Blue Öyster Cult

  • NY
    hometown
  • Classic Rock
    genre
  • 1967
    started
  • Bio
    full story
  • Share
  • Similar
Close

About Blue Öyster Cult

Official Site: http://blueoystercult.com/


Blue Öyster Cult was the thinking man's heavy metal group. Put together on a college campus by a couple of rock critics, it maintained a close relationship with a series of literary figures (often in the fields of science fiction and horror), including Eric Von Lustbader, Patti Smith, Michael Moorcock, and Stephen King, while turning out some of the more listenable metal music of the early and mid-'70s. The band that became Blue Öyster Cult was organized in 1967 at Stony Brook College on Long Island by students (and later rock critics) Sandy Pearlman and Richard Meltzer as Soft White Underbelly and consisted of Andy Winters (bass), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (guitar), John Wiesenthal -- quickly replaced by Allen Lanier -- (keyboards), and Albert Bouchard (drums), with Pearlman managing and Pearlman and Meltzer writing songs. Initially without a lead singer, they added Les Bronstein on vocals. This quintet signed to Elektra Records and recorded an album that was never released. They then dropped Bronstein and replaced him with their road manager, Eric Bloom, as the band's name was changed to Oaxaca. A second Elektra album also went unreleased, though a single was issued under the name the Stalk-Forrest Group.

Cut loose by Elektra, they changed their name again, to Blue Öyster Cult, and signed to Columbia Records in late 1971, by which time Winters had been replaced by Albert Bouchard's brother Joe. Blue Öyster Cult, their debut album, was released in January 1972 and made the lower reaches of the charts. Columbia sent a promotional EP, Live Bootleg, to radio stations in October, and followed with BÖC's second album, Tyranny & Mutation, in February 1973. Their third album, Secret Treaties, was released in April 1974 and became their first to break into the Top 100 bestsellers. (It eventually went gold.) BÖC released a live double album, On Your Feet or on Your Knees, in February 1975.

In May 1976 came their fourth studio album, Agents of Fortune, including the Top 40 (Top Ten on some charts) hit single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (featured in the classic John Carpenter horror film Halloween), which became their first gold and then platinum album. (On Your Feet went gold shortly after.) BÖC's sixth overall album, Spectres, was released in October 1977 and went gold in January 1978. In September 1978 came a second live album, Some Enchanted Evening, which eventually would become BÖC's second million-seller, followed by the studio album Mirrors in June 1979. A year later, BÖC released its ninth album, Cultosaurus Erectus, with the gold Fire of Unknown Origin, containing the Top 40 hit "Burnin' for You," following in June 1981.

In the summer of 1981, drummer Albert Bouchard was replaced by the band's tour manager and lighting designer, Rick Downey. BÖC's third live album, Extraterrestrial Live, was released in April 1982, followed by the studio album The Revolution by Night in October 1983. Downey left in 1984 and was replaced in 1985 by Jimmy Wilcox. The same year, Lanier left and was replaced by Tommy Zvonchek. BÖC released its 13th album, Club Ninja, in January 1986. Bassist Joe Bouchard left in 1986 and was replaced by Jon Rogers. In 1987, Lanier returned to the group, and Ron Riddle replaced Wilcox on drums. BÖC's 14th album, the concept recording Imaginos, became their final new album on Columbia Records in July 1988. BÖC scored the movie Bad Channels in 1992, by which time Chuck Burgi had replaced Ron Riddle on drums. In 1994, Blue Öyster Cult released Cult Classic, an album of re-recorded favorites, in connection with the use of their music in the TV miniseries of horror novelist Stephen King's The Stand. Numerous lineup changes ensued throughout the '90s (as the band kept on touring the world), and in 1995, were the subject of a double disc anthology, Workshop of the Telescopes.

