The Cult’s ‘Ceremony’ turns 35 on 23 September
Beggars Banquet and Sire released The Cult’s fifth album, “Ceremony,” on 23 September 1991. Richie Zito produced the record, which turns 35 this year.
The Cult released their fifth studio album, “Ceremony,” on 23 September 1991, through Beggars Banquet in the United Kingdom and Sire in the United States. The English rock band, who had started the decade before as the post-punk groups Southern Death Cult and Death Cult, made the record as a two-piece with session players. It turns 35 this year.
By the time the sessions began, the touring line-up had gone. Bassist Jamie Stewart retired and moved to Canada after the final leg of the “Sonic Temple” tour in April 1990, and drummer Matt Sorum left to join Guns N’ Roses, leaving vocalist Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy as the only official members. Todd Hoffman played bass and James Kottak drums on the demos. For the album itself, Mickey Curry returned on drums after his session work on “Sonic Temple,” with Charley Drayton on bass. Richie Zito produced, with Astbury and Duffy co-producing, and also contributed keyboards and harmonium. Benmont Tench played organ, piano and mellotron, Scott Thurston added synthesizer and piano to “If,” Suzie Katayama played cello on “Indian,” and Alex Acuña handled percussion on “Indian” and “Wonderland.” Tommy Funderburk sang backing vocals across most of the record, joined by Donny Gerrard, Mona Lisa and Yvonne St. James on “Sweet Salvation.” Phil Kaffel engineered, Mike Fraser mixed, and George Marino mastered the album at Sterling Sound in New York. Pre-production ran at Oliver Ferrand Studio in Los Angeles and Mates in North Hollywood, with recording at Music Grinder Studios in Hollywood and recording and mixing at A&M Recording Studios.
The eleven tracks run 63 minutes and 38 seconds: “Ceremony,” “Wild Hearted Son,” “Earth Mofo,” “White,” “If,” “Full Tilt,” “Heart of Soul,” “Bangkok Rain,” “Indian,” “Sweet Salvation” and “Wonderland.” Astbury and Duffy wrote all of them. “Wild Hearted Son” opens with an excerpt from “The Grass Dance” performed by The American Indian Dance Theatre, and “White” quotes Lawrence Lipton’s 1959 book “The Holy Barbarians,” which Astbury took as the name of his next band in 1996. “Wild Hearted Son” was the first single, followed by “Heart of Soul” in 1992. “White” appeared as a single in Canada only, “Sweet Salvation” was issued in Argentina in 1992 as “Dulce Salvación,” and the title track came out as a promotional single in Spain.
The cover photograph, taken by John Running, drew a lawsuit. The parents of the Native American boy pictured on the sleeve sued over the unauthorised use of their son’s image, a case Entertainment Weekly reported on 19 June 1992. The New York proceedings against Warner Bros. Records were dismissed in February 1997 for lack of personal jurisdiction; a separate action filed in the District Court of South Dakota on 10 April 1995 was terminated on 16 May 1995. The dispute held up the record’s release in several territories, with South Korea and Thailand not seeing it until 1992 and Turkey not until the band played Istanbul in June 1993. Alan Forbes handled the art direction and design with the band.
“Ceremony” reached number 9 on the UK albums chart, was certified gold by the BPI, and went platinum in Canada. Sources differ on its US peak: Wikipedia’s entry on the album gives number 25 on the Billboard 200, while its entry on the band gives number 34. The Ceremonial Stomp tour took the record through Europe in 1991 and North America in 1992, with Michael Lee on drums, Kinley “Barney” Wolfe on bass and John Sinclair on keyboards. The album streams on Spotify.
About The Cult
Ian Astbury formed Southern Death Cult in Bradford, Yorkshire, in 1981, with guitarist Buzz Burrows, bassist Barry Jepson and drummer Aki Nawaz Qureshi. They played their first show at the Queen’s Hall in Bradford on 29 October 1981, signed to Situation Two, an offshoot of Beggars Banquet, and released the triple A-side single “Moya” in 1982 before ending after sixteen months with a final Manchester show in February 1983. Jepson went on to co-found Into A Circle with Paul “Bee” Hampshire in 1985.
In April 1983 Astbury teamed up with Billy Duffy, who had played in the Nosebleeds alongside Morrissey, then Lonesome No More and Theatre of Hate. The new band, Death Cult, added bassist Jamie Stewart and drummer Raymond Taylor Smith, later known as Ray Mondo, both from the London post-punk group Ritual. Death Cult debuted live in Oslo on 25 July 1983 and released the “Death Cult” EP the same month, with the “Gods Zoo” single following in October. Nigel Preston, previously of Sex Gang Children, replaced Mondo that September. The group shortened its name to The Cult in January 1984, ahead of an appearance on the Channel 4 programme The Tube.
“Dreamtime,” recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth with producer John Brand, arrived in September 1984 and reached number 21 in the UK. Preston was dismissed in June 1985 and Big Country’s Mark Brzezicki played the “Love” sessions that July and August; the Steve Brown-produced album reached number 4. Les Warner drummed on the world tour that ran from late September 1985 to June 1986. The follow-up was first recorded as “Peace” with Brown at the Manor Studios in Oxfordshire, then re-cut in New York with Rick Rubin and issued in April 1987 as “Electric,” which also reached number 4. Kid Chaos joined on bass for that tour, with Stewart moving to rhythm guitar. “Sonic Temple,” produced by Bob Rock and recorded in Vancouver between October and December 1988, followed in April 1989 and went gold in the UK and platinum in the US.
After “Ceremony,” Astbury and Duffy replaced the touring band in 1993 with Craig Adams of The Mission and drummer Scott Garrett, the line-up that recorded “The Cult” with Bob Rock in October 1994. The band split in March 1995 during a South American tour. Astbury formed Holy Barbarians, whose only album “Cream” came out in May 1996, and released the solo record “Spirit\Light\Speed” in June 2000. Duffy worked with Coloursound alongside Craig Adams and Mike Peters, then Dead Men Walking and Cardboard Vampyres. The Cult reformed in 1999 with Sorum and bassist Martyn LeNoble, signed to Atlantic for “Beyond Good and Evil” in 2001, and went on ice again in late 2002.
Astbury spent that second break fronting the surviving members of The Doors in a group billed variously as The Doors of the 21st Century, D21c and Riders on the Storm. He announced his departure in February 2007, stating: “I have decided to move on and focus on my own music and legacy.” The Cult had already reunited in January 2006 with drummer John Tempesta, guitarist Mike Dimkich and bassist Chris Wyse. “Born into This,” produced by Martin “Youth” Glover of Killing Joke, came out on Roadrunner on 16 October 2007. Cooking Vinyl signed the band in May 2011 and released “Choice of Weapon” on 22 May 2012 and “Hidden City” on 5 February 2016, both produced by Rock. James Stevenson replaced Dimkich on rhythm guitar in 2013 and Grant Fitzpatrick replaced Wyse on bass in 2015. Duffy also appeared on Wayne Hussey’s 2020 charity remake of “Tower of Strength,” alongside members of Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Mission, Gary Numan, etc.. The band signed to Black Hill Records in May 2020, began recording at Rockfield in August 2020 with producer Tom Dalgety, and released “Under the Midnight Sun” on 7 October 2022 with Charlie Jones on bass. On 23 October 2025 the group announced a touring hiatus of undetermined length to concentrate on writing and recording. “Ceremony,” the only album in that catalogue made without a settled line-up, turns 35 this year.
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