Billy Duffy

you know and that was tough

and then ian asprey uh actually jumped in the audience and got into a fight with somebody who did turn around long enough to spit at him uh you know it was awful so i felt terrible for those guys and i love their music they're awesome billy duffy's just an incredible guitar player the band played so well and didn't deserve that abuse i think they probably got that a lot of places opening for metallica because it's you know when when tool um you know went on the road and they took mashuga you know everybody everybody's like

these guys suck and you know mashuga is incredible you

know they're one of my favorite groups and so you know to see sort of these diehard fans of the headliner treat the support artists so badly and and i remember there was there was a story about a another Tool tour where there's a band.

It is a cool cover.

It's an image of guitarist Billy Duffy sort of striking that classic rock star guitarist pose.

And this band, I think, always had a little bit of mystique, which I think this image captures.

It's sort of the stylized photography over that grainy red and green layer.

They were a band driven by a raw, hungry energy, heavy tribal drumming, and a young, charismatic singer going by the name of Ian Lindsay, better known as Ian Asprey.

Today, we're looking at the foundational single that introduced the world to Ian Asprey before he conquered the rock world with Billy Duffy.

We're looking at a double A-side single released in November 1982.

We are looking at a song that sounds like Echo and the Bunnymen on Methadrine, splitting spleen, malice and absolute havoc.

The single was a massive independent success, skyrocketing straight to number one on the UK indie chart.

There is a piece of rock trivia attached to this specific recording session.

In a 2023 podcast interview, guitarist Billy Duffy, who was playing in Theatre of Hate at the time, revealed that he actually lent his iconic Gretsch White Falcon guitar to David Buzz Burrows so Buzz could record this very single.

The sonic results were spectacular.

She's awesome.

But then you've got, but then to bring it sort of, I suppose, more up to date in Asbury and Billy Duffy.

I mean, you know, big, big personalities, big names.

Absolutely.

With She Sells Sanctuary filling dance floors in the UK and North America, and moving up the charts, The Cult now had to come up with an album to go with it.

So in the summer of '85, lead vocalist Ian Astbury, guitarist Billy Duffy, bass player Jamie Stewart, and guest drummer Mark Brzezicki from Big Country headed into the studios, once again with producer Steve Brown, to create an album that would cause thousands more to fall in love with The Cult.

Oh.

Why don't you have that sweet time? Oh, why don't you have that sweet time?

Just the grooves of that band.

As Billy Duffy would call it, below the waist rock and roll.

[laughs]

It's got a swagger.

[laughs]

And it was my first big band, and I still go back.

And I just talked to Billy Duffy today, and we're gonna play some Cult on this cruise that I'm doing.

Oh, cool.

Agreed, man.

Billy Duffy's the best looking guitar player.

Like the, the best baritone voice ever.

Billy Duffy's the only guy I will ever give permission to play a Bigsby.

Yes.

Like he's the only one.

He's grandfathered in, you know? It's like Ty Tabor is the only person that's okay to play drop D, you know?

[laughs]

It's an absolute masterpiece of an album.

The song was written by Ian Asprey and Billy Duffy, who is our shredder of the week this week.

Songs on that album, Fire Woman, American Horse You Heard, E.D. Chow Baby, Sweet Soul Sister, and many, many more.

Absolutely brilliant album from a brilliant band.

He, he was on the mission later on.

Uh, and then they split their ways, and, uh, so, um, Ian Astbury and, uh, Billy Duffy, and they're still going.

They're still kicking it out.

They k- I don't think he can quite hit those notes quite as much as he used to.