The Cult: The Making of Love & She Sells Sanctuary
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2024
- The Cult: The making of Love & She Sells Sanctuary
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#thecult #ianastbury #billyduffy
I cite my sources and they may differ than other people's accounts, so I don't guarantee
The Cult would be born out of the UK’s post-punk movement. Frontman Ian Astbury would front the band for the Southern Death Cult and would partner up with guitarist Billy Duffy who played in the band Theater of Hate.. By Astbury’s own admission to Canada’s muchmore music tv channel, his bandmates in southern death cult were more into getting girls than playing music and having already met duffy, he was in awe of the guitarist’s musician ship. . It was following the dissolution of southern death cult that Astbury hopped on a bus and traveled to London with sheets of lyrics to meet Duffy and talk to him about forming their own band, which they did called Death Cult. Their name would eventually be shortened to The Cult so people wouldn’t get mischaracterize the band’s style of music. Enlisting drummer Nigel Preston and bassist Jamie Stewart the band would release their debut album Dreamtime in 1984 that was a modest success on the indie charts selling 60,000 copies with the song Spiritwalker topping the UK indie dance charts. Despite a solid start, the Cult hadn’t yet zeroed in on their sound. That would come with their next release 1985’s love. But the band would look back a decade to find inspiration with frontman Ian Astbury telling
Loudersound how himself and Duffy were rebels in what they wanted to do at the time recalling There were certain guidelines in the post-punk, new wave movement, and that was to stay clearly away from long hair and guitar solos,” “So for us that was like, ‘Great! That’s exactly where we’re gonna start!’ If that’s where we’re not supposed to be according to some erudite journalist, then that’s exactly where we’re starting. I wanted to find out what the taboo was all about. Then you hear Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin and The Doors, and suddenly it’s like, ‘What is this? We’re not supposed to listen to this? You’re kidding me!’ We’ve always had a punk rock attitude, but it’s less reactionary and more dynamic. Rebels respond to a situation in a way that’s not just being contrary, there’s a visceral and energetic response.”
The band would assemble in Barnes, London at Olympic Studios to cut their first track for their new album. The plan was to work with Susie and the Banshees producer Steve Lillywhite at Olympics Studios in Barnes, London, but due to a misunderstanding with their label, the band soon found themselves in the studio with Wham producer Steve Brown. What should have been an unproductive recording session resulted in the perfect pairing between the band and producer. It was at these sessions the band recorded the song‘She Sells Sanctuary,’ which gave the band would of their biggest hit songs of their career. The track would peak at number 15 on the UK charts.
It was a song that came together quite quickly with Astbury recalling in 2010 “Sanctuary came together very easily in fact,” I took the bass line from a song called Spiritwalker… Billy came up with the melody, and we worked out a vaguely psychedelic guitar sound which seemed to fit it well. We were heavily into 60s psychedelic music. The producer, Steve Brown, had had a lot of pop success so he really knew how to structure a song. It’s funny, you write a song like that where everything comes together far beyond what you could’ve expected and then you spend the rest of your life trying to write another one as good.” As for what the song was about in a separate interview Astbury according to songacts is and i quote Sex. Plain and simple, it's about sex. I've had sex and I'm very proud of that fact.
The band would end up giving nigel preston the boot following his erratic behavior and enlisted a new drummer to spend the 4 weeks in the summer of 85 recording Love. The lyrics of the album would be introspective dealing with the subjects ranging from life and death, spirituality and materialism.
“Love would sell north of two million copies and produce several hits including She Sells Sanctuary, Rain and Revolution. The band would cap off the 80’s releasing several more hit albums including the Rick Rubin produced Electric and 1989’s Sonic Temple.
the actual accuracy of my videos.
The fact that The Cult wrote great new wave/post-punk songs but could also write awesome bluesy hard rock songs was a testament to their talent.
Love is a near-perfect album. Every damn song 🖤
Yeah, the album as a whole too is so diverse.
One of the greatest rock bands ever !
I love all their phases, there's a new album coming out now and these guys never disappoint, always making new music but almost never repeating themselves!
