Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics

Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics
Origin	London, England
Years active	2016–present
Members	Aaron Buchanan Laurie Buchanan Tom McCarthy Chris Guyatt Kev Hickman
Website	wearecultclassics.com

Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics are a British rock band formed in 2016 by former Heaven's Basement vocalist of international acclaim and Red Bull Records alumni Aaron Buchanan. Band members include Aaron Buchanan (vocals), Laurie Buchanan (guitar and vocals), Tom McCarthy (guitar), Chris Guyatt (bass) and Kev Hickman (drums). The band cite 1990s grunge rock influences and came together for first rehearsals in June 2016, this was followed up with a full UK tour alongside InMe starting on 17 October 2016 through to 23 October in support of forthcoming album The Man With Stars On His Knees.

The Man With Stars On His Knees

After departing Heaven's Basement in late 2015. Buchanan went into the studio to record The Man With Stars On His Knees. Many of the demo's were produced by Buchanan during his time in Heaven's Basement. The album was produced by lifelong friend and producer James Curtis-Thomas at Plus 11 Studios. "The Man With Stars On His Knees" was predominantly written by Buchanan in the United Kingdom with many of the vocals and song structures put together at the Reddington family home in Chambers Flat, Brisbane, Australia. The album features Aaron Buchanan (Vocals/Drums/Guitar/Bass), James Curtis-Thomas (Drums), Laurie Buchanan (Guitars/Vocals) and Ryan Woods (Guitar/Bass) and was tracked at Plus 11 Recording Studio in Boreham. The first single video, "All The Things You've Said And Done" was released on 12 October 2016 initially on Facebook and shortly after on YouTube. and was released as a physical copy with a b/side "Fire In The Fields Of Mayhem".The album features 10 songs and has a run-time of 34 minutes and 30 seconds. The front-cover artwork was created by Sam Mayle and inspired by a portrait Ryan Woods had shown Buchanan that Mayle had created in 2014 featuring Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance. Mayle is a prominent figurehead of The Cult Classics artwork and has produced various commissioned pieces of art for the band.

Critical Acclaim

The Man With Stars On His Knees surged a considerable movement in the media after crowdfunding via PledgeMusic topped out at 163% and the band were announced on the likes of Download Festival, Ramblin Man Fair and playlisted for major radio via Bauer Radio owned Planet Rock; "Think Soundgarden. Think Muse. Think power. And think of a band who can back up a big riff with an even bigger chorus." was a line used to describe the record by Team Rock (MetalHammer}. Buchanan states in the aforementioned feature that "to be unique, a dash of many influences and styles is what it takes to create something of an ilk that strives to one day be placed in a similar realm." and it is the unique qualities of the album that stood out for many of the publications that have reviewed and featured the album to date. The record was very well received by media at the likes of Camden Rocks Festival, Wildfire and Download Festival as noted during interviews with both siblings. Hard Rock Hell magazine posted "It’s immediately obvious that Buchanan has seized the opportunity to strike free and plough a fresh creative furrow." . Classic Rock Magazine also raved over the record finishing with "Buchanan is back on his feet, and swinging from the heavens." with a 7/10 review.

Track listing

1. Show Me What You're Made Of
2. All The Things You've Said And Done
3. Dancin' Down Below
4. The Devil That Needs You
5. Journey Out of Here
6. The Man With Stars On His Knees
7. A God Is No Friend
8. Left Me For Dead
9. Mind Of A Mute
10. Morals

Freddie Mercury tribute

Buchanan has often cited influence and appreciation of Freddie Mercury of Queen. On 5 September 2016, The Cult Classics Facebook page posted a video of Aaron Buchanan & Tom McCarthy in celebration of what would have been Mercury's 70th birthday, and a tribute to what would have been both 25 years since his death and 30 years since the Queen at Wembley gig of 1986. They performed acoustically a rendition of "Love of My Life" (from the 1975 album A Night At The Opera), a song performed regularly and internationally by Queen in their hey-day. The rendition was inspired by the Live at Wembley '86 performance of the song and achieved over 50,000 hits in just a matter of days to exceptional media response.