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"I'm a Cult Hero" | ||||
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Single by Cult Hero | ||||
B-side | "I Dig You" | |||
Released | November 1979 (UK), 1980 (Can), 1981 (NZ) | |||
Recorded | 1979 | |||
Genre | Post-punk | |||
Length | 6:24 | |||
Label | Fiction Records (UK), Modulation Records (Canada), Stunn Records (NZ) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Robert Smith | |||
Producer(s) | Chris Parry | |||
The Cure singles chronology | ||||
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"I'm a Cult Hero" is a single released by an extended lineup of the Cure under the name Cult Hero.
The single was conceived by Robert Smith (singer/guitarist of the Cure) and Simon Gallup (then bassist of the Magspies) as a way to test their musical compatibility. Smith was considering Gallup as a prospective replacement for Michael Dempsey (the Cure's bassist at the time), "whose personality and ambitions for the band were seriously at odds" with those of Smith. [1]
The songs were written for, and feature on vocals, local Horley postman Frank Bell, who is also depicted on the single's artwork. They also feature Malice/Easy Cure guitarist Porl Thompson and Magspies keyboardist Matthieu Hartley amongst an extended lineup of friends and family, including Robert's sisters Janet and Margaret and local band the Obtainers.
Following the recording of the single in 1979, Gallup left the Magspies and joined the Cure, replacing Dempsey. At the same time, Matthieu Hartley also left the Magspies and joined the Cure as the group's first keyboardist.
Hartley ultimately left the Cure in 1980, after only one album, Seventeen Seconds, and its subsequent tour. Gallup also left the Cure in 1982, but then rejoined the band in 1984 and remains a member to the present day. Porl Thompson also rejoined the Cure between 1983 and 1992, and then again from 2005 to 2011.
"I'm a Cult Hero" was originally released in December 1979 in the UK with the song "I Dig You" on the B-side.
Upon release in 1980 in Canada, and in 1981 in New Zealand, the tracks were flipped, with "I Dig You" as the A-side. The track "I'm a Cult Hero" was also included in the Australian compilation album Britannia Waives the Rules in 1981.
Both tracks are included in their original order in the 2005 deluxe edition of Seventeen Seconds. Also included are previously unreleased live recordings of both tracks, but in reverse order.
(Both tracks written by Robert Smith)
The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's debut album, Three Imaginary Boys (1979), along with several early singles, placed the band in the post-punk and new wave movements that had sprung up in the United Kingdom. Beginning with their second album, Seventeen Seconds (1980), the band adopted a new, increasingly dark and tormented style, which, together with Smith's stage look, had a strong influence on the emerging genre of gothic rock as well as the subculture that eventually formed around the genre.
Three Imaginary Boys is the debut studio album by English rock band The Cure, released on 11 May 1979 by Fiction Records. It was later released in the United States, Canada, and Australia with a different track listing as a compilation album titled Boys Don't Cry.
Robert James Smith is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer, guitarist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band the Cure, which he co-founded in 1978. He was also the lead guitarist for the band Siouxsie and the Banshees from 1982 to 1984, and was part of the short-lived group the Glove in 1983.
Seventeen Seconds is the second studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 18 April 1980 by Fiction Records. The album marked the first time frontman Robert Smith co-produced with Mike Hedges. After the departure of original bassist Michael Dempsey, Simon Gallup became an official member along with keyboardist Matthieu Hartley. The single "A Forest" was the band's first entry in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.
Faith is the third studio album by English rock band The Cure, released on 17 April 1981 by Fiction Records. The album saw the band continuing in the gloomy vein of their previous album Seventeen Seconds (1980), which would conclude with their next album Pornography (1982).
The Head on the Door is the sixth studio album by English rock band The Cure. It was released on 30 August 1985 by Fiction Records. Preceded by the single "In Between Days" which had reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart, The Head on the Door was described by Melody Maker as "a collection of pop songs". With its variety of styles, it allowed the group to reach a wider audience in both Europe and North America. In the United Kingdom it became their most successful album to date, entering the albums chart at No. 7 on 7 September.
Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by English rock band the Cure. It was first released in Japan on 7 November 2001, before being released in the UK and Europe on 12 November and then in the US the day after. The band's relationship with longtime label Fiction Records came to a close, and the Cure were obliged to release one final album for the label. Lead singer Robert Smith agreed to release a greatest hits album under the condition that he could choose the tracks himself. The band also recorded a special studio album released as a bonus disc to some versions of the album. The disc, titled Acoustic Hits, consists of the eighteen songs from the North American release re-recorded using acoustic instruments.
Paris is a live album recorded by The Cure at Le Zénith de Paris, in October 1992 during their Wish tour, but released in October 1993. The band announced the album in July 1993.
Concert: The Cure Live is the first live album by English rock band the Cure. It was recorded in 1984 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London and in Oxford during The Top tour. The cassette tape edition featured, on the B-side, a twin album of anomalies, titled Curiosity : Cure Anomalies 1977–1984.
The Cure in Orange is a concert film by British rock group The Cure. It was shot on 35mm film at the Théâtre antique d'Orange in the French countryside, on 8, 9, and 10 August 1986. Band members Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Boris Williams (Drums), and Lol Tolhurst (Keyboards) make their way through 23 songs, under the direction of Tim Pope.
"A Forest" is a song by the English rock band The Cure. Co-produced by Mike Hedges and the band's Robert Smith, it was released as a single from the band's second album Seventeen Seconds on 28 March 1980. It was their debut entry on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 31. The accompanying music video was first shown on BBC's Top of the Pops programme on 24 April 1980.
Simon Jonathon Gallup is an English musician and bassist with the alternative rock band the Cure. He is the second longest-serving member of the band after lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Smith.
Michael Stephen Dempsey is an English musician and composer, who has played bass as a member of several post-punk and new wave bands, including the Cure and the Associates.
Matthieu Hartley is an English musician born in Smallfield, England. He is best known for as the original keyboardist for The Cure. Before then he was in Lockjaw and The Magazine Spies and was in several bands after leaving The Cure.
Fools Dance were an English rock band active from 1983-1987, chiefly noted for their connection to The Cure.
Festival 2005 is a live DVD by The Cure released in late 2006. It was shot during the band's headlining shows at 9 European music festivals in the summer of 2005. The video features a variety of angles "captured by a mix of fans, crew and 'on-the-night-big-screen cameras'." It was the first physical release by the band since guitarist Porl Thompson returned to the line-up.
Presence were a British rock band started by Gary Biddles, Lol Tolhurst, and Michael Dempsey. Dempsey and Tolhurst were founding members of The Cure, and Biddles was a former Cure roadie who previously played in Fools Dance with Simon Gallup.
The Magazine Spies were an English post-punk band from the town of Horley. They were active during 1979 and 1980, and are notable for band members who went on to play in the Cure, Fools Dance and related projects. The Magazine Spies were also known as the Magspies and Mag/Spys; a wordplay on "magpies".
The Cure: "Reflections" refers to a set of shows in which The Cure played their first three albums Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds and Faith in full at the VividLive festival at the Sydney Opera House on 31 May and 1 June 2011. All three albums were played in their entirety on both nights, along with several other tracks from the same era.