Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics

Last updated

Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics
Origin London, England, United Kingdom
GenresRock
Years active2016–present
Labels Listenable Records
Members
  • Aaron Buchanan
  • Laurie Buchanan
  • Tom McCarthy
  • Mart Trail
  • Paul White
Past members
  • Kev Hickman
  • Chris Guyatt
Website www.wearecultclassics.net

Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics are a British rock band formed in 2016 by former Heaven's Basement (Red Bull Records) vocalist Aaron Buchanan and signed to Listenable Records. [1] Band members include Aaron Buchanan (vocals), Laurie Buchanan (guitar and vocals), Tom McCarthy (guitar and vocals), Mart Trail (bass) and Paul White (drums) (formerly of industrial metal band The Defiled and symphonic metal band Season's End). The band cite 1990s grunge rock influences and came together for first rehearsals in June 2016 initially with Kev Hickman formally of RavenEye on drums, this was followed up with a full UK tour alongside InMe starting on 17 October 2016 through to 23 October. The band continued to tour through 2017 with appearances at Download Festival, [2] a full UK tour alongside Life of Agony [3] (Mina Caputo) and a European tour with Royal Republic [4] in support of The Man With Stars on His Knees album. The band has also toured with the likes of Skid Row, [5] Buckcherry [6] and Skindred [ citation needed ] amongst many others.

Contents

The Man With Stars on His Knees

After departing Heaven's Basement in late 2015, [7] Buchanan went into the studio to record The Man With Stars on His Knees. Many of the demo's were put together by Buchanan during his time in Heaven's Basement. The album was produced by lifelong friend and producer James Curtis-Thomas at Plus 11 Studios. The Man With Stars on His Knees was predominantly written by Buchanan in the United Kingdom with many of the vocals and song structures put together at the Reddington family home in Chambers Flat, Brisbane, Australia. The album features Aaron Buchanan (Vocals/Drums/Guitar/Bass), James Curtis-Thomas (Drums), Laurie Buchanan (Guitars/Vocals) and Ryan Woods (Guitar/Bass) and was tracked at Plus 11 Recording Studio in Boreham. The album was then sent off to be mastered at Abbey Road Studios. The first single video, "All The Things You've Said And Done" [8] was released on 12 October 2016 initially on Facebook, [9] shortly after on YouTube [10] and was released as a physical copy with a b/side "Fire in the Fields of Mayhem." [11]

Critical response

"Think Soundgarden. Think Muse. Think power. And think of a band who can back up a big riff with an even bigger chorus." was a line used to describe The Man With Stars on His Knees by Team Rock. [12] Hard Rock Hell posted "It's immediately obvious that Buchanan has seized the opportunity to strike free and plough a fresh creative furrow." [13] Classic Rock gave a 7/10 review finishing with "Buchanan is back on his feet, and swinging from the heavens." [14] Rob Halford of Judas Priest also commented on the band via Instagram on a photo of Aaron Buchanan and Halford together at the Hell-Bent For Leather [15] exhibition in Parliament Tattoo, Finsbury Park, London in 2017 saying the band were "making waves." [16]

Track listing

  1. Show Me What You're Made Of
  2. All The Things You've Said And Done
  3. Dancin' Down Below
  4. The Devil That Needs You
  5. Journey Out of Here
  6. The Man With Stars on His Knees
  7. A God Is No Friend
  8. Left Me For Dead
  9. Mind of a Mute
  10. Morals?

Freddie Mercury tribute

Buchanan has often cited influence and appreciation of Freddie Mercury of Queen. [17] On 5 September 2016, The Cult Classics Facebook page posted a video of Aaron Buchanan & Tom McCarthy in celebration of what would have been Mercury's 70th birthday, and a tribute to what would have been both 25 years since his death and 30 years since the Queen at Wembley gig of 1986. [18] They performed acoustically a rendition of "Love of My Life" (from the 1975 album A Night at the Opera ), a song performed regularly and internationally by Queen in their hey-day. The rendition was inspired by the Live at Wembley '86 performance of the song and achieved over 50,000 hits in just a matter of days to exceptional media response. [19] [20] [21]

Members

Current members

Past members

Timeline

Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert</span> Benefit concert dedicated to Freddie Mercury

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was a benefit concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis, directed by David Mallet and broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the world, with an audience of up to one billion. The concert was a tribute to Queen's lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury, who died of AIDS on 24 November 1991.

