The Cult

Ian Astbury – vocals
Billy Duffy – guitars
Matt Sorum – drums
Billy Morrison – bass

“It’s okay. No one is watching anymore. You now have permission to rock again.” – Ian Astbury on stage in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2001

Darkness and light; peace and war; sex and transcendence. These are the corner stones of The Cult. Formed in England in 1983 by singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, the band has traversed the highs and lows, cut a wide mark, and have again harnessed the white-hot war horse of rock and roll.

“BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL,” their first effort in 7 years, is a mission statement of unfinished business. “When we came together again we realized we weren’t done,” Astbury says. “I feel like we were exiled to the mountain and now that things aren’t working we’ve been called back.”

He’s talking about rock music – not rap-rock, not metal, but pure, unadulterated rock and roll; a specimen last seen in Seattle in the mid-Nineties. “This ain’t nostalgic,” Astbury says. “This is a spiritual holy war. If you’re going on a stage to perform, you’ve got to be fucking good in contemporary terms.” The lucky who saw the band’s ’99 reunion tour – the blistering chemistry of a crack team together again – can attest to that. “The energy in those rooms was amazing,” Astbury recalls. “I thought we were the best we’ve ever been.”

It was the first time Duffy, Astbury, and drummer Matt Sorum had been the Cult since 1992. And it wasn’t just déjà vu. “When we finished I said ‘Right, now let’s get on with the next phase,’” Duffy says. “The biggest question in my mind was whether or not we could work together again. I didn’t know where he might be musically.” The Cult always mixed tradition and experimentation, the earthly and spiritual – it’s a yin-yang dichotomy personified by Duffy and Astbury. “Last night is the perfect example,” Astbury said recently at South by Southwest. “After we played, Billy went to a titty bar and I went to see Mogwai.”

After some readjustment time, Duffy and Astbury were writing again, amassing 60 sonic ideas to be sorted through by legendary producer Bob Rock. “At first we shyed away from using Bob because we thought it was too obvious,” Duffy says. “We didn’t want to do anything the easy way. But we realized no one else can find the common ground between Ian and I like Bob can.”

The result is as raw as “ELECTRIC,” as polished as “SONIC TEMPLE” and every inch as soulful as “LOVE.” “The new album’s like a cross between Cream, Motorhead and Bauhaus,” Duffy says. “Heavy and melodic, hence Cream. A bit straight ahead, hence Motorhead. Dark and early 80s, hence Bauhaus. And a bit of us thrown in as well.” This isn’t a retread. There are plenty of those coming this year. This is brand new Cult music. The band that rocks your body, your soul, and if you’re listening, your mind.

Astbury has long been interested in native peoples, the decay of society, and the need for spiritual evolution. It began in earnest as the band approached the zenith of their material success. “We were touring in South Dakota, opening for Metallica in ’89,” he recalls. “I was watching this Indian guy fixing his truck. He sort of nodded to me and asked if I was from the Res. I said, ‘No, I’m English.’ He said, ‘You want to come up to my house to have something to eat?’” Astbury did and was inspired forever. “We talked about everything: music, politics, sexuality, spirituality. He was going to college to study resource management so he could purify his tribe’s drinking water. He asked me what I was doing in my community. The answer was nothing. When I was first in the band I thought the power of music would change the world. It won’t.”

That night after the show, Astbury began scribbling in his journal, dreaming up a tour to bring together the best of his generation, in the name of aiding Native Americans. It was called The Gathering of the Tribes. It was to feature everyone from Public Enemy to Soundgarden and like everything The Cult has done, it laid groundwork others soon capitalized on. “There was a bit of an agency war over the bands who wanted to be involved,” Astbury says. “Oddly enough, the guy who wouldn’t let his groups be on our bill was at the forefront of Lollapalooza when it came soon afterwards.”

Astbury has long relished community. As a starving punk on the streets of Northern England, he needed it. “Nobody asked me what my religion was, what my family was about, what my race was,” he says. “I was a punk, I was one of them, and that was it. We stole food for each other, we looked for shelter for each other. We shared whatever we had. I loved that camaraderie: when you’re together with a group of people and you look in their eyes and you know you’re all having the same experience.”

Growing up, Astbury took his cues from Crass, a late 70s English punk band. “I just re-read Sibilith, by Penny Rimbaud, the drummer for Crass,” he says. “They lived a communal lifestyle and their motto was anarchy, love, and peace. It was powerful, sexual music. They looked like a more punk Velvet Underground. And after the show they would share whatever they had – food, clothes, everything – with the audience, then they’d move on. They were a big influence on me.”

