The Cult

The Cult are a British rock band formed in 1983, originating in Bradford, West Yorkshire and later based in Los Angeles, California. The group is led by singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, who are the longest-serving members and the band’s principal songwriters. Their line-up changes frequently over the years, and members associated with the band include Jamie Stewart, Nigel Preston, Les Warner, John Tempesta, Chris Wyse, Craig Adams, Mickey Curry, Scott Garrett, Martyn LeNoble, Matt Sorum and James Stevenson. The band is active from 1983 to the present and is associated with alternative rock, gothic rock, hard rock, post-punk and rock.

Career

Before adopting the name The Cult in January 1984, the band performs as Death Cult, a name developed from Southern Death Cult, Astbury’s earlier group. They build an audience in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s with post-punk and gothic rock material, including the single “She Sells Sanctuary”, then reach wider success in the United States later in the decade with hard rock singles such as “Love Removal Machine”.

Their debut album, Dreamtime, appears in 1984 and achieves moderate success; its lead single, “Spiritwalker”, reaches number one on the UK Indie Chart. The follow-up, Love (1985), charts at number four in the UK and includes “She Sells Sanctuary” and “Rain”. Electric (1987) brings the band greater commercial success and shows a shift towards hard rock, with producer Rick Rubin helping shape the more polished sound. The album includes “Love Removal Machine”, “Lil’ Devil” and “Wild Flower”.

After relocating to Los Angeles, the band continues in this direction with Sonic Temple (1989), their first album with Bob Rock, who goes on to produce several later records. That album becomes their most successful to that point, reaching the Top 10 in both the UK and the US, and includes “Fire Woman”. By Ceremony (1991), tensions and creative differences affect the group’s recording sessions, which take place without a fixed line-up and leave Astbury and Duffy as the only official members. Support on bass and drums comes from session musicians.

The band releases one more studio album, The Cult (1994), before splitting in 1995. They reform in 1999 and issue Beyond Good and Evil in 2001, then go on hiatus again in 2002. Activity resumes in 2006, and later studio albums include Born into This (2007), Choice of Weapon (2012) and Hidden City (2016). Roadrunner Records is among the labels associated with the group.

Style

The Cult’s music combines hard rock with post-punk and gothic rock elements. Their sound develops from a darker UK underground style into a more direct hard rock approach, while still retaining melodic guitar work and gothic overtones. Their catalogue includes some of their best-known songs, among them “She Sells Sanctuary”, “Rain”, “Love Removal Machine” and “Fire Woman”.