<i>News of the World</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Queen

News of the World is the sixth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 28 October 1977 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. News of the World was the band's second album to be recorded at Sarm and Wessex Sound Studios in London, and engineered by Mike Stone, and was co-produced by the band and Stone.

<i>Sheer Heart Attack</i> 1974 studio album by Queen

Sheer Heart Attack is the third studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 8 November 1974 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Digressing from the progressive themes featured on their first two albums, the album featured more pop-centric and conventional rock tracks and marked a step towards the "classic" Queen sound. It was produced by the band and Roy Thomas Baker, and launched Queen to mainstream popularity in the UK and throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tie Your Mother Down</span> Song written and composed by Brian May

"Tie Your Mother Down" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead guitarist Brian May. It is the opening track and the second single from their 1976 album A Day at the Races. On its original release as a single in 1977 the song peaked at 31 in the UK Singles Chart. More than 20 years later, it was released as a double a-side to "No-One but You " where it reached 13 in UK Singles Chart. On the album the song is preceded by a one-minute instrumental intro featuring a Shepard tone melody, performed by Brian May, which is reprised in the ending of "Teo Torriatte": this was intended to create a "circle" within the album.

Royal City was a Canadian indie rock band from Guelph.

<i>Hot Space</i> 1982 studio album by Queen

Hot Space is the tenth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 21 May 1982 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US. Marking a notable shift in direction from their earlier work, they employed many elements of disco, funk, rhythm and blues, dance and pop music on the album. This made the album less popular with fans who preferred the traditional rock style they had come to associate with the band. Queen's decision to record a dance-oriented album germinated with the massive success of their 1980 hit "Another One Bites the Dust" in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Was Born to Love You (song)</span> 1985 single by Freddie Mercury

"I Was Born to Love You" is a 1985 song by Freddie Mercury that was released as a single from his first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy. After Mercury's death, Queen re-worked this song for their album Made in Heaven in 1995, by having the other members play their instrumental parts over the original track, transforming the song from disco to rock. The Queen version from the Made in Heaven album also includes snippets of Mercury's ad-lib vocals taken from "A Kind of Magic" and from "Living on My Own".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven Seas of Rhye</span> 1974 song by Queen

"Seven Seas of Rhye" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was primarily written by Freddie Mercury, with Brian May contributing the second middle-eight. The song is officially credited to Mercury only. A rudimentary instrumental version appears as the final track on the group's self-titled debut album (1973), with the final version on the follow-up Queen II (1974).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone Cold Crazy</span> 1974 song by Queen

"Stone Cold Crazy" is a song written and performed by British rock band Queen for their 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. The song is the eighth track on the album. Although the song was not released as a single at the time, it was performed live at almost every Queen concert from 1974 to 1978. "Stone Cold Crazy" is included on the band's 1992 compilation album, Classic Queen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spike Edney</span> English keyboard player

Philip "Spike" Edney is an English musician who, since the 1960s, has performed with a number of bands, most notably with Queen in their live concerts, where his participation started in 1984 during Queen's The Works tour. During the mid-1970s, he recorded and toured with The Tymes and Ben E. King. He is primarily known for playing keyboards but also plays bass, guitar, trombone and contributes backing vocals. Subsequently, in the late 1970s, he was musical director for Edwin Starr and, during the early 1980s, worked with Duran Duran, The Boomtown Rats, Dexys Midnight Runners, Bucks Fizz, Haircut One Hundred and The Rolling Stones. He also appeared with Peter Green on his comeback tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">'39</span> 1976 song by Queen

"'39" is a song by British rock band Queen. Composed by lead guitarist Brian May, it is the fifth track on their fourth studio album A Night at the Opera. The song was also the B-side to "You're My Best Friend".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)</span> 1975 song by Queen

"Death on Two Legs " is a song by the British rock band Queen and is the opening track on their fourth album A Night at the Opera. The song was written by Freddie Mercury about the band's fall-out with their original manager and Trident Studios owner Norman Sheffield. Though the song makes no direct reference to him, Sheffield sued both the band and the record label for defamation. This resulted in an out-of-court settlement, thus revealing to the public his connection with the song. Mercury said that his lawyer had cautioned him against discussing the lyrics, but that it was written from a "very emotional" place for which he felt music was the best outlet. Roger Taylor also noted that despite the success of "Killer Queen" and Sheer Heart Attack, the album preceding A Night at the Opera, the band was lacking money before the album was made. Sheffield denied that he or his companies had mistreated the band in his capacity as manager, and cited the original 1972 management contracts between himself and Queen in his autobiography published in 2013, Life on Two Legs: Set The Record Straight, in his defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Too Much Love Will Kill You</span> 1988 song by Queen

"Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a song written by British guitarist Brian May of Queen, Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers. The song reflected the breakdown of May's first marriage and attraction to his future wife, Anita Dobson. It was first recorded by Queen around 1988 or before, and was intended to be on the band's The Miracle album in 1989, but did not make the cut due to legal disputes following the band's decision that all songs on the album would be written by the group as opposed to individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cross (band)</span> British rock band

The Cross were an English rock band formed in 1987 by Queen drummer Roger Taylor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Las Palabras de Amor</span> 1982 single by Queen

"Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)" is a rock ballad by the British rock band Queen. It was released as the third single from their 1982 album Hot Space. It is sung mostly in English, but with several Spanish phrases. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song proved more popular in the United Kingdom than their previous single ("Body Language"), reaching No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heaven's Basement</span> British rock band

Heaven's Basement were an English rock band formed in 2008 and signed with Red Bull Records. Band members included Aaron Buchanan (vocals), Sid Glover, Rob Ellershaw, and Chris Rivers (drums). The band split up in January 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm in Love with My Car</span> 1975 single by Queen

"I'm in Love with My Car" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released on their fourth album A Night at the Opera in 1975. It is the album's only song written entirely by drummer Roger Taylor.

The Works Tour was the tenth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen to promote their successful 1984 album The Works. During the tour, Queen participated in the Rock in Rio festival in 1985; the concert was released on VHS. The band released a DVD from a concert in Tokyo titled We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan, but the name of the concert was incorrect as the band performed 2 further concerts after Tokyo in Nagoya and Osaka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RavenEye</span>

RavenEye are an English rock band formed in Milton Keynes in 2014. The band consist of blues guitarist Oli Brown on vocals, bassist Aaron Spiers and drummer Adam Breeze. Their sound is reminiscent of and rooted in modern garage rock and blues rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Amorettes</span> Scottish hard rock band

The Amorettes were a hard rock band formed in Scotland in 2009. They performed in support of Black Star Riders, Europe, W.A.S.P., Ash, The Dead Daisies, Black Stone Cherry, Gun and Thunder among others, and toured across the UK, and performed in several countries throughout Europe.

References

  1. Heaven's Basement, Red Bull Records, 17 February 2016
  2. Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics – Download Festival 2017, Tracey Smith, 12 June 2017
  3. Hobson, Rich (9 October 2017), Life of Agony / Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics – Birmingham O2 Institute, UberRock
  4. Royal Republic Tour Flyer, Royal Republic, 27 October 2017
  5. "Skid Row rescheduled gig listings". Rock City.
  6. "Review of Buckcherry show, Glasgow 14th June 2018". Moshville Times. 16 June 2018.
  7. Kielty, Martin (22 October 2015), Heaven's Basement split with singer Buchanan, Team Rock
  8. All the Things You've Said and Done – Single, 7 June 2016 via iTunes
  9. All The Things You've Said And Done, Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics, 12 October 2016 via Facebook
  10. Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics – All The Things You've Said And Done, Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics, 12 October 2016 via YouTube
  11. Single CD with Exclusive B/Side, Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics, 22 July 2016, archived from the original on 2 April 2017, retrieved 1 April 2017
  12. Halsted, Nick (3 June 2017). "Aaron Buchanan on Chris Cornell, Essex, and seeing life through Iggy Pop's eyes". Team Rock.
  13. Kielty, Martin (2 June 2017), Interview: Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics – The Man With Stars on His Knees, Simon Rushworth
  14. Halsted, Nick (26 May 2017). "Aaron Buchanan and the Cult Classics- The Man With Stars on His Knees". Classic Rock Magazine.
  15. "Hell-Bent For Leather Exhibition 2017". Camden Market.
  16. Buchanan, Aaron (30 April 2017). "The Cult Classics band Instagram". The Cult Classics. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021.
  17. Essential Rock Reviews in conversation with Aaron Buchanan and Kev Hickman. Essential Rock Reviews. 20 October 2016. Event occurs at 5:42 via YouTube.
  18. Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics video tribute to Freddie Mercury, 5 September 2016
  19. Aaron Buchanan and the Cult Classics Pay Tribute To Freddie, Rock And Roll Creations, 5 September 2016
  20. Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics unveil Love of My Life video as a tribute to Freddie Mercury, Myglobalmind, 6 September 2016
  21. Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics unveil Love of My Life video as a tribute to Freddie Mercury (Press release), Planetmosh, 5 September 2016