Top 10 Songs From The Cult

Photo: Ted Van Pelt from Mechanicsburg, PA, USA / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Our Top 10 Songs from The Cult looks at one of the great rock bands formed in the 1980s. The band broke onto the scene in 1984 with their first Dreamtime album. However, the band’s second album served as their breakthrough record. That album entitled Love was released in 1985. Two years later, the band would release an album proving even more popular than its predecessor.

The album entitled Electric would become a massive seller for the band. However, two years later, in 1987, The Cult released the album Sonic Temple. That album would turn the band into a household name with the album’s massive hit “Fire Woman.” If you were a rock fan who had not heard of The Cult in 1987, the release of Sonic Temple’s album immediately opened your eyes.

The Cult would continue releasing outstanding rock records into the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. The band broke up in 1995 after almost a five-year period but reformed at the turn of the century. A few years later, they went on hiatus but reformed rather quickly. They have been going strong ever since. The band has undergone many lineup changes over the years, but the two constants are musicians Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy. Over the years, the Cult have released ten studio albums, including Dreamtime in 1984, Love in 1985, Electric in 1987, Sonic Temple in 1989, Ceremony in 1991, The Cult in 1994, Beyond Good and Evil in 2001, Born Into This in 2007, Choice of Weapon in 2012 and Hidden City in 2016.

The Cult released two smoking live albums throughout their career, including Dreamtime Live at the Lyceum in 1984 and Live at the Marquee in 1993. The Cult and their record companies also released some excellent compilations such as Death Cult in 1988 and reissued in 1996, Pure Cult: for Rockers, Ravers, Lovers, and Sinners released in 1993, High Octane Cult: Ultimate Collection, 1984–1995 released in 1996, Pure Cult: The Singles 1984–1995 issued in 2000, The Best of Rare Cult also issued in 2000, Weapon of Choice in 2012 which was an iTunes exclusive and Electric Peace in 2013.

No classic rock band’s catalog would be complete without at least one box set. The Cult released four. Those four included Singles Collection: 1984–1990, released in 1991 as a rare limited edition with only ten thousand copies printed; Rare Cult, released in 2000 as a rare limited edition with only fifteen thousand copies printed; Rare Cult: The Demos Sessions released in 2002 as a rare limited edition with only three thousand copies printed which was pretty surprising and, Love: The Omnibus Edition released in 2009.

The Cult also released forty-one singles during their long career. Their first single release was issued in 1984 entitled “Spiritwalker,” which only charted in the UK and peaked at the number seventy-seven position. Their last single release as of this writing in 2020 was a song called G/O/A/T, issued in 2016 off the album Hidden City. They never had a single break in the U.S. Top 40. Their highest charting song was “Fire Woman,” which hit number one in New Zealand and is their only number-one single worldwide. However, The Cult was a great rock band that was not about singles but rather great overall rock albums in the same manner. Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, or Motorhead were not single bands.

The band’s original members on their first album included Ian Astbury on vocals, Billy Duffy on guitar, Jamie Stewart on bass, and Nigel Preston on drums. On the band’s second album, Love, the drum parts were split between Mark Brzezicki and Nigel Preston. The drummer’s seat in the Cult became a revolving door very reflective of the Spinal Tap spoof when the Cult hired their third drummer for their third album Electric named Les Warner.

Their fourth album, Sonic Temple, featured another different drummer named Mickey Curry. On the band’s fifth album, longtime bassist Jamie Stewart left the band. Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy would remain the only original members on the band’s fifth release, which featured new members Craig Adams on bass and Scott Garrett on drums.

After the release of their fifth album, The Cult broke up for about five years. They returned in 2011 with a new album, Beyond Good and Evil, featuring former Guns N’ Roses sensational drummer Matt Sorum. The band stood as a trio on the album. The band’s next album would feature two more new members Chris Wyse on bass and John Tempesta on drums, Chris Wyse had also played with Ozzy Osbourne, while Tempesta had played with Rob Zombie. For the first time in years, the band would retain the same lineup for their next release, entitled Choice of Weapon in 2012. The band’s most recent album, entitled Hidden City, issued in 2016, featured Bob Rock and Chirs Chaney splitting up the bass parts as Chris Wyse was not on the record.

Our Top 10 Songs From The Cult List features various songs from the band’s fabulous career. Of course, it’s subjective, but we believe it serves as a great starting point for those rock fans looking to get into the band and check out some outstanding Cult songs.

# 10 – Dirty Little Rockstar

Riffs, riffs, and more riffs all played on the bass define this killer song and a great way to open up our Cult songs list. The song “Dirty Little Rockstar” was released on the Born Into This album. The record was released in 2007.

# 9 – Edie (Ciao Baby)

Continuing with our top 10 songs from The Cult, we turn to the album Sonic Temple. It will not be the album’s only appearance on this Cults songs list. Hands down, Sonic Temple is our favorite Cult album.

# 8 – Rise

The song “Rise” was released on the album Beyond Good and Evil. The album was released in 2001. This song is as heavy as it gets yet still retains that classic Cult sound.

# 7 – Love Removal Machine

The Cult’s intense third album, Electric, contained so many killer songs that it was extremely difficult to choose which ones to represent the album. We picked a great one with the song “Love Removal Machine.”

# 6 – New York City

The great song New York City is the second song to appear on this top 10 Cult songs list from the Sonic Temple album. Sonic Temple was the band’s fourth studio album release. The album broke into the Top 10 On The Billboard Top 200 Albums charts in 1989.

# 5 – Ressurection Joe

The song “Ressurection Joe” was a non-album single released in 1984. The song later appeared on compilation releases and box sets. This one will blow your mind right out of the gate. It’s one of the most rocking tunes the band has ever released.

# 4 – Rain

A big-time Cult song that stands as a fan favorite is the classic track “Rain.” The song was released on the album Love. The record was issued in 1985. “Rain,” was a top 20 hit in the United Kingdom and Canada.

# 3 – She Sells Sanctuary

We got two Cult songs in a row from the excellent album Love. The song “She Sells Sanctuary” was released as the first single from the Love album. The song peaked at number fifteen on the UK charts. The song also did well commercially in various countries around the world. The legend of The Cult began to spread with the release of this song.

# 2 – Lil’ Devil

One listen to this fantastic song, and you will be hooked on this band forever. This killer track, “Lil’ Devil,” was released on the band’s third album, Electric. Musicians Ian Astbury, Billy Duffy, Jamie Stewart, and Les Warner hit a grand slam with this album. The band took the attitude of bands like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC and generated an original sound that just blew us all away.

# 1 – Fire Woman

We close out our top 10 songs from the Cult list with the excellent track “Fire Woman.” The song was released on their smash album Sonic Temple. It is the band’s most successful song from at least a commercial point of view. I can listen to this one over and over again and never get tired of it.