Album · 35 years old this year
Ceremony
Ceremony is the fifth studio album by British rock band The Cult, released on 23 September 1991 through Beggars Banquet. It followed Sonic Temple from 1989 and sits in the middle of a run that began with Dreamtime in 1984 and later took in a self-titled record in 1994.
The album gave the band two singles, "Wild Hearted Son" and "Heart of Soul". It reached no. 9 on the UK Albums Chart and no. 25 on the Billboard 200 in the US, and it was certified gold in the UK. For anyone tracing how The Cult's hard rock sound developed across the late 1980s and into the 90s, it is the record that connects those two chapters, and it is worth hearing for those two singles alone.
Ceremony: tracklist, credits and charts
11 tracks · 1:03:16Tracklist
- 1CeremonyIan Astbury and Billy Duffy6:26
- 2Wild Hearted SonIan Astbury and Billy Duffy5:41
- 3Earth MofoIan Astbury and Billy Duffy4:43
- 4White7:57
- 5If5:25
- 6Full TiltIan Astbury and Billy Duffy4:52
- 7Heart of SoulIan Astbury and Billy Duffy5:56
- 8Bangkok Rain5:47
- 9IndianIan Astbury and Billy Duffy4:53
- 10Sweet Salvation5:26
- 11Wonderland6:09
- Produced by
- Richie Zito, Ian Astbury, Billy Duffy
- Mixed by
- Mike Fraser
- Engineered by
- Phil Kaffel
- Recorded
- 1991
- Label
- Beggars Banquet
- Length
- 1:03:16
Line-up
- Mickey Curry · membranophone, drums (drum set)
- Charley Drayton · bass
- Billy Duffy · guitar
- Benmont Tench · organ, mellotron, piano
- Richie Zito · keyboard, harmonium
- Ian Astbury · vocals
- Alex Acuña · percussion · guest
- Suzie Katayama · cello · guest
Singles
- “Wild Hearted Son” · 1991
- “Heart of Soul” · 1992
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1991 | 9 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1991 | 25 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1991 | 3 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2019 | 3 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1991 | 6 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1991 | 7 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1991 | 14 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2019 | 15 |
| Swedish Albums · 1991 | 21 |
| German Albums · 1991 | 38 |
All 13 charts
| Swiss Albums · 1991 | 38 |
| Dutch Albums · 1991 | 48 |
| Scottish Albums · 2019 | 57 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1991 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
56.9
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
702
ListenBrainz listeners
34k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
3.4k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
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Use Your Illusion I
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More from The Cult
Full discography →
Dreamtime
1984
Dreamtime: Live at the Lyceum
1985
Love
1985
Revolution E.P.
1985
Electric
1987
The Manor Sessions
1988
Sonic Temple
1989
Rain / Revolution
1991
Wild Hearted Son
1991
Singles Collection 1984-1990
1991
Spiritwalker / Go West
1991
Resurrection Joe / She Sells Sanctuary
1991
Love Removal Machine / Lil’ Devil
1991
Wildflower / Live 1986-1987
1991
Fire Woman / Edie (Ciao Baby) / Sun King
1991
Sweet Soul Sister / Live 1987-1989
1991
Heart of Soul
1992
The Witch
1993
Live Marquee London MCMXCI
1993
Pure Cult: For Rockers, Ravers, Lovers and Sinners
1993
The Cult
1994
The | Southern | Death | Cult
1996
High Octane Cult: The Ultimate Collection 1984-1995
1996
The White EP
1997
Pure Cult: The Singles 1984–1995
2000
Beyond Good and Evil
2001
Born Into This
2007
The Cult Capsule 1 2010
Capsule 1
2010
Embers / Until The Light Takes Us | Capsule II
2010
Choice of Weapon
2012
Hidden City
2016
Under the Midnight Sun
2022
The best of 1991
All of 1991 →Nevermind
Nirvana · 1991
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers · 1991
Metallica
Metallica · 1991
Ten
Pearl Jam · 1991
Use Your Illusion I
Guns N’ Roses · 1991
Achtung Baby
U2 · 1991
Use Your Illusion II
Guns N’ Roses · 1991
Out of Time
R.E.M. · 1991
No More Tears
Ozzy Osbourne · 1991
On Tour Now!
Guns N’ Roses · 1991
Badmotorfinger
Soundgarden · 1991
On Every Street
Dire Straits · 1991
More on Beggars Banquet
The label →
Chasing the Night / Howling at the Moon (Sha‐La‐La)
Ramones · 1985
Howling at the Moon
Ramones · 1985
Dreamtime
The Cult · 1984
The | Southern | Death | Cult
The Cult · 1996
Revolution E.P.
The Cult · 1985
Spiritwalker / Go West
The Cult · 1991
Resurrection Joe / She Sells Sanctuary
The Cult · 1991
Wildflower / Live 1986-1987
The Cult · 1991
Sweet Soul Sister / Live 1987-1989
The Cult · 1991
Pure Cult: For Rockers, Ravers, Lovers and Sinners
The Cult · 1993
Something to Believe In
Ramones · 1986
Bonzo Goes to Bitburg
Ramones · 1985
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 23 September 1991 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 23 September 1991 | |
| Wikidata | 1991 | |
| US release | 1991 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 23 September 1991 | earliest UK or European date |
6 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Beggars Banquet | 607618012267 | other |
| 1991 | US | Beggars Banquet | 075992667326 | other |
| 1991 | CA | Beggars Banquet | 731451041921 | other |
| 1991 | US | Beggars Banquet | other | |
| 1991 | AU | Beggars Banquet | 9399100012220 | other |
| 23 September 1991 | GB | Beggars Banquet | 607618012229 | original |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 2808x2808
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 2808×2808 | native: native 2808x2808 |
| deezer | 1800×1800 | native |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |