The 21 Most Popular Articles of 2016

❉ We invite you to catch up on our most popular articles so far!

Since We Are Cult launched on 9 September 2016, we’ve piped into your nerd vent news, reviews, interviews and articles devoted all things cult.

Before we dive into 2017, we thought we’d continue a tradition that we invented just now by sharing our most popular articles of 2016.

It’s interesting to see which articles have had the biggest reach, so we invite you to browse our most popular articles so far – you may find some nice things that you missed!

21. Is she really going out with him?: The Damned’s ‘New Rose’ at 40

Is she really going out with him?: The Damned’s ‘New Rose’ at 40

Martin Ruddock celebrated the seismic effect of the first UK punk single, “the loudest, tightest, most thunderous record anybody had heard in ages, possibly ever.”

20. The Prisoner: Drugs, Vietnam, the bomb and The Beatles

The Prisoner: drugs, Vietnam, The Bomb and The Beatles

Robert Fairclough, author of ‘The Prisoner: The Official Companion’, looked at how the classic cult series became an integral part of the countercultural zeitgeist.

19. ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ revisited

Tales of the Unexpected revisited

Alun Harris looked back on the anthology series which “has gone on to become firmly embedded in the UK’s subconscious, images from some of the episodes staying with people to this very day”

18. Pierre et Gilles: Four Decades of Decadence

Pierre et Gilles: Four Decades of Decadence

In this article, Ange Chan presented a whistle-stop tour of the career of Pierre Commoy and Gilles Blanchard, working with the likes of Marc Almond, Amanda Lear, Etienne Daho, and Nina Hagen.

17. We Are Cult’s Alternative Christmas Songs

We Are Cult’s Alternative Christmas Songs

The We Are Cult team compiled an alternative Christmas playlist to soundtrack your festivities, curated by Simon Hart.

16. Mysticism in Film: ‘The Wicker Man’ (1973)

Mysticism in Film: ‘The Wicker Man’ (1973)

As part of our ongoing ‘Mysticism in Film’ series, Jonathon Sisson went beneath the surface of one of the most iconic British films ever made, and an apex of the folk horror genre.

15. 11 things you probably didn’t know about ‘Rubber Soul’

11 things you probably didn’t know about ‘Rubber Soul’

We Are Cult editor-in-chief James Gent presented some interesting facts and trivia about ‘Rubber Soul’, from the cover to the contents.

14. Doctor Who’s Wilderness Years: Part One

Doctor Who’s Wilderness Years: Part One

The first part of comedian Sam Michael‘s Wilderness Years retrospective. It’s loosely linked, yet suitable for a first-time reader. That’s mainstream, folks!

13. La Chanson Française: Love and loss, darkness and disgrace

La Chanson Française: Love and loss, darkness and disgrace

Ange Chan chronicled the history of chanson, songs of sex, life, love and hate, betrayal and death, from Edith Piaf to Bobby Darin, via Scott Walker, Marc Almond and David Bowie.

12. ‘The Box Of Delights’: The reason for the season

‘The Box Of Delights’: The reason for the season

In this article, Jenny Shirt explored The Box of Delight’s enduring appeal: “This fantasy adventure will live on in the eyes of children and adults alike for years to come.”

11. Ladybird Books and the Future Past of Modern Britain

Ladybird Books and the Future Past of Modern Britain

In this post, Nick Campbell reported back from a symposium on the cultural legacy of Loughborough’s Ladybird Books, featuring Helen Day, Tim Dunn, John Grindrod and Samira Ahmed.

10. Fifty years of Monkee business

Fifty years of Monkee business

Writer Andrew Hickey offered a critical reassessment of a show which was directly responsible for the start of the New Hollywood and was an important link between the network programming of the day and the burgeoning counterculture.

9. The making of ‘The Children of Green Knowe’

The making of ‘The Children of Green Knowe’

In this post, John Rivers went behind the scenes of a well-loved children’s fantasy drama, with insights from its screenwriter John Stadelman.

8. Never Mind The Baubles: BBC One Christmas Idents Through the Years

Never Mind The Baubles: BBC One Christmas Idents Through the Years

In this article, Sam Michael took us through a few of his favourite BBC One Christmas idents from yesteryear. Geek heaven!

7. What is cult?

What is cult?

Our launch article by Alun Harris  tackled the question, “What is cult?”  – and who decides? This is the closest thing you will find to a mission statement for We Are Cult!

6. The curious incident of the Russian Sherlock Holmes

The curious incident of the Russian Sherlock Holmes

A surprising entry in our Top 20 was Daniel McGachey‘s appreciation of Russia’s ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson’ produced by Lenfilm for the Soviet Central Television between 1979 and 1986.

5. Folk Horror Revival at the British Museum

Folk Horror Revival at the British Museum

In this post, Nick Campbell reported from the British Museum’s Folk Horror Revival event, where Iain Sinclair, Adam Scovell and Shirley Collins (among many others) discussed this strange intersection of farmland, folklore and fear.

4. The man behind the Cybermen

The man behind the Cybermen

We celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the debut of Doctor Who’s Cybermen by telling the story of their creator Kit Pedler, by Pedler’s biographer Michael Seely.

3. 35 years of Soft Cell’s ‘Non Stop Erotic Cabaret’

35 years of Soft Cell’s ‘Non Stop Erotic Cabaret’

In this article, Ange Chan marked the coral anniversary of Soft Cell’s debut album ‘Non Stop Erotic Cabaret’, a much-loved classic of the early eighties Synthpop genre.

2. We Are Cult’s Top 20 Sitcoms of the 21st Century

We Are Cult’s Top 20 Sitcoms of the 21st Century

Our contributor-based poll of the best sitcoms of the 21st century so far, curated by Alun Harris, garnered a lot of views!

1. Monty Python: ‘Christmas Night Without The Stars’

Monty Python: ‘Christmas Night Without The Stars’

Finally, the most-read article of We Are Cult’s opening season was Editor-in-Chief James Gent‘s exercise in comedy archeology as he pieced together the mystery of the ‘lost’ Monty Python Christmas mini-special…

Thanks for reading! Looking for more good articles to read? Check out the complete archive.

We look forward to bring you more well-written, intelligent, engaging, provocative, challenging and above all fun news, reviews, interviews and articles in 2017 and beyond.


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