Astbury’s recent travels in Nepal and Tibet opened the singer’s eyes even further. “I’ve seen a soldier take a rifle butt to the back of an old man’s head to move him along,” Astbury says. “I saw a guy dragged out of his shop and dumped into the back of a truck. But it’s everywhere in the world. If you have any kind of resistance to the mainstream you’ll quickly be shut down – either violently or you will be absorbed by society. There’s a strange, oily feeling in the world right now. You can’t quite get a grip on it, it’s intangible. I think it’s due to a lack of spirituality. Rock right now is full of crying, complaining and aggression. There’s a lot of ‘fuck you’s’ and ‘I’m not going to do what you tell me.’ But what are you going to do? No one’s offering a solution. I’ll offer one: read books. Find your role model.”

The Cult are a classic, massive rock and roll band – and at the same time they’re not. The music is a safe haven, a quiet, introspective moment and a bombastic missile all at once. “We’re here to say that it’s all not good, mate.” Duffy says. Say it loud and say it proud.

June, 2001

A HISTORY OF THE CULT

1981
Ian Astbury forms Southern Death Cult in Bradford, England after being homeless and following anarchist punk band Crass around the U.K.

1982
Ian tours with Southern Death Cult – opening for alternative rock band Theater of Hate, whose guitar player is Billy Duffy. Southern Death Cult is lauded as the leaders of a movement called “positive punk.” As a result they grace the covers of the U.K.’s leading rock publications and open for bands like Bauhaus and The Clash. Southern Death Cult is declared “the next big thing” without even releasing an album.

1983
Ian Astbury quits Southern Death Cult due to “artistic differences.”

Ian approaches Billy about forming a new band. Following the profile of Ian’s previous band, they call themselves Death Cult and are immediately hailed as a “supergroup” in the Goth scene. They release an EP, “BROTHERS GRIMM,” play Europe and tour the U.K. and end the year by releasing the single, “God’s Zoo.”

1984
They drop “Death” and call themselves simply The Cult. The band signs to Beggars Banquet and releases their debut single, “Spiritwalker,” which tops the independent charts. They tour the U.K. and play some shows in America. Their debut album, “DREAMTIME,” goes top 20 in the U.K.

1985
The “She Sells Sanctuary” single is released and becomes the underground hit of the summer, spending 19 weeks in the U.K. charts.

The album, “LOVE,” is a top 5 hit, selling platinum in the U.K. and is licensed to Sire for U.S. release.

The band embarks on its first U.S. tour. “She Sells Sanctuary” is a top 40 radio hit in Seattle, Washington.

Band appears on Saturday Night Live, where they perform “She Sells Sanctuary.”

1987
The band releases its third album, “ELECTRIC,” produced by Rick Rubin (best known for his work with the Beastie Boys at the time) to platinum success. The band tours the world, including tours with Billy Idol and Guns ‘N Roses.

1989
Their fourth release, “SONIC TEMPLE,” is hailed as a triumph, climbing to #3 in the U.K. and top ten in the U.S. The first single, “Fire Woman,” enjoys huge success on both radio and MTV. The band, joined by new drummer Matt Sorum, plays 185 shows this year.

The band relocates to Los Angeles.

1990
Ian’s father passes away, bringing a halt to the “SONIC TEMPLE” tour schedule.

Ian puts together the “Gathering of the Tribes” festival. Bill Graham promotes the show which featured Ice-T, Soundgarden, Iggy Pop, The Cramps and Queen Latifah.

1991
The band releases their fifth album, “CEREMONY”, again a U.K. top ten album.

A Native American group sues the band for 50 million dollars over the use of a photograph on the cover of the “CEREMONY” album. The cover features an image of a young Native American boy. Billy is served papers only moments before heading on stage to play a show.

1992
Drummer Nigel Preston, one of the earliest members of The Cult, dies of an overdose.

Matt Sorum leaves The Cult and joins Guns ‘N Roses.

1993
“PURE CULT,” a best of collection, is released in the U.K. and gives The Cult their first #1 album.

1994
The band re-enters the studio with Bob Rock and records “THE CULT.” Despite critical acclaim and fan approval, the album was not a commercial success.

1995
Ian Astbury quits the band after a South American tour.

1999
The Cult – Astbury, Duffy, and Sorum – returns and signs a record deal with Lava/Atlantic Records after a highly successful, sold-out U.S. summer tour.

2000
The band enters the studio with Bob Rock and prepares to release its 7th album.

2001
The resulting “BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL,” their Lava/Atlantic debut, hits the shelves as band commences with an extensive worldwide tour itinerary along with new bassist Billy Morrison.