Spiritwalker

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"Spiritwalker"
The cult spiritwalker.jpg
Single by The Cult
from the album Dreamtime
B-side
  • "A Flower in the Desert"
  • "Bone Bag"
Released11 May 1984
Genre Gothic rock
Label Situation Two (SIT 33)
Songwriter(s) Ian Astbury
Billy Duffy
Producer(s) John Brand
The Cult singles chronology
"Gods Zoo"
(1983)
"Spiritwalker"
(1984)
"Go West"
(1984)

"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.

Contents

Song origins

"Spiritwalker" was written while the group was still called Death Cult. It was never recorded by the group but was integrated into their set list during their second United Kingdom tour in late 1983. The song, musically, was much different, but, lyrically, it was nearly the same as the final recorded version.

The song has its origins in Ian Astbury's earlier group, Southern Death Cult. On 29 October 1981, at the group's second live performance ever, Southern Death Cult played Queen's Hall in Bradford, England. During their set they performed an untitled song (later referred to as "The War Song") that featured many of the same lyrics as "Spiritwalker". The song was never performed by Southern Death Cult again.

Apparently, Astbury incorporated the lyrics of "The War Song" into the creation of "Spiritwalker" but no credit was given to the other members of Southern Death Cult and it is unknown whether they contributed to the writing of the original version.

B-side

The B-side of the seven-inch single is a radio session of "A Flower in the Desert" recorded while the group was still Death Cult. The song, an acoustic version, was recorded for the David Jensen show on BBC Radio One and was engineered by Dale Griffin. The song was first broadcast on 27 October 1983. The song "A Flower in the Desert" is a re-written version of "Flowers in the Forest" originally recorded by Astbury's earlier group Southern Death Cult. Thus the song is credited as Astbury/Jepson/Burroughs/Qureshi (the members of Southern Death Cult). The song, along with the entire radio session, was later released on the compact disc collection of Death Cult recordings entitled Ghost Dance .

The B-side to the twelve-inch single is also "A Flower in the Desert" along with the song "Bone Bag" (which was recorded during the Dreamtime album sessions). "Bone Bag" (often erroneously spelled "Bonebag") was later, in 1986, included on the first United Kingdom compact disc versions of the Dreamtime album (Beggars Banquet catalogue number BEGA 57CD) as a bonus track.

Music video

No "official" music video was recorded for the song "Spiritwalker". When the group released the music video collection Pure Cult: The Singles 1984-1995 (the companion to the Pure Cult: The Singles 1984–1995 album) their live performance of "Spiritwalker" on The Tube was included in place of a "proper" music video. The performance is one of notoriety as it was broadcast live on 13 January 1984, and announcer Jools Holland introduced the group as "...just now The Cult". [1] The group, prior to the performance, had decided to change its name from Death Cult to simply The Cult. [1]

Chart positions

ChartPeak
position
UK Indie Chart 1 [1]
UK Singles Chart 77 [2]

Track listing

Release information pertains to the United Kingdom release only.

7": Situation Two SIT 33

  1. "Spiritwalker"
  2. "A Flower in the Desert"

12": Situation Two SIT 33T

  1. "Spiritwalker"
  2. "A Flower in the Desert"
  3. "Bone Bag"

Personnel

Also credited:

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 Frame: 1998
  2. "UK Chart Positions". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 28 June 2010.

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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.

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References