THE CULT
Great Hall, Cardiff University Students’ Union
Fri 18 Oct
Sonic Temple by The Cult is a time capsule of the mullets’n’motorcycles age of 80s hard rock, soaring guitar solos and soaring guitar ballads, and a declaration of love to the American way. Powerchords, power lyrics, leather trousers, and song after song of Chevy-with-the-top-down-on-the-highway swaggering rock anthems. Pretty goofy for a band from Yorkshire, or at least it would be if they hadn’t subsequently become global rock icons and made their millions then and there.
After releasing Love in 1985, a cracking goth guitar record with a cracking sleeve, the group changed up their leather jackets for, well, leather biker jackets and started putting out the harder stuff. Sonic Temple was the record that properly broke that all-important US market and became the band’s biggest nest-egg, securing plinths for singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy in the eternal rock‘n’roll dogma.
Thirty years later, the band won’t have any trouble rousing a crowd along to Fire Woman, Edie (Ciao Baby) or Sweet Soul Sister on the album’s anniversary date at Cardiff Uni, not if that crowd have been anywhere near a pub jukebox, rock radio station or coming-of-age film in the past few decades. The Cult transmit their little slice of a simpler time live from Cardiff in mid-October.
Tickets: £37.50. Info: 029 2078 1458 / www.cardiffstudents.com (JM)