I don’t know a tremendous amount about The Cult but I was in a band a few years ago & we covered Fire Woman. That led to me being introduced to & working with Parmalee. Their bassist recorded 9 of my songs & even did some backup vocals/played on some of them. They’re some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
I have always been into The Cult’s music since the 80’s, and liked most of their songs. I must say though that my favorite song is Painted On My Heart from the movie Gone In 60 Seconds.
ahhh yesss! same here since the 80's. this is a fantastic tune. glad The Cult did it as Aerosmith were also considered for it.
@@ikadee4923 The Cult and Aerosmith are 2 of my favorite bands. But on that song Tyler's voice does not match the beauty of Ian's. czcams.com/video/B7mxcPLMr8I/video.html
One of the funnest concerts I've been to was The Cult at the Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston back in the 2000s. They rocked! The floor was general admission and I was right on the rail. At the end of the last song Billy reached down and put his pick in MY HAND. LOL I still have it, has his name on one side and The Cult on the other. Good times.
@Christopher Bingham Well, sure he does, it's all part of the show. I just got lucky. I'm sure my fist pumping, head banging enthusiasm didn't hurt, though. HaHa!!
Yeah, Billy is a real down to earth guy, talked with him on facebook enough to know.
How many rock bands have you heard or seen that have traveled the path they have had, none. From the early goth-punk beginning, to the alternative burn of Love era, the hard rock stomp of Electric and Sonic Temple, the spiritual symbolism of Ceremony, the grunge style of The Cult, personal fav if I must say! Bombastic Beyond Good and Evil, dyi of Born into This, Stooges style Weapon of Choice, alternative groove of Hidden City, and up next their new album Under the Midnight Sun! Not to mention Ian Astbury's solo album Spirit/Light/Speed and the Holy Barbarians! That's a lot of music covering a lot of different styles of music! Punks like them, goths like them, hair bands like them, grunge bands like them! That's a lot of ground and people to cover, not to mention they have been successfull in every genre they have tried to do, in a underground kind of way. You will never see a rock band take such a unique way in rock history and succeed at it the way The Cult have! Unique rock voice, Astbury, unique guitarist Duffy, that's one hell of a combination. Their names should be up there with the likes of Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards, Astbury/Duffy, in my humble opinion!
As a guitarist....LOVE is one of the best albums ever. Once I think I got the song down .... I listen even closer and hear things in the background that then challenges me to pick up the guitar and have to add something I missed. LOVE album will do that to me and that is why I keep listening to it today.
The Cult can not be quantified. They are able to cross genres and be good wherever they see fit. So they did not fit into a box. History looks favourably upon them. Best live rock band I have ever seen…
Going to their show in a September!
Well put!
Unfortunately I had the opposite experience, twice! I saw them in the '80s opening up for Metallica. I was a huge Cult fan, and I knew like five songs by Metallica, but most of the crowd there were Metallica fans with a few goths interspersed here and there in the crowd. It was an outdoor venue and very sticky hot that day, and Astbury came on blitzed. He messed up lyrics and on one song I think he sang the same verse twice! A few years ago, I saw them again on the Electric revisited tour, and was wise enough to pay for seats this time instead of general admission. Although they sounded better than before, Astbury would pause between sets and spend 10 minutes bitching and getting pissed off about stuff, mostly complaining about the sound engineer, how he couldn't hear his monitor, he thought his microphone was broken, every third word was the f word, he threw tambourines around, etc. I was like man come on, I paid to hear you sing not do this . . . Must have caught him on a bad night or something. Really wish I had seen him sing for the Doors, he sounds really good in those videos.
They are horrible live. Ian can barely remember his lyrics and they aren't tight at all.
@@cassiusdhami9215 don't waste your money
The Cult is one of the best rock groups, I like their songs a lot and my favorite is rain
Same here
One of my favourite bands ever. Do the "Peace/Electric" records story please
Met them in 87 after their Detroit show where Guns and Roses opened for them. Great guys 🤘🏼great music 🎵
The Cult is one of the first bands i listenned when i was a teen .It's so underrated rock band.
