WAYNE Hussey spent most of his childhood wanting to be Kevin Keegan.

Then, a chance sighting of Marc Bolan on Top of the Pops inspired him to pick up a guitar instead.

Thirty years on, Wayne is still going strong, following a successful and notorious career in bands like Dead or Alive, The Sisters of Mercy and The Mission.

Next week Wayne, who is currently taking some time out from The Mission, will perform solo at Burnley Mechanics.

He will be back touring with The Mission in October but for now, he says, he enjoys the solo experience.

Wayne grew up in Bristol, but as soon as his career took off he headed for the North West.

He said: "I opted for Liverpool because I was a huge Beatles fan, plus I loved Liverpool Football Club. I was into football for years and years and I wanted to be Kevin Keegan. Then I decided I wanted to be a musician and when I was 17 I went to Liverpool and got into the punk scene."

It was here that Wayne met the flamboyant Pete Burns and together they formed Dead or Alive.

Wayne said: "I like to write songs without parameters. When punk came along, at first it was very anti-establishment, but later anything like that becomes the establishment.

"After the initial excitement, I realised musically, there wasn't a lot to it and I wanted something more.""

Wayne says he learned a lot from Pete in terms of hair and clothes.

"I let him dress me up. I was his Barbie doll for a while."

He then joined the Sisters of Mercy, before Wayne and bassist Craig Adams left to form The Mission.

Wayne, 44, now lives in Sao Paulo with his Brazilian wife Cinthya, but regularly jets back to Europe for Mission tours.

Although he loves the Brazilian lifestyle, he denies that samba music is about to become part of The Mission's repertoire.

"I like old South American music from the '60s and, at the moment, I really like anything from Radiohead to Frank Sinatra."

Catch Wayne at Burnley Mechanics on Saturday, May 31. Call 01282 664400 for details.