Blue Öyster Cult
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The Blue Öyster Cult is an American psychedelic/heavy metal band of the late 1960’s and still among the best known and existing bands. They have had numerous lineups and various changes in format, but the band is still essentially the same now as it was in the 60’s.
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Two songs
They are probably best known for two songs: their 1976 single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" from the album Agents of Fortune. Which was featured both in the cult movie Halloween and in the TV based horror movie The Stand which was adapted from Stephen King's novel of the same name.
The other single is their 1981 "Burnin' for You" from the album Fire of Unknown Origin.
Other songs of mention
Their song "Veteran of the Psychic Wars," had lyrics penned by author great, Michael Moorcock. It also appeared in the soundtrack of the movie Heavy Metal. Two other well-known songs are "Godzilla" (1977) from Spectres, and "Astronomy" (1974) from Secret Treaties; the latter was then covered by Metallica on 1998's Garage Inc..
Name origin
The name "Blue Öyster Cult" came from a 1960s poem written by their manager Sandy Pearlman. It was part of his "Imaginos" poetry, which was later used more extensively in their 1988 album Imaginos.
Pearlman had also come up with the band's earlier name, "Soft White Underbelly," from a phrase used by Winston Churchill’s description of Italy during World War II. In his poem, "Blue Oyster Cult" was a collection of aliens who had collected to secretly guide Earth's history.
Umlaut
The addition of the umlaut was suggested either by Allen Lanier or Richard Meltzer. Other bands later copied this practice of using umlauts or diacritic marks in their own band logos such as: Motörhead, Mötley Crüe, Queensrÿche, and the parody band Spinal Tap, which put an "umlaut" over the n.
Lineup
The current members of the band are:
- Eric Bloom: lead vocals, guitar
- Buck Dharma: lead guitar, vocals
- Allen Lanier: keyboards, guitar
- Richie Castellano: bass, vocals
- Jules Radino: drums
The original lineup of the band was:
- Eric Bloom: lead vocals, guitar
- Buck Dharma: lead guitar, vocals
- Allen Lanier: keyboards, guitar
- Joe Bouchard: bass, vocals
- Albert Bouchard: drums, vocals