The Mission / God’s Own Medicine, Children and Carved In Sand vinyl reissues

First three albums on coloured vinyl, newly mastered

The first three albums by goth rockers The Mission have been newly mastered and will be reissued on vinyl this October.

In the summer of 1985, Wayne Hussey (singer, guitars) and Craig Adams (bass) left The Sisters Of Mercy, recruited drummer Mick Brown (Red Lorry Yellow Lorry) and guitarist Simon Hinkler (Artery) and formed The Sisterhood. Following a European tour supporting The Cult, the band changed their name to The Mission and released a couple of EPs – I and II (later compiled on The First Chapter). Debut album, God’s Own Medicine followed in November 1986, reaching No 14 in the UK charts and establishing them as a force to be reckoned with in their own right. The John Paul Jones-produced follow-up Children was released in 1988 and embraced an anthemic rock sound with psych and folk twists – it reached No 2 in the UK chart and saw them headline an arena tour. Two years later, Carved In Sand upped the stadium rock ante and led to a Glastonbury headline slot.

All three albums have been newly mastered by George Shilling and will be issued as “limited edition, one-time fan pressings” (no word yet on quantities of each run) on coloured vinyl with deluxe packaging. God’s Own Medicine will be on aqua blue (A-side)/purple vinyl (B-side) with an embossed gatefold sleeve. Children will be on gold/black vinyl and, again, an embossed gatefold sleeve with spot gloss finish. And Carved In Sand will be on black/oxblood vinyl in a gloss laminated sleeve. The albums have been unavailable on vinyl since 2017 and are only available through the band’s online shop. Standard versions of each album in single sleeves are forthcoming, with release dates yet to be confirmed.

God’s Own Medicine will be the most interesting of these reissues for fans, as the running order now reflects the band’s original intentions and – for the first time on vinyl – the full-length version of ‘Love Me To Death’ is included. Wayne Hussey explains: “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.”

God’s Own Medicine, Children and Carved In Sand will be released on 30 October 2026.

Pre-order from The Mission’s web shop

Tracklisting

Vinyl reissues The Mission /

• God’s Own Medicine
  • LP

    Side A

    1. Wasteland
    2. Bridges Burning
    3. Garden Of Delight (Hereafter)
    4. Severina
    5. Let Sleeping Dogs Die

    Side B

    1. Sacrilege
    2. And The Dance Goes On
    3. Dance On Glass
    4. Stay With Me
    5. Love Me To Death (Original Full-Length Version)
• Children
  • LP

    Side A

    1. Beyond The Pale
    2. A Wing And A Prayer
    3. Heaven On Earth
    4. Tower Of Strength

    Side B

    1. Kingdom Come
    2. Breathe
    3. Child’s Play
    4. Shamera Kye
    5. Black Mountain Mist
    6. Heat
    7. Hymn (For America)
• Carved In Sand
  • LP

    Side A

    1. Amelia
    2. Into The Blue
    3. Butterfly On A Wheel
    4. Sea Of Love
    5. Deliverance

    Side B

    1. Grapes Of Wrath
    2. Belief
    3. Paradise (Will Shine Like The Moon)
    4. Hungry As The Hunter
    5. Lovely