It was The Cult's desire to break America that diminished them, starting with _Electric._ A classic today, the new "AC/DC" sound was a shock of disappointment in '86. And the Glam MTV Metal of _Sonic Temple_ was a year or two too late in '89. But, ironically, those three albums have only gotten more popular, people are still talking about them, The Cult are still packing in tour audiences today for those songs, & new fans are discovering them as if they were a classic band like Zep or The Doors. Wouldn't have predicted that in '85. Aptly named, The Cult became the definitive "cult band", breaking America in a 35 year slow burn.
Worth mentioning is drummer Mark Brzezicki (from Big Country) - his powerful, ferociously creative drumstyle elevated _Love_ in a big way.
Wild that Steve Brown got the gig by error - Lillywhite would've been too hard-edged. _Dreamtime_ suffered from a sloggy production - _Live At The Lyceum_ showed how good those songs are.
@Christopher Bingham Mate, you don't know what you're talking about. The Cult have been playing mid to large capacity theaters & global festival spots consistently for 20 years. Still are. For an old Psychedelic Goth Rock band with only three popular albums from the 1980s, that's pretty incredible.
And, yes, sometimes bands play tiny venues. Seen a few big name bands in clubs - it's not a new thing.
Love is my favorite Cult album. Very gothic yet colorful where most others are mostly shades of grey
Full length documentary on their whole career coming later in the year…..
With the new album out in October 22, now is a great time for a career retrospective. Looking forward to seeing it. Electric was one of the first albums I ever bought and I've been following them ever since then. Love is an all time favourite.
Can't wait for that 👍
Oh Yeah! Make sure to put PEACE in it.
I listened 🎶 here comes the rain Dallas 🌧 got 13 5 inches of rain 🌧 😑!!! This week
Since 2017 I love this band so much they impacted my life and help me discover my true self I saw them last July for the first time in Boston Forever The Cult
“Love” and “Electric” were great albums but I don’t understand why The Cult got so much hate - Mission UK and Love & Rockets also had similar psychedelia and rock sounds as well with the same post-punk roots and quite guitar-laden at times. Was it because The Cult were starting to get lumped together with the hair-metal bands which were huge at the end of the 80’s?
Compared to Dreamtime, Love definitely has more commercial appeal and that would set them at odds with their more post-punk and goth-rock contemporaries at the time.
When they doubled down on commercially viable music and changing to a hard rock sound with Electric, you can see a lot of early fans leaving the building.
I think it’s easy look back on those two records and see how great they are in the present day. They have aged about as perfectly as an album should. Love is an epic album loaded with top tier tunes and has such a great atmosphere. Electric is so immediate in its delivery and never stops its momentum (I hate the Born To Be Wild cover though I skip it)
Despite all this, the drastic changes they made all the way to Sonic Temple couldve been jarring and frustrating for an early fan. Especially back in the 80s.
I graduated high school in 1989 and was heavily into the alternative music of the time. Everybody I knew really liked Love a lot. Sometimes at lunch a dj would spin in the quad and when he would play Rain my friend and I would have lots of fun dancing around. They changed their sound too much for me with Electric. It sounded too corporate to me.
Both great albums. I was actually disappointed with the Sonic Temple era if anything.
I think many that obviously didn't listen to the Cult lumped them into the hair bands but not even close. One of the best shows I've seen and I've seen them several times. I don't get the hate because punk likes them and so does metal so not sure what's going on other than the ones who don't listen to them might be saying.
Very good alternative, post-punk, goth, new wave band in the earlier years.
If I recall around the early '90s they started sounding very different , almost straight up corporate hard rock like AC/DC. Still ok, but not the same as before.
Fire Woman is still my favorite!
aww yiss fire woman. met a few of those, they r most def to blame:D
I blame her too. 😠 😡 👿 😤 🤬
The Witch
Love that tune!
The Cult is always one of the tops on my personal playlist.
What a great band. I love how they kept getting heavier with every album.
Grew up on the beach listening to these lads! Good shit!!
I have seen them four times going back to January of 1986. They always put on a great show. Definitely one of my favorite bands from the 80s and still rocking. As a fire(horse) woman, I am definitely to blame!!
