Tag Archives: May 14th

Happy Birthday Ian Astbury and CC DeVille!

(Left) Ian Doing His Best “Jim Morrison,” and (Right) CC Making a “Guitar Face.”

Today, May 14th, is the shared birthday of both Ian Astbury – former sex god and singer for The Cult – and Poison guitarist CC Deville. Both gentlemen claim to have been born in 1962, which would make them the exact same age today! Your mileage may vary. I interviewed Ian back in 2000 and that was a good time. Not only did he confess to being completely and totally obsessed with Cuban guerrilla leader Che Guevara, but I do recall that it was also nearly impossible get him off the phone. I’ve never interviewed CC, but I have met him in person and I can say that up close he is quiet scary looking. For a taste of CC at his best, musically, feel free to ditch Poison’s entire catalog and try to find a copy of the long-out-of-print first CD by CC’s side project, Samantha Seven, which is excellent. Happy Birthday, Boys!

The Teardrop Explodes Release Kilimanjaro

“When I Dream, I Dream About You…”

On This Date, May 14th, in 1980: The Teardrop Explodes released their debut album, Kilimanjaro. It contained the singles, “Sleeping Gas,” “Bouncing Babies,” “When I Dream,” “Ha Ha I’m Drowning” and “Treason (It’s Just A Story).” The first three songs were different versions than those that appeared on the album. Kilimanjaro reached the #24 spot on the U.K. albums chart. The Liverpool, England post punk band disbanded in 1982 after two albums. Lead singer Julian Cope went on to become a successful solo artist and write a few cool books, the best one being his autobiography, Head On, which is just insane. Julian also once personally answered a fan letter I wrote to him, way back in the eighties before the time of the Interwebs. I have that letter framed and hanging on the wall of my home office, where I see it everyday as I sit at my iMac, writing clever and informative blog posts for you!