List of the Cult band members
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The Cult are an English hard rock band from Bradford. Formed in April 1983, the group were originally known as Death Cult, but shortened their name to simply The Cult. They featured vocalist Ian Astbury, guitarist Billy Duffy, bassist Jamie Stewart and drummer Ray "Mondo" Taylor-Smith. The group's current lineup includes Astbury and Duffy, alongside drummer John Tempesta (since 2006), bassist Charlie Jones (since 2020), and keyboardist Mike Mangan (since 2022).
History
[edit]1983–1988
[edit]
Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy formed Death Cult in April 1983, enlisting Ritual members Jamie Stewart and Ray Mondo as a rhythm section to complete the band's initial lineup.[1] After the release of a self-titled debut EP, the group fired Mondo in September and replaced him with Nigel Preston of Sex Gang Children (Mondo took Preston's place in Sex Gang Children).[2] Death Cult issued one more release under their original name, "Gods Zoo", before renaming themselves the Cult in January 1984.[3] The band released their full-length debut Dreamtime in September, early copies of which were packaged with Dreamtime Live at the Lyceum.[4] Another single, "Ressurection Joe", followed at the end of the year.[5] Shortly after the release of "She Sells Sanctuary" in May 1985, Preston was fired from the Cult as he had "become too unreliable".[6]
Mark Brzezicki of Big Country, who had initially substituted for Preston at the filming of the "She Sells Sanctuary" music video after he hadn't shown up, recorded drums for the rest of the 1985 album Love as a session member.[7] During the sessions, Les Warner took over as the band's new permanent drummer.[8] The new lineup recorded a planned third album Peace in late 1986, however the result was scrapped and remained unreleased until it was featured on the 2000 box set Rare Cult.[9] Working with new producer Rick Rubin, the group issued Electric in April 1987.[10] For the album's tour, Stephen "Kid Chaos" Harris from Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction joined on bass and Stewart switched to guitar.[11] Harris has claimed that he actually contributed to the recording of Electric, having joined the band in January 1987.[12]
1988–1995
[edit]After the conclusion of the Electric touring cycle, Harris and Warner were both fired at the beginning of 1988.[13] The group returned to the studio to record several demos, first with Badlands drummer Eric Singer and later with Chris Taylor from producer Bob Rock's group Rock and Hyde, before tracking the final version of Sonic Temple with Mickey Curry of Bryan Adams's band.[14] For the subsequent promotional tour, Matt Sorum was hired on drums after auditioning in addition to Taylor.[15] After the tour ended in April 1990, founding bassist Stewart left the Cult "to concentrate on producing, composing, and spending time with his wife".[16] He was followed in July by Sorum, who was hired to replace Steve Adler in Guns N' Roses.[17] After a brief hiatus, Astbury and Duffy reconvened to record a collection of new demos with bassist Todd Hoffman and drummer James Kottak in early 1991.[18] As with Sonic Temple in 1989, drums on the final version of Ceremony were performed by Mickey Curry, while Keith Richards's bandmate Charley Drayton was brought in to contribute bass.[13]
The Cult returned to touring in October 1991, with Astbury and Duffy joined by bassist Kinley Wolfe and drummer Michael Lee.[19] The tour spawned a live album, Live Cult, which was released in 1993.[20] At the beginning of that year, Wolfe and Lee were replaced by Craig Adams (formerly of the Mission) and Scott Garrett (formerly of Dag Nasty), respectively.[21] Mike Dimkich, formerly of Channel 3, joined the band as touring rhythm guitarist at the same time, before he was replaced by James Stevenson the following year.[22] In between the two tours, the band's core lineup recorded their only album with Adams and Garrett, The Cult, which was released in October 1994.[23] In March 1995, the band cancelled a string of tour dates and broke up, which was attributed primarily to tensions between Astbury and Duffy.[24]