By the late '90s, BÖC had signed with the CMC label, resulting in their first album of all-new studio material in ten years, 1998's Heaven Forbid, and three years later The Curse of the Hidden Mirror. The group's music reached a whole new generation of hard rock fans when Metallica covered the BÖC classic "Astronomy" for their best-selling Garage Inc. album in 1998, as a few other best-of collections surfaced around the same time -- Super Hits and Don't Fear the Reaper: The Best Of. In 2001, Columbia/Legacy reissued BÖC's first four releases with a newly remastered sound and added bonus tracks. ~ William Ruhlmann & Greg Prato, Rovi

Scroll up Scroll down

Music

From position 0, showing 8 items, asking 10
See All
  • Mirrors (Live at UC Berkeley)
    blue-yster-cult-1
    Video
    Mirrors (Live at UC Berkeley)
  • Dr. Music (Live at UC Berkeley)
    blue-yster-cult-1
    Video
    Dr. Music (Live at UC Berkeley)
  • In Thee (Live at UC Berkeley)
    blue-yster-cult-1
    Video
    In Thee (Live at UC Berkeley)
  • Godzilla
    blue-yster-cult-1
    Video
    Godzilla
  • Joan Crawford
    blue-yster-cult-1
    Video
    Joan Crawford
  • Burnin' For You
    blue-yster-cult-1
    Video
    Burnin' For You
  • Astronomy
    blue-yster-cult-1
    Video
    Astronomy
  • Dancin' In The Ruins
    blue-yster-cult-1
    Video
    Dancin' In The Ruins

Tour Dates

From position 0, showing 8 items, asking 50
See All
  • May 31 Friday
    Houston, TX, US Arena Theatre
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 21 Friday
    Bay City, MI, US Bay City River Roar
    Buy Ticket
  • Aug 3 Saturday
    Ridgefield, WA, US Clark County Fairgrounds
    Buy Ticket
  • Aug 6 Tuesday
    Lewiston, NY, US Artpark
    Buy Ticket
  • Aug 13 Tuesday
    Colmar, France Théâtre de Plein Air, Parc des Expositions
    Buy Ticket
  • Aug 29 Thursday
    Milwaukee, WI, US Henry Maier Festival Park (Summerfest Grounds)
    Buy Ticket
  • Aug 29 Thursday
    Milwaukee, WI, US Henry Maier Festival Park (Summerfest Grounds)
    Buy Ticket
  • Aug 30 Friday
    Milwaukee, WI, US Henry Maier Festival Park (Summerfest Grounds)
    Buy Ticket

Discography

From position 0, showing 10 items, asking 10
See All
Next Page
  • Live [Direct Source] (2005)
    Blue Öyster Cult
    Live [Direct Source] (2005)
    Direct Source
  • A Long Day's Night (2002)
    Blue Öyster Cult
    A Long Day's Night (2002)
    Sanctuary
  • The Curse of the Hidden Mirror (2001)
    Blue Öyster Cult
    The Curse of the Hidden Mirror (2001)
    Sanctuary
  • Heaven Forbid (1998)
    Blue Öyster Cult
    Heaven Forbid (1998)
    CMC International
  • Live 1976 (1994)
    Blue Öyster Cult
    Live 1976 (1994)
    Griffin Music
  • Bad Channels (1992)
    Blue Öyster Cult
    Bad Channels (1992)
    Moonstone Records
  • Imaginos (1988)
    Blue Öyster Cult
    Imaginos (1988)
    Real Gone Music
  • Club Ninja (1986)
    Blue Öyster Cult
    Club Ninja (1986)
    Koch Records
  • The Revölution by Night (1983)
    Blue Öyster Cult
    The Revölution by Night (1983)
    Columbia
  • Extraterrestrial Live (1982)
    Blue Öyster Cult
    Extraterrestrial Live (1982)
    Columbia
Are You Blue Öyster Cult? Claim this page | Learn more about Artists.MTV | FAQ for Artists
Blue Öyster Cult Bio | Blue Öyster Cult Tour Dates | Blue Öyster Cult Music | Blue Öyster Cult News | Blue Öyster Cult Discography |
MTV | MTV Jobs | Privacy Policy | User Content Agreement | Copyright | Artist Index | Social Projects Agreements | Ad Choices |
Portions of this page powered by
This site contains content from artists, fans, and writers from around the internet in it's natural form. Such content is not representative of Viacom Media Networks.

©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

  • Explore
    • Popular
    • Emerging
    • Genres
      • Rock
      • Hip Hop
      • Indie
      • Electronic/EDM
      • Country
      • Pop
    • Collections
    • Artist To Watch
  • Search
  • Are you an artist?
    • Claim Your Page
    • Learn More
    • FAQ
    • Opportunities