The Cult - Dreamtime

September marks the thirtieth anniversary of Dreamtime, the debut album from British band the Cult. The band included Ian Asbury (vocals), Billy Duffy (guitar), Jamie Stewart (bass and backing vocals) and Nigel Preston (drums). This 1984 release went to number 46 in Sweden and number 21 in the UK.


Side one opens with the throbbing beat of “Horse Nation”. The lyrics were taken directly from the novel Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown.

“Spiritwalker”, the lead single from the album, focuses on the Asian spiritualist practice of shamanism. The song went to number 77 on the UK Singles chart and number 1 on the UK Indie chart.

“83rd Dream” has a dark and nightmarish vibe to it.

“Butterflies” drips with angst. The percussion really adds to the downward spiral of it all.

“Go West (Crazy Spinning Circles)”, the second single, stalled at number 90 on the UK Indie chart. The repetition in the lyrics fits well with the song’s melodic hooks.

Side two begins with “Gimmick”. The creative use of the phrase “no love” at the end of most lines is the standout element of the song for me.

The B-side to the first single was “A Flower in the Desert”.

“Dreamtime” has a nice head-bobbing beat to it, but lyrically it is a bit too repetitive for me.

Next up is “Rider in the Snow”

The album closes with the slow winding “Bad Medicine Waltz”.

I have a few tracks from Dreamtime, most likely from a collection of some kind from the band. The Cult definitely showed some solid potential with this debut, but I would have liked a bit more variety into the mix. This was not the type of music I would have been listening to regularly back in 1984 as it has a darker tinge to it.