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"      Ian Astbury is 51 today. The Cult singer, who also famously fronted The Doors for a world tour in 2002, just announced that the band is undertaking a tour to perform its classic 1987 album, Electric, from start to finish. Electric marked a significant change for the band. The Cult started out as a post-punk, slightly goth outfit called The Southern Death Cult that quickly became Death Cult and finally just The Cult when they released their debut, the gloomy, jangling Dreamtime. A year later, they returned with Love, steeped in retro &amp;#039;60s psychedelia that featured &amp;quot;She Sells Sanctuary,&amp;quot; a deliriously bright song that makes girls swoon and guys nod their heads and put the band on the map. But in 1987, Astbury shed his frilly shirts for leather pants when the band did a one-eighty and decided to get the Led out with Electric.  Produced by Rick Rubin, who was better known at the time for his work in hip-hop with LL Cool J, Run-DMC, and The Beastie Boys, Electric was a raw, savage straight-up rawk record that wore its influences like a motorcycle jacket. Stripped-down from elaborate production, so popular at the time, The Cult brought riffs and thunder with a knowing wink to AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin with songs like &amp;quot;Wildflower,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Lil&amp;#039; Devil&amp;quot; and the now classic rock staple &amp;quot;Love Removal Machine.&amp;quot; Astbury, with his long black mane, brought his hip-shaking swagger to MTV and the world that truly had not been seen since Jim Morrisson. Electric was a monumental record that inspired countless imitations and helped shift the hard rock trend from glam to gutter sleaze. Bands from Guns N&amp;#039; Roses to Nirvana would cite the group as an influence (Nirvana famously nicked its name from a Cult song) and helped establish Rubin as a producer with gravitas. Astbury and The Cult have continued to make exciting music but have never walked back from the hard rock road they went down with that album (the latest, Choice of Weapon, was released last year). Electric is 26 this year and Astbury may qualify for AARP now, but he certainly doesn&amp;#039;t look it and the album sounds as exciting and powerful as ever. Raise a glass to him and crank up the volume on &amp;quot;Love Removal Machine.&amp;quot; The Cult &amp;quot;Electric 13&amp;quot; tour kicks off July 25 at the House of Blues in San Diego, California. Shake it, don&amp;#039;t break it, baby. Listen to the album in full on Spotify below.       "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a18499/ian-astbury-birthday/?click=news>