Love & Memories
Now this band and this album bring back so many good memories, which is what, at least for me this website is about. I brought the album on vinyl when it was released shortly after starting my first full time job, so I guess I had a little cash to splash. I seem to remember buying this album and also 'Head On The Door' by The Cure around about that time. I still vividly remember the 'feel', 'the smell' and the whole walking home proudly with your vinyl tucked under your arm in a record shop carrier bag type feeling you got when you purchased a record, almost like a whole adrenaline buzz and 'high' but without any real drugs being involved and Oh! the anticipation and excitement once you had made your 'score' and slapped it (gently) onto the turntable and carefully put the stylus down, then hitting the first groove, admiring the album artwork, sleeve notes, gatefold sleeve (sometimes) and lyrics perhaps! It doesn't kind of work with the same feeling in today's terms with CD's and MP3's, but back then it was a little slice of euphoria (sorry, I have dropped off into vinyl junkie heaven!). Guess maybe the feeling still persists if you still 'score' that whole vinyl buying hit!
I don't think there are any bad tracks on the album and another of those wonderful pieces of vinyl that you could slap on and not have to skip the tracks. I have to say I played it to death and still have it in my collection to this day.
The album Love was released by The Cult in 1985 on the legendary Beggars Banquet label, a record label that was also home for another favourite band of mine featured on this site at the link Tones On Tail.
I first heard the band, then called Death Cult in 1984 on a Radio 1 show which featured them live in concert which I cheekily recorded onto a C-90 (as you did back in the day!)😮. Prior to that the band had been known as Southern Death Cult and then briefly Death Cult. I originally fell in love with the tracks such as 'Spiritwalker' and '83rd Dream' the latter captured live at the youtube link, a band that fully adopted the whole feeling of 'tribal' native artwork, imagery and sound to a U.K. public that would perhaps otherwise been largely ignorant of, the original band Southern Death Cult tipping a nod to the 'Southeastern Ceremonial Complex' aka 'Southern Death Cult' a place in the U.S. which relates to Indigenous Native American culture in terms of imagery, artwork and presumably that almost 'tribal' sound giving it reference, I think you'd kind of guess that with 83rd Dream!
Even on the 'Love' album the same representation is present in the album cover iconography and artwork, I think it's great when a band sticks to it's roots.
Love Track List
- Nirvana
- The Big Neon Glitter
- Love
- Brother Wolf, Sister Moon
- Rain
- The Phoenix
- The Hollow Man
- Revolution
- She Sells Sanctuary
- Black Angel
I guess the big hitter from the album had to be 'She Sells Sanctuary' which seemed to be everywhere at the time, and deservedly so, you can catch them performing it live on Top Of The Pops from way back when at the youtube link above. As I previously mentioned, the band's imagery from their early material as Southern Death Cult to The Cult has always been very 'tribal' and iconic, even the vape brand e-liquid I use has adopted a similar design to their packaging, evidently the owner inspired by Adam & The Ants and The Cult artwork designs!
Sadly never got to see them play live back in the day, but my Missus did, oddly enough as support act to Big Country (she got The Cult, I got Balaam And The Angel as the support when I saw them in '86).
Based on The Cult's debut album 'Dreamtime' which was released a year earlier and which spawned 'Spiritwalker' (the most successful track on the album hitting #1 in the UK Indie Chart), the Love album was a much more 'commercial radio friendly' offering by them, it certainly did them no harm, opening doors for them into the mainstream UK Charts and into the US. The album was to reach the dizzy heights of #4 in the mainstream UK Charts of the day and also produced three top 40 singles taken from the album as well, not bad for a second album release!
Band & Formation
- Ian Astbury - Vocals
- Billy Duffy - Guitar
- Jamie Stewart - Keyboards/Strings
- Nigel Preston - Drums
- Mark Brzezicki - Drums
Mr Brzezicki was guest drummer and was actually the main man of 'beating the skins' for Big Country, featured on this website at the link. He was pulled in after original Cult drummer Nigel Preston was sacked from the band due to drug issues which sadly took it's toll on him and cost him his life in 1992. The backing vocals on the album were provided by The Soultanas (Jackie Chancellor, Lorenza Johnson and Mae McKenna).
Both Billy Duffy and Nigel Preston were in the band Theatre Of Hate and Duffy also kicked around in punk band The Nosebleeds with Morrissey. Anyhow catch Theatre Of Hate with 'Do You Believe In The Westworld' at the link.
The Cult are still about and in 2022 released their 11th studio album entitled 'Under The Midnight Sun'. Glad to see they are still around!