I saw them on the Sonic Temple tour in ‘89. They were awesome. I regret I only got to see them once.
@@68fmj51 Yes, I saw them in 1989 opening for Metallica on the And Justice for All tour at an outdoor amphitheater.
Love is still one of my favorite rock albums of all time.
I first saw 'The Southern Death Cult' lka 'The Cult' when they played at the Embassy ballroom in Windermere
(my home town), the Lake District, Cumbria, UK in 1981. Supported by a local band 'A Touch of Hysteria' they were formerly known as 'Panik' for whom I was the guitarist, when I was 13. Both of these bands incorporated the drumming talents of Chris Acland, who went on to be one of the founding members of 'Lush'. So talk about humble beginnings! Sadly Chris (who was one of my best mates at the Lakes School) passed away in 1997. Since then I've had a stroke so can't play guitar anymore. Any way just a bit of trivia for anyone who's interested.
oh, am I ever interested, thanks for that.
Chris Akland was a terrific drummer and Lush one of my favourite bands. I think like most young men at the time I had a huge crush on Mikki, hahaha. I was bummed when he passed away.
@@paulmackay7265 Yeah man and the circumstances through which he passed. That will always remain a mystery to me however, I hadn't seen him since 1983 when we left school. Between then and 1997 I'd changed expodentially and had my fair share of ups and downs. Anyway 'Tiffa' you're not forgotten.
Very interesting. I grew up in Glenridding, moved south to go to university and at one point found myself playing drums very briefly in a band whose members had been in Into a Circle, who in turn had been in Southern Death Cult.
I’m so glad I got to see The Cult so m concert with all the original members!
Love is my favourite Cult album. Rain will always be one of my favourite songs.
Rain is my favorite song. Still is.
Having loved this band and seen them in concert right before the release of Love and it was a mixture of goth, grebo and people like me disillusioned with rock music and finding a platform.
The transition and progression suited me naturally being into AC/DC but it did feel slightly groundless at first even if it hit the right spot. Post Sonic Temple the band started to hit the level where they blended their influences and remained an enigmatic band. Always worth the listen with less bombast and hyperbole rock star stereotypes.
Fond days in the early years seeing them at Hammersmith and Brixton Academy from 85 onwards .
Getting precious about standing in a room with 30 others digging a formative band says so much more that individual than about than enjoying the ride.
My brother came home from college...handed me the LOVE album...it played for days straight....top 10 greatest albums ever!!!
Just stumbled acoss them on You Tube but caught my ear and eye right away not too headbang at all good melodies. Would go see them. Sawadee Khap.🤠
Their best album. Actually been given it a relisten these past couple of weeks.
Their self titled album is by far Ian's most heartfelt writing. Severely underrated.
They Always played their signature sound
“Nigel Preston was let go due to erratic behavior”
AKA Herion
LOVE and ELECTRIC (and Sonic Temple too) were fantastic. I kinda wish they kept the alt-psychedelic sound though.
ELECTRIC is the only Cult album I do not own. That is because I own PEACE. I like its psychedelic sound much better.
They were a great band in all of their incarnations. Original, fun, and musical.
I don’t know what they were like in America during their heyday, but one the uk and Ireland they were huge
I felt betrayed when the moved from goth hard rock to decadent Americana hard rock with Electric, then to semi glam metal with Sonic Temple.
Sonic Temple kicks butts hard, at moments. They've always been different in every album they made, and that takes a lot of integrity.
They are in a league of their own, such a great sound
Saw the tour where they played “Love” in its entirety, and they played some other hits from other albums. Love when bands do that. Great concert, he was sporting his Jim Morrison look.
Ian also does this thing where he is playing a tambourine, then throws it on the stage. It’ll crack and spew pieces of wood, then fly out into the crowd. People then fight over it, probably getting splinters, just awesome🤘
You mean to say throwing the tambourines is part of his act? Last time I saw them, he chucked about 8 or 10 tambourines but it appeared he was doing it because he was pissed off, he was throwing them so hard. Almost nailed the bass player with one, and that guy gave him a real dirty look. He also spent a lot of time on stage complaining about stuff, smashed his microphone on stage, complained that he didn't want to play in Cleveland, couldn't read the setlist, couldn't hear his monitor, demanded somebody bring him a new microphone after smashing the first one, refuse to do songs from Choice of Weapon, swore constantly, etc. I used to be a musician, so I can understand this frustration if the soundcheck guy did a crap job or something, but the vibe at that show was more like spoiled rich guy throwing a tantrum.
