflecting the original release.
The band’s third album Carved In Sand captured The Mission at the height of their creative and commercial powers. Having played a number of European festivals supporting The Cure in 1989, the band embarked on a low-key Scottish Highlands tour followed later that year by a headline appearance at the Reading Festival, before returning to the studio to complete the album.
Released in February 1990, Tim Palmer was re-enlisted to produce the record, while Reeves Gabrels, Baluji Shrivastav, and Guy Chambers also made contributions. Carved In Sand’s first single, ‘Butterfly On A Wheel’, released in January 1990 charted at #12, followed by the Top 40 singles ‘Deliverance’, ‘Into The Blue’ and ‘Hands Across the Ocean’, with the album itself charting at #7, and again going gold in the UK. The band supported the album release with their first ever shows in Australia and New Zealand.
The new pressing of Carved In Sand features coloured vinyl (A-side/B-side Black /Oxblood) and recreates the original gloss laminated LP sleeve, with a printed inner sleeve. Like both God’s Own Medicine and Children it is newly mastered by George Shilling.
All three albums have been unavailable on vinyl since 2017, and these one-time special coloured vinyl versions with deluxe packaging will only be available through the Mission’s own webstore: https://www.themissionmerch.com/
A regular version of each of the three albums, in standard single sleeve artwork, will be released subsequently and made available to purchase through all normal retail outlets.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the band and the original release of God’s Own Medicine, The Mission are playing a hugely anticipated 4-night residency at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town in November 2026 where each night they will perform a different set from across their catalogue of ten studio albums.
Over the course of their career The Mission have chalked up 12 Top 40 singles in the UK and seven Top 40 albums, including two Top 10s. They have sold five million records worldwide.
