Cult Maniax
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The Cult Maniax are a band from Torrington, Devon in England. The name is derived from them being the Cult and their fans being the Maniax. They formed in about 1980 and unofficially called it a day in 1986 although they still perform the odd gig. They enjoyed moderate success with their Full Of Spunk EP topping the indie charts in some of the music papers and were an exciting live act. They are probably best known for their first single, the Black Horse EP. The Black Horse was, and still is, a public house in Torrington. The lyrics of the title track expressed the band's dissatisfaction at the landlord's attitude to the punk generation. The band sold 200 copies of the single before a court case forced them to hand over the master copies and destroy all remaining copies. Some further copies were sold with the offending track scratched out. The original single can often be found on auction sites attracting prices in the region of £50 for a mint copy.
In their recording career they released four 7"s, one LP and two 12"s. A CD of one of their epic performances at the Adam And Eves Club in Leeds was issued after they disbanded and this is a good representation of their live sound. The band briefly existed as the Vibe Tribe releasing one 7". Big Al and Mil went onto form a band called the Sweet Thangs which released a CD single EP. Big Al can still be seen 2006 in a duet called Free Born Men. Mil has kept his hand in playing in numerous bands most notably The Desperate Men With Jez Evans (Electric Orange) and Shaun Collingham (Naked I) who both also appeared with the rest of the Cult maniax (apart from Foxy) in several reformation gigs. Mil can presently be found playing the drums in a four piece called Blow.
Mitchell is now the Town Cryer in Torrington.
[edit] Band members
- "Big Al" Mitchell - Vocals
- Foxy - Bass Guitar
- Paul Bennett - Lead Guitar
- Mil - Drums
[edit] Discography
| Year | Title | Label | Format | Other Information | ||||
| 1981 | "Black Horse" | Next Wave | 7" | First 200 copies exist with all four tracks, an unknown number exist with the title track scratched out. | ||||
| 1982 | "Blitz" | Elephant Rock | 7" | |||||
| 1983 | "American Dream" | Elephant Rock | 7" | Issued with no picture sleeve. | ||||
| 1984 | "Cold Love" | American Phonograph | LP | The guy at the recording studio remixed two of the tracks and rush released the album without the band's knowledge. | ||||
| 1984 | "Full Of Spunk EP" | Xcentrix Noise | 7" | 1985 | "The Amazing Adventures of Johnny The Duck" | Xcentric Noise | 7" | Released in a fold out poster sleeve with an insert that had photos of the band. |
| 1984 | "Where Do We All Go" | Xcentric Noise | 12" | |||||
| 1985 | "The Amazing Adventures of Johnny The Duck" | Xcentric Noise | 12" And 7" | |||||
| 1986 | "Live At Adam And Eves" | Retch Records | CD |
