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Ian Astbury
The 1980s were filled with heavy metal bands that packed minimal punch. The Cult was the exception.
Formed in London in the early 1980s, it was a hard-hitting rock outfit led by charismatic front man Ian Astbury. Although The Cult has always been a bigger draw in Europe than the United States, from 1985 to 1990 the group enjoyed major success on both sides of the pond.
The Cult’s popularity peaked with 1989’s “Sonic Temple,” which cracked the Billboard Top 10. The album was propelled by the hit singles “Fire Woman” and “Edie (Ciao Baby).”
By the time the grunge movement exploded in 1991, the Cult’s popularity was waning and by mid-decade the band had gone on hiatus.
“I just wasn’t feeling it,” Astbury said in a recent phone interview. “After 12 years I was done, spent, burnt out, exhausted, at the end of my rope. I wasn’t enjoying it. It became difficult.”
Critics who fawned over bands like Sonic Youth and Nirvana in the 1990s mocked The Cult’s mix of machismo and mysticism. Being an alpha male had been supplanted by shoe-gazing as the stage presence of choice. It just wasn’t cool, according to the taste-makers at publications such as the Village Voice.
“We got caught in the guillotine of the critic’s pen,” Astbury said with a dark laugh. “(Expletive) the critics, with all due respect. (Expletive) the critics.”
Astbury described himself as following in the rock tradition of “super-predator performer.” Anyone who has witnessed him stalk a stage knows what he’s talking about. The grunge movement frowned on that style of performance.
“We lost a generation of super-predator performers like Robert Plant and David Bowie,” Astbury said. ” It became incredibly unfashionable to be a rock star. ... It was all about political correctness.”
Astbury is proud that The Cult was making music that was for “working” people “who maybe didn’t read books (and) wanted to go to a space where they could rock out and get together with friends—people who weren’t looking for a big intellectual experience.”
The Cult’s current shows are recorded and sold after the concert by Instant Live, a company that debuted the technology with The Doors of the 21st Century, the group that famously featured founding members Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek with Astbury taking over for Jim Morrison. The group formed in 2002 and then, after legal problems, changed its name to Riders on the Storm.
So what’s it like replacing one of your musical heroes?
“I was totally self-conscious,” Astbury admitted. “Who wouldn’t be?”
Astbury explained that Krueger and Manzarek pushed him to find the inflection in songs and the experience changed his approach to much of The Cult’s material.
“My psyche has been expanded,” Astbury said. “I think when I was younger, like a lot of performers looking for critical respect, I kind of crucified myself on stage for that reaction. I would do whatever it took to create a car crash on stage. But playing with Robby and Ray, I learned you’re at your best when you’re in control.”
Although The Cult hasn’t released a collection of new songs in about five years, that could change soon.
“There’s material,” Astbury said with a sly laugh. “I’ve been writing like a dog since I was conceived.”