Love and Electric . Two fantastic albums . They should have stayed with the psychedelic and melodic stuff, IMO
One of my top 5 bands
As a 13 year old at the time I adored Dreamtime and still do. There was a limited edition version which included a phenomenal live recording at the Lyceum in London. I liked Love and whilst Electric has grown on me over the years, I confess its release was a crushing disappointment at the time. I saw them tour it , but was one of the fans that left the building. Billy Duffy remains one hell of a guitar player though.
It was called "alternative" for a reason. Alternative to talent.
I love The Cult. I'm glad they took the direction they did.
Fact The cult Rocks❤️🔥
They had a couple of catchy tunes early on, but with Bob Rock on Sonic Temple they hit their stride.
And with Bob Rock on the following 4 albums they would lose their stride. I suspect they would have tailed off after Sonic Temple no matter who produced them.
I think you are both wrong, since they never made a bad album.
@@spiritualarchitect4276 Good to know at least some people were still buying their last few albums.
I am a cult fan from the minute I first heard them to this very day over 30 years I’d probably leave my husband for Ian Astbury. He’s a beautiful, beautiful man and extremely talented. I was crushing hard for years and then when he played the Jim Morrison roll with the doors it just singed it he is my man god could be a terrible human for all I know I have no idea. I just adore his voice his music , his way of singing in performing his way of addressing pretty much everything publicly known about him is a perfect fit to me and my teeth, and I love the band. The band themselves are terrific so they have never went wrong with me and their personal beliefs or not my problem or business. I just know what they put out I Like.
Sweet Soul Sister is the Cult at their heaviest and their peak
Astbury is from Yorkshire, Billy Duffy from Manchester /Lancashire
This is a really interesting video. I was 15 when Love came out, and discovered The Cult through this album, then going back to Dreamtime. I did not know the story about the producer. I think Ian Astbury also mentioned that they had discovered ecstasy or some drugs in the US before making the album, and that helped change the beats a little away from punk. Great summary though.
At one time the Cult was my most favorite band. In fact i went to the Metallica "And Justice for All" tour JUST to see them play before the main event. They were so drunk that they didn't even last one song. That's when Hatfield and the boys got on stage and THEY did the warm up...thus becoming my most favorite band right then and there! But I was so disappointed. So much so that it took years before I went to another concert of any kind.
I never would have guessed that The Cult had punk rock roots.
Check out this original Cult: czcams.com/video/DVfUlh9dDF0/video.html
Some of the best albums in rock history have been release by The Cult. Fans who don't cherrish a band's success are stupid.
The Cult got me into hard rock, before that I mostly listened to preppy music.
One of my top five fav albums...
I have seen the Cult a number of times live and each time Ian seems to provoke negative reactions by mouthing off in between songs. He is the poster child for the saying: Shut up and play!
I remember him arguing with some skater kids in front row early nineties. He was quite drunk, and they never had an encore
@@starvingbuddha7622 Yep, I have seen the same thing. I was at an outdoor show in NY when it rained all night and everybody was soaked. He started telling everyone that the only true fans were the ones near the stage. Then he began to speak about revolution and communism. I found it quite sick that a rich rock star was advocating for communism. I guess that shouldn't be strange considering he named his son Che after the Argentine doctor Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who helped Fidel Castro destroy Cuba.
I saw him front the Doors in Manchester in 2004, He was pretty good, pretty neat. Not better than me though when I did the covers hehe
It all depends on Ian's state of mind and the moment he's going through. Billy accepts that and builds it up with his amazing riffs. The integration between two so different people is very curious because Billy is a more modern and peaceful guy; Ian is pure mystery and spirituality. Perhaps this mixture is the secret of this amazing band.
