Comeback Of The Year!
“There Would Be No Billie Eilish Without Goth”
Back from the grave: goth had a big 2023, with Siouxsie, Lol, Budgie, The Sisters Of Mercy and Death Cult resurgent. Blame the apocalypse, they tell Victoria Segal.
In goth we trust: (clockwise left) Death Cult’s Ian Astbury (left) and Billy Duffy
The Cure’s Lol Tolhurst (left) and Robert Smith, 1984
(from front) Tolhurst, Budgie and Jacknife Lee’s new band
Sisters Of Mercy badges; undead cool
Batcave revellers, 1981;
Mick Mercer, Tom Sheehan, Getty
DESPITE APPEARANCES, goth has always been the subculture that refuses to die. Even by its undead standards, however, 2023 has witnessed intense activity. In May, Siouxsie Sioux played her first live shows since 2013. Cure co-founder Lol Tolhurst and former Banshee/Creature Budgie cemented their drummers’ bond by releasing potent, time-slipping collaboration Los Angeles. The Sisters Of Mercy played two volatile nights at London’s Roundhouse in September, while The Cult’s Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy announced a tour under their transitional 1983 guise Death Cult. Meanwhile, as if summoned by an unseen bell, there’s also been an outpouring of writing on the subject: John Robb’s The Art Of Darkness; Cathi Unsworth’s Season Of The Witch; Tolhurst’s Goth: A History and Simon Price’s Curepedia.