Since 1999
[edit]
After four years away, Astbury and Duffy reformed the Cult in April 1999 with returning drummer Matt Sorum and new bassist Martyn LeNoble.[25] Mike Dimkich also returned as touring rhythm guitarist.[26] LeNoble left after tour dates ending in the summer of 2000, with Chris Wyse taking his place for the bulk of the recording for 2001's Beyond Good and Evil.[27][28] In preparation for the album's promotional tour, LeNoble was reported in March 2001 to be returning, however by May this had changed to be Billy Morrison in a touring capacity.[29] In February 2002, it was reported that the band had been dropped by their label Atlantic Records and all but disbanded, which according to Sorum was again due to tensions between Astbury and Duffy.[30] After a short tour with returning members Craig Adams and Scott Garrett, the band officially went on hiatus in October.[31]
Following several months of rumours, a second Cult reunion was announced in January 2006, with bassist Chris Wyse and drummer John Tempesta (formerly of Exodus, Testament and more) added to the band's lineup the next month.[32] This lineup remained stable for several years, releasing Born into This in 2007, two singles in 2010, and Choice of Weapon in 2012.[13] In July 2013, touring guitarist Dimkich left to join Bad Religion, with James Stevenson taking his place again.[22] By early 2015, both Stevenson and Wyse had left, with Chris Chaney contributing the majority of bass recordings on the group's 2016 album Hidden City.[33] After the album was finished, the band returned to touring with new members Grant Fitzpatrick on bass and Damon Fox on keyboards and rhythm guitar.[34]
The band released their eleventh studio album Under The Midnight Sun in 2022 which featured new bassist Charlie Jones[35] and session drummer Ian Matthews of Kasabian,[36][37] the album was also the last (to date) studio appearance of Damon Fox who was replaced by Mike Mangan later in the year.[38]
Members
[edit]Current
[edit]| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Astbury |
|
|
all Cult releases | |
| Billy Duffy |
| |||
| John Tempesta | 2006–present[32] |
|
all Cult releases from Born into This (2007)[43] onwards except Under The Midnight Sun (2022)[36] | |
| Charlie Jones | 2020–present[36][35] |
|
Under The Midnight Sun (2022)[36] | |
| Mike Mangan | 2022–present[38] |
|
none |
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Former
[edit]| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Stewart | 1983–1990[1][16] |
|
| |
| Ray Mondo (Raymond Taylor-Smith) |
1983[1][2] | drums | Death Cult (1983)[46] | |
| Nigel Preston | 1983–1985 (died 1992)[2][6] |
|
[49][41][47] | |
| Les Warner | 1985–1988[8][13] | drums |
| |
| Kid Chaos (Stephen Harris) |
1987–1988[11][13] |
|
none | |
| Matt Sorum |
|
|
| |
| Kinley "Barney" Wolfe | 1991–1993[19] |
|
Live Cult (1993)[53] | |
| Michael Lee | 1991–1993 (died 2008)[19] | drums | ||
| Scott Garrett |
|
The Cult (1994)[39] | ||
| Craig Adams |
| |||
| Martyn LeNoble |
|
bass | Beyond Good and Evil (2001) – four tracks[51] | |
| Chris Wyse |
|
|
| |
| Grant Fitzpatrick | 2015–2020[34] | none | ||
| Damon Fox | 2015–2022[34][38] |
|
Under The Midnight Sun (2022)[36] |
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Touring
[edit]| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Webster | 1988–1990 | keyboards | Webster performed on 1989's Sonic Temple and the subsequent promotional touring cycle through 1990.[55] | |
| John Sinclair | 1991–1993 | Sinclair joined the Cult's touring lineup following the release of Ceremony, featuring on 1993's Live Cult.[56] | ||
| Mike Dimkich |
|
rhythm guitar | Dimkich first joined the Cult's touring lineup for the band's 1993 touring cycle.[22] He was replaced by James Stevenson the following year, but returned when the group reformed in 1999 and remained until 2013.[22] During his time with the band Dimkich appeared on the live album Music Without Fear: Live from the Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles (2002)[52] | |