After Electric they wanted to be a metal band and resented having been categorized as an alternate/progressive band and that’s when they lost a lot of fans from the Love era.
if anyone can catch it, the live performance of spirit walker in Germany is better than the studio version IMO... great band 👌 👏 👍 🙌
thanks for tip..here's one for ya..you're welcome🤘
SUN KING PINKPOP 1992.. Ian channels his best Jim.
czcams.com/video/5qEEEGi0qCI/video.html
New album "Under The Midnight Sun" out October 11 2022. czcams.com/video/d_4DJGSbwcU/video.html
Great band. Personal faves for me are Butterflies from DT and The Snake, b side of the SSS 12 inch single.
Saw them play Finsbury Park in 91. Just as they started playing 'here comes the rain' it started raining as if planned. Pearl Jam supported the Cult that day.
SSS is an amazing song!
Whys the newest video private
Electric was killer front to back
I love how they could make 3 great albums using virtually the same pattern of riffs, then again you could say the same thing about ACDC, except The Cult do make their song's sound different.
I remember going to see them in San Francisco not knowing who they were only to promote my friend's nightclub opening, The DNA Lounge which is still open. I remember this cutie was eyeballing me and I thought he was hot so as we were making our way towards one another, my friend dragged me off and said not even over her dead body. Turned out it was Duffy. During the concert I kept looking at the guy standing next to me and then it dawned on me. It was Daniel Ash and he told me all about the new band he was staying, Love & Rockets. It was a fun concert.
They alienated no one. They’ve crossed genres and decades seamlessly. Rise is a tremendous track.
yeah, they did what they wanted.
The Cult are more universally respected across all genres and scenes than any rock band in history.
@Sammie J Goth clubs and raves don't play the Beatles or the Stones but they go off for The Cult.
Electric is a masterpiece.
Great video.
Great alt band.
Electric is still a favorite of mine.
How the the cult lmao my brain was supposed to fix that, but it never does. Might be broken
This one comes up normal with watch later option....seems random
do tragic death of Munetaka Higuchi and what ever happened to loudness
I was big time into them with the Love record. Best music, best look, best sound! I was pissed when the next record came out and it was all denim and raggedy long hair and AC/DC style riffage! Everything I loved about them was gone! 😖😖👎🏽
I actually gave him a round of applause for "having sex". Well, done. I'm also very proud of you.
Ian can say what he likes but Electric and Sonic Temple were them selling out as hard as possible. It's like when you got all those rock bands in the early 90s doing ballads and they'd be like 'people are saying we shouldn't do a ballad, so we did as a fuck you to them' when really it's because bands like Extreme and Mr Big could land a big hit and make lots of money. Love's great though.
Love is a fantastic album.
When people cared about music lol
Love is great.
They only get better
From the off, they were good at emulating existing styles but weak in terms of a signature identity. This is still their fundamental weakness.
0:02
Frontman Ian Assberry
Electric CRANKED!!
No disclaimer
The Cult lost me when they decided they wanted to be AC/DC.
👍👐👌
I love their music, it helps define a period of my life that is long gone...hearing them brings back fond memories and feelings.
I saw them last year and I have to say....
It was the most disappointing show I have ever seen.
And have been to a lot of shows in this life.
The lead singer (Ian?) Kinda mumbled and grunted out the lyrics ...over the instruments.
He didn't sing the songs as we know them...just kinda made shit up.
It was awful.
It struck me as someone who was tired of their own shit and had no respect for their fans ...probably completely full of himself.
I actually kinda ruined my personal age of them and I would have been better off not seeing em.
I love The Cult but Astbury often acts like a teenager having a tantrum.
They never alianetad me.
LOVE the Cult, but it seems you're not a fan......
No. They are great.
Southern Death Cult was so amazing that it's sort of sad they are not looked at as godz of alternative, really, one of my favorite bands of all time really.
That's not why that kid punched him. In spite of their phenomenal studio albums, Ian Astbury has never delivered a good live performance. I've seen The Cult live three times in as many decades, and Ian sounded awful and acted terrible every time.
punched in the face? Damn...why did the guy even go to the concert?
The Cult was never more than mediocre. Just sayin