Veteran rockers the Cult playing shows in Edinburgh and Newcastle to mark 40th anniversary

Their Scottish date is at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on Thursday, October 24, and their Tyneside one is at Newcastle City Hall on Wednesday, October 30.

This year’s anniversary tour follows one last year, including a stop-off at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom, marking four decades passing since the formation of predecessor band Death Cult.

Guitarist Billy Duffy – one of only two founder members left, the other being vocalist Ian Astbury – said: “Following up from the great energy of the Death Cult 8323 shows, I’m looking forward to bringing that sense of celebration of the band’s music, and the communion with our fans, to Cult 8424.”

The West Yorkshire act’s other UK shows are in Leicester, Swansea, Manchester, Bristol, York, Portsmouth, Wolverhampton and London.

Tickets to see them in Edinburgh show cost from £51.50 and for Newcastle they’re from £57.80.

For details, go to https://www.usherhall.co.uk/whats-on or https://www.academymusicgroup.com/o2cityhallnewcastle/events/1481748/cult-8424-tickets

Their Edinburgh date is their first since 2009 and their Newcastle show is their first since one at the same venue in 2016, though they did play nearby at Gateshead in 2019.

This year’s tour follows the release of their 11th album, Under the Midnight Sun, in 2022.

It was a No 15 hit, their highest chart placing since Ceremony made it to No 9 back in 1991.

Ceremony, their fifth LP, was one of four to make the top ten, following Love and Electric, No 4 hits in 1985 and 1987 respectively, and Sonic Temple, a No 3 in 1989, along with their chart-topping 1993 compilation Pure Cult.

They’ve also notched up five top 20 singles – She Sells Sanctuary, a No 15 in 1985 and again in 1993; Rain, a No 17 in 1985; Love Removal Machine, a No 18 in 1987; Lil’ Devil, a No 11 that same year; and Fire Woman, a No 15 in 1989.