I was like a kid in a sweet shop as a ran around in my Pure Cult T-Shirt trying to find our boys. I eventually saw Ian who saw my T-shirt, he gave me the most beautiful warm smile and a peace sign as he was whisked into his trailer. Damn!! I thought I'd missed my chance, but as I said I had an access all areas, my chance would come later.
I positioned myself backstage and as all the boys came on I gave them ALL a handshake and wished them luck, they must of thought who the hell was this but who cares!! As they came on stage and ripped into Rise I stood by the corner of the stage and saw 30,000 people go mad, it was an amazing experience I will never forget. The band did a shorter set list than usual and played for around 45 minutes, I wasn't sure how the younger audience at Reading (which is the hardest festival to succeed at) would go down. My fears were unfounded, the new material obviously didn't get them going as much as the 'old school' stuff and when Fire Woman and She Sells Sanctuary were played the place went mental (with a thirty one year old kid, standing on the side of the stage shaking his head, me!!!)
After their performance I waited by the trailer again and managed to grab Billy for some photos just as he came off. He was brilliant and even got the tour manager to take the photo!! COOL!! Then from out of the 'rain' came Mr Astbury with a towel rapped round his head. After greeting a few friends he made his way to me (amazingly) and ask me what I thought of the show. I'd had a few drinks by this point, as you can imagine, and in even in my drunk state I played it VERY cool!!!
We chatted for about 10 minutes, and some of Ians comments might be of interest with regards the band splitting up. He said that The Cult would be around forever and come and play Festivals like Reading until they were old!! He suggested they could scare the shit out of all the young bands regularly, just like Iggy Pop, who he really admires.
I got the feeling that the band would come and go but never totally split up, so don't fret people!! I also asked Ian about his sons, who he misses like crazy. They were in America at the time, I think he wanted them there with him, England after all is where The Cult began.
All in all an amazing experience that I will NEVER forget.
PEACE
Rain
Rise
Take The Power
Fire Woman
The Witch
Breathe
Wild Flower
She Sells Sanctuary
Love Removal Machine