The Cult are an English rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury's previous band Southern Death Cult. They gained a dedicated following in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s as a post-punk and gothic rock band, with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking into the mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s establishing themselves as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love Removal Machine". Since its initial formation in 1983, the band have had various line-ups; the longest-serving members are Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, who are also the band's two main songwriters.
Southern Death Cult were a British post-punk/gothic rock band that formed in Bradford during the early 1980s. They are now primarily known for having given their lead vocalist and parts of the name to the multi-platinum hard rock band the Cult. Despite the similarities in the names, "Southern Death Cult" were distinct from "Death Cult"/"the Cult".
Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and post-punk band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in London, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been packaged into numerous collections, and they remain one of the more well-known bands of the early Batcave scene and have reformed for new albums and touring at various times since the early 1990s.
Ian Robert Astbury is an English singer, best known as the lead vocalist, frontman and a founding member of the rock band the Cult. During various hiatuses from the Cult, Astbury fronted the short-lived band Holy Barbarians in 1996, and later from 2002 to 2007 served as the lead singer of Riders on the Storm, a Doors tribute band that also featured original Doors members Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger. Astbury replaced Rob Tyner during an MC5 reunion in 2003, and has contributed guest vocals on several recordings by other artists.
Dreamtime is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Cult. Released on 31 August 1984 by Beggars Banquet Records, it peaked at No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart and was later certified silver by the BPI after having sold 60,000 copies. The first single, "Spiritwalker", peaked at No. 1 on the UK Independent Singles Chart. Dreamtime has subsequently been reissued in roughly 30 countries worldwide.
Love is the second studio album by the English rock band the Cult, released on 18 October 1985 by Beggars Banquet Records. The album was the band's commercial breakthrough, reaching number four in the UK and staying on the chart for 22 weeks. It produced three Top 40 singles in the UK, "She Sells Sanctuary", "Rain", and "Revolution". It has been released in nearly 30 countries and sold an estimated 2.5 million copies. Love was recorded at Jacob's Studios in Farnham, Surrey, in July and August 1985.
William Henry Duffy is an English rock musician, best known as the guitarist of the band The Cult.
Beyond Good and Evil is the seventh studio album by English rock band The Cult. Released in 2001, it marked their first new recording in six and a half years. The record debuted at No. 37 on the charts in the United States, No. 22 in Canada, No. 25 in Spain.
Death Cult is the debut four-track EP by the post punk/gothic rock band Death Cult. Released in July 1983 on the Situation Two label, the EP reached No. 2 on the UK Independent Chart. The EP is often erroneously referred to as Brothers Grimm.
James Alec Stewart is a retired British musician who was the bassist of the post-punk/hard rock band The Cult. He recorded on The Cult's first four albums, Dreamtime, Love, Electric and Sonic Temple.
The Cult is the sixth studio album from English rock band, The Cult. It was released in October 1994 on Beggars Banquet Records and it is also the band's last album on Sire Records in the US. It is also commonly referred to as the "Black Sheep" record, due to the image of a Manx Loaghtan black sheep on the front cover. The record also features one of the very rare times when Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy have shared songwriting credit with anyone: bassist Craig Adams is credited as co-author of "Universal You".
Live at the Lyceum is a live album by English rock band, The Cult, recorded live at the Lyceum Ballroom in London on 20 May 1984. The band performed 15 songs at the concert, which was edited down to nine songs for this release. In the UK, it was released with the first 30,000 copies of the Dreamtime LP, and also found on side 2 of the Dreamtime cassette. It was released separately as a live LP in Canada and Japan. The live version of "Bone Bag" was released as a videosingle in Argentina.
"She Sells Sanctuary" is a song by British rock band the Cult. It is from their second studio album, Love (1985), and was released as a single on 13 May 1985, peaking at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart in July of the same year. In March 2023, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awarded the song a platinum certification for sales and streams of over 600,000. In January 1993, the song was re-released as "Sanctuary MCMXCIII" and experienced chart success once more, matching its original peak on the UK Singles Chart and entering the top 10 in New Zealand.
Weathered Statues is an EP by the American hardcore punk band T.S.O.L., released in 1982 through Alternative Tentacles. In comparison to the band's previous material, its experimental nature and melodic leanings confused some of their fans and presaged the creative direction they would take on their second studio album, 1983's Beneath the Shadows. The material from Weathered Statues was later re-released on the compilation albums Thoughts of Yesterday: 1981–1982 (1987) and T.S.O.L. / Weathered Statues (1997).
"Spiritwalker" is a single by the English rock band The Cult and was released on 11 May 1984. "Spiritwalker" is the lead single from the Dreamtime album, although it was released nearly five months before the album was released.
Ritual was an early 1980s Harrow-based post-punk band that were later aligned with the early UK-based gothic rock movement. The group is commonly associated with Death Cult, which two Ritual members later joined.
"Go West (Crazy Spinning Circles)" is a single by the English rock band The Cult and was released on 10 August 1984. Often truncated as just "Go West", it is the second single from the Dreamtime album.
"Ressurection Joe" is a single by the English rock band The Cult, it was released on 14 December 1984 and wasn't found on any previous studio album by the group.
Raymond Taylor-Smith was a drummer for several notable British post-punk and gothic rock groups during the early 1980s. He is best known by his stage name, Ray Mondo.
