She Sells Sanctuary


"She Sells Sanctuary" is a song by the British rock band the Cult. It is from their 1985 album Love and was released as a single in May of that year, peaking at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. In July 2020, the British Phonographic Industry awarded the song a Gold certification for sales and streams of over 400,000.
"She Sells Sanctuary" was the last song to be recorded with the Cult's longtime drummer, Nigel Preston, who was fired from the band shortly after its release. According to Cult guitarist Billy Duffy, the iconic introduction effects were the result of all the guitar effects pedals being on at the same time. The recording was edited to include the introduction with the effects, whereas earlier versions started the song more abruptly.

Release

After its release in 1985, the single reached number 36 during a six-week run on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart in 1986.
The band has released various versions of the song. Aside from the original 7-inch single, three other versions had been released around the same time on 12-inch formats: "The Long Version", "The Howling Mix" and "Assault on Sanctuary".
In 1993, several more mixes were released on two different CD singles, each called Sanctuary MCMXCIII. The "Sundance" remix was remixed by Butch Vig who previously had produced Nirvana's Nevermind album. The "Dog Star Rising" remix was remixed by Youth who produced the Cult's eighth album, Born into This.
In 2009, two more previously unreleased versions, a demo and the "Olympic Rough Mix" were included in a 4-disc box set of the Omnibus edition of Love.

Track listing

7-inch single
12-inch single
Sanctuary MCMXCIII CD1
  1. "She Sells Sanctuary"
  2. "She Sells Sanctuary"
  3. "She Sells Sanctuary"
  4. "She Sells Sanctuary"
Sanctuary MCMXCIII CD2
  1. "She Sells Sanctuary"
  2. "She Sells Sanctuary"
  3. "She Sells Sanctuary"
  4. "She Sells Sanctuary"

    Charts

Original version

"Sanctuary MCMXCIII"

Certifications