"She Sells Sanctuary" is a song by British rock band the Cult. It is from their second studio album, Love (1985), and was released as a single on 13 May 1985, peaking at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart in July of the same year. In March 2023, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awarded the song a platinum certification for sales and streams of over 600,000. In January 1993, the song was re-released as "Sanctuary MCMXCIII" and experienced chart success once more, matching its original peak on the UK Singles Chart and entering the top 10 in New Zealand. One of the earliest songs written for what would become the Love album, "She Sells Sanctuary" was first performed during the Dreamtime tour in the fall of 1984, and would become 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. Duffy says he found a violin bow lying around the studio and started playing the guitar with it "like Jimmy Page" to amuse singer Ian Astbury, hit every effects pedal he had "to make it sound weirder", and then played the middle section of the song. "And we decided to start the song with that mystical sound. If I hadn't found that violin bow laying around, we wouldn't have gone there," said Duffy.

Release

After its release in 1985, the single reached number 36 during a six-week run on the US Billboard Hot Dance/Disco Club Play chart in early 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". On 18 January 1993, several more mixes were released on two different CD singles and a 12-inch single, titled "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.

Reception

John Leland at Spin described it as "one of those inane pieces of pomp pop that—through no fault of the band's — transcends its formidable pretensions to become a whomping dance record. The drums drive the thing, but the crucial sound is guitar — lots of it. Electric, acoustic, distorted, echoey, all chasing a snappy riff. Dopey is dopey, but sometimes, with the right sound, you can get away with it."

Track listings

Original version

7-inch single UK 12-inch single

"Sanctuary MCMXCIII"

UK CD1 UK CD2 UK 12-inch single Australian CD single Australian cassette single

Charts

Original version

"Sanctuary MCMXCIII"

Certifications

Usage in media

The song opens the 2004 film 'Layer Cake' also in the 2002 video games Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the fictional in-game radio station V-Rock.