Craig Adams (musician)

Craig Adams
Adams performing with The Mission in 2014
Background information
Born	(1962-04-04) 4 April 1962 (age 55) Otley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Genres	Heavy metal Post punk Gothic rock Alternative rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Bass

Craig David Adams (born 4 April 1962,Otley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England) is an English musician, bass guitarist and songwriter. Over his career he has worked with a variety of rock bands while also being part of a touring crew.

Brought up in Leeds, Adams left school to pursue a career in music. He initially played keyboards in a local band the Expelairs who released a handful of singles. He left the five-piece due to musical differences and took up bass. Inspired by Motörhead he began to channel his bass through distortion-effects. After a short conversation in a local bar with Andrew Eldritch he joined the Sisters of Mercy. Here Adams developed his songwriting abilities, contributing mainly to arrangements and using his high-pitched voice for backing vocals.

When Adams and Hussey tired of the way that the Sisters of Mercy worked, they left and together they formed The Mission (initially the Sisterhood). Adams recorded four albums with the band and two compilations. As one of the co-founders, Adams' presence was pivotal in its success although his occasionally destructive behaviour brought a level of instability to the line-up. During the first tour of North America, Adams broke his hand while punching the window of the bus and was forced to return to the UK to recover. During the 'Deliverance' tour of 1990 guitarist Simon Hinkler left, signalling the disintegration of the band. After the release of the 1992 album Masque, Adams was sacked, with the press reporting Hussey citing personal differences as the main motivation. In the biographical book about The Mission, Names Are For Tombstones, Baby; it states that they were on good terms personally, but that they were going in opposite directions musically.

Adams was recruited by Billy Duffy in 1993 to play bass with the Cult on a European tour. The two had first met when the Sisterhood, including Adams, had opened for the Cult throughout Europe in Jan/ Feb 1986. Adams stayed with the Cult to record the self-titled 'Cult' album in 1994 with producer Bob Rock, and tour extensively throughout Europe, and North and South America. His time with the Cult ended when the group disbanded in Mar 1995.

Adams collaborated with Duffy again in 1998, forming Coloursound with Duffy, Mike Peters (of the Alarm), and Scott Garrett, who had also played with the Cult at the same time as Adams. Coloursound released one self-titled album in 1999, on Peters' own 21st Century Records.