| James Stevenson |
|
|
Stevenson replaced Dimkich for the 1994 tour in promotion of The Cult, and again when he left in 2013.[22] | |
| Billy Morrison | 2001–2002 |
|
After the recording of Beyond Good and Evil, Morrison joined the Cult as the band's touring bassist.[29] Morrison appeared on the live album Music Without Fear: Live from the Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles (2002)[52] |
Session
[edit]| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Details/release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mich Ebeling | 1984 | backing vocals | Dreamtime (1984)[44] | |
| Mae McKenna | 1985 | Love (1985)[41] | ||
| Lorenza Johnson | ||||
| Jackie Challenor | ||||
| Mark Brzezicki | drums |
| ||
| Eric Singer | 1988 |
| ||
| Chris Taylor | ||||
| Iggy Pop | backing vocals | Sonic Temple (1989)[58] | ||
| Bob Buckley | string arrangement | |||
| Mickey Curry |
|
drums | ||
| James Kottak | 1991 | Ceremony (1991) demos[18] | ||
| Todd Hoffman | bass | |||
| Charley Drayton | Ceremony (1991)[59] | |||
| Tommy Funderburk | backing vocals | |||
| Donny Gerrard | ||||
| Mona Lisa | ||||
| Yvonne St. James | ||||
| Suzie Katayama | cello | |||
| Benmont Tench |
| |||
| Scott Thurston |
| |||
| Richie Zito |
| |||
| Alex Acuña | percussion | |||
| Jim McGiueray | 1993–1994 | The Cult (1994)[39] | ||
| Scott Humphrey |
| |||
| Bob Rock |
|
|
| |
| Youth | 2007 | additional bass tracks | Born into This (2007)[43] | |
| David Nock | additional drum tracks | |||
| Jamie Edwards | 2011–2012 |
|
Choice of Weapon (2012)[42] | |
| Chris Goss |
| |||
| A.J. Celi | backing vocals | |||
| Chris Chaney | 2014–2015 | bass | Hidden City (2015)[40] | |
| Jamie Muhoberac |
| |||
| Dan Chase | additional drums | |||
| Ian Matthews[37] | 2020–2022 |
|
Under the Midnight Sun (2022)[36] | |
| Tom Dalgety |
|
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Timeline
[edit]
Lineups
[edit]| Period | Members | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| April – September 1983 (as Death Cult) |
|
|
| September 1983 – June 1985 (as Death Cult until January 1984) |
|
|
| June – July 1985 |
|
|
| July 1985 – January 1987 |
|
|
| January 1987 – early 1988 |
|
none – Electric tour dates only |
| Spring – summer 1988 |
|
|
| Summer – fall 1988 |
|
|
| Fall – late 1988 |
|
|
| Spring 1989 – April 1990 |
|
|
| April – July 1990 |
|
none – band on hiatus |
| July 1990 – January 1991 |
| |
| January – spring 1991 |
|
|
| Spring – summer 1991 |
|
|
| October 1991 – January 1993 |
|
|
| January – June 1993 |
|
none – Hair of the Underdog tour dates only |
| Summer 1993 – September 1994 |
|
|
| September 1994 – March 1995 |
|
none – Beauty Is on the Streets tour dates only |
| Band inactive March 1995 – April 1999 | ||
| April 1999 – fall 2000 |
|
|
| Fall – late 2000 |
|
|
| March – May 2001 |
|
none – Beyond Good and Evil tour rehearsals only |
| May 2001 – February 2002 |
|
|
| August – October 2002 |
|
none – tour dates only |
| Band inactive October 2002 – February 2006 | ||
| February 2006 – March 2011 |
|
|
| March 2011 – July 2013 |
|
|
| July 2013 – early 2015 |
|
none – tour dates only |
| Early – fall 2015 |
|
|
| Fall 2015 – August 2022 |
|
none – tour dates only |
| August 2020 – April 2022[38] |
|
|
| April 2022[38] – present |
|
none to date |
References
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{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b c Rene, Sheila (25 October 1991). "Hear and There" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 1879. San Francisco, California: The Gavin Report. p. 18. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
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{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b c Choice of Weapon (liner notes). The Cult. Cooking Vinyl. 2012. COOKCD548X.
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