Profile of Ian Astbury on Famous Like Me

Ian Astbury (born May 14, 1962) is an English rock singer and lyricist. Astbury's career began with the Southern Death Cult, a 1980s progressive-punk band. Personnel and stylistic changes transmutated the band into Death Cult, and then The Cult, the most successful British hard rock band of the late 1980's and early 90's.

With the 1984 release of their first album Dreamtime, The Cult were the darlings of the Indie post-punk scene, their chart topping "Spiritwalker" single having held at number one for three months. Their second album, Love, evoked memories of 1960's psychedelia such as The Doors, and the Pretty Things. It also featured their now classic hit "She Sells Sanctuary", which introduced them to an international audience. On their third album, Electric, The Cult made a radical transformation to hard rock reminiscent of AC/DC and Aerosmith with the help of Rick Rubin. This further broadened their audience as rock began making a comeback in the late 1980's. Guns N' Roses, who were heavily influenced by Electric, opened for The Cult on their 1987 North American tour, before going on to sell millions of copies of their debut album Appetite For Destruction.

Although The Cult went on to greater heights with their mainstream hit single "Fire Woman," (on the follow up 1989 Sonic Temple album), they began to get criticized by many hardcore fans on artistic merits. Soured on the band's more commercial direction, The Cult were now characterized as pretentious and as having sold out, particularly among their British fan legion. This dent in their reputation was amplified by the loss of many Sonic Temple fans, when their next album (Ceremony, 1991) failed to deliver creatively in the wake of an oncoming grunge movement.

In 1994, The Cult returned with their self-titled album and a musical change of pace. Gone was much of their overblown rock trappings, replaced instead by Astbury's growing interest in electronica and introspective lyrics. To support the album they set out on tour, but in Brazil, Astbury's creative differences with guitarist Billy Duffy reached their peak, and Astbury walked out on The Cult.

Inspired by his sudden change in direction, Astbury immediately assembled another group of musicians and began writing new songs. He called the group The Holy Barbarians, and in 1996 the band released an album, "Cream". Although the Barbarians were not a commercial success, they were well received by many who had regained respect for Astbury as an artist.

Personal difficulties and a drive for further introspection drove Astbury away from his new group, as he began working on a solo album (eventually released as Spirit/Light/Speed), to mixed reviews and low sales.

In 1999, Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy regrouped The Cult to head one of the most financially successful tours that year. A new contract with Atlantic Records was inked, and in 2001 came the release of Beyond Good And Evil, an attempt to combine the grandeur of Sonic Temple with the darkness of Death Cult. An odd marriage of rock excess with goth eclecticism, it left a lot of people wondering why the now 15 year old group recorded what was widely interpreted as an outdated grunge album. Poor sales, a lackluster tour, and a disillusioned Astbury, brought The Cult onto another hiatus in 2002.

Having long been influenced by Jim Morrison, in 2002 Ian Astbury filled his hero's footsteps by becoming lead singer in an updated version of The Doors, with original members Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek, known as D21C. In 2003, Astbury also performed with surviving members of the MC5 at the 100 Club in London.

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