This year marks the 35th anniversary of Ian Astbury fronting bands with “Cult” in the name, beginning in 1981, when the singer and some Yorkshire friends co-opted the moniker Southern Death Cult from a 500-year-old Native American religion and created the first wave of Gothic Punk. In 1983, Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy co-founded Death Cult and toured extensively throughout Europe, releasing an EP and single before truncating the name to The Cult.
The first Cult album, 1984’s Dreamtime, almost cracked the UK Top 20 and sold over 100,000 copies. The band’s sophomore album, 1985’s Love, did even better. Advanced by “She Sells Sanctuary,” a college-radio hit in the States, Love sold over a million units worldwide. Read more about the band in this week's Sound Advice.
The Cult plays Taft Theatre Monday with Holy White Hounds. More info/tickets: tafttheatre.org .
