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Blue Öyster Cult ( OY-ster; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed in Stony Brook, Long Island in 1967.

They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. Their fusion of hard rock with psychedelia and penchant for occult, fantastical and tongue-in-cheek lyrics had a major influence on heavy metal music. They developed a cult following and enjoyed mainstream success with "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (1976), "Godzilla" (1977) and "Burnin' for You" (1981), which remain classic rock radio staples. They were early adopters of the music video format, and their videos were in heavy rotation on MTV in its early period.

Blue Öyster Cult continued making studio albums and touring throughout the 1980s, although their popularity had declined such that they were dropped from their longtime label CBS/Columbia Records, following the commercial failure of their 11th studio album Imaginos (1988). Other than contributing to the soundtrack of the 1992 film Bad Channels and an album of re-recorded material, Cult Classic, in 1994, the band continued as a live act until releasing its first studio album of original material in 10 years, Heaven Forbid (1998). The lackluster sales of its follow-up Curse of the Hidden Mirror (2001) led to another hiatus from studio recording, but they continued performing live. Two more studio albums were released in the 2020s, The Symbol Remains (2020) and Ghost Stories (2024), the latter of which is said to be the band's last.

Blue Öyster Cult's longest-lasting and most commercially successful lineup included Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals), Eric Bloom (lead vocals, "stun guitar", keyboards, synthesizer), Allen Lanier (keyboards, rhythm guitar), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals, keyboards), and Albert Bouchard (drums, percussion, vocals, miscellaneous instruments). The band's current lineup still includes Bloom and Roeser, in addition to Danny Miranda (bass, backing vocals), Richie Castellano (keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), and Jules Radino (drums, percussion). The duo of the band's manager Sandy Pearlman and rock critic Richard Meltzer, who also met at Stony Brook University, played a key role in writing many of the band's lyrics.

History

Early years as Soft White Underbelly (1967–1971)

Blue Öyster Cult was formed in 1967 as Soft White Underbelly (a name the group would occasionally use in the 1970s and 1980s to play small club gigs around the United States and UK) in a communal house at Stony Brook University on Long Island when rock critic Sandy Pearlman overheard a jam session consisting of fellow Stony Brook classmate Donald Roeser and his friends. Pearlman offered to become the band's manager and creative partner, to which the band agreed. The band's original lineup consisted of guitarist Roeser, drummer Albert Bouchard - following the departure of original drummer Joe Dick, keyboardist Allen Lanier, Les Braunstein and bassist Andrew Winters.

In October 1967, the band made its debut performance as Steve Noonan's backing band at the Stony Brook University Gymnasium, a gig booked by Pearlman. The band's name came from Winston Churchill's description of Italy as "the soft underbelly of the Axis."

Pearlman was important to the band – he was able to get them gigs and recording contracts with Elektra and Columbia, and he provided them with his poetry for use as lyrics for many of their songs, including "Astronomy." Writer Richard Meltzer, also a Stony Brook University student, provided the band with lyrics from their early days up through their most recent studio album. In 1968, the band moved in together at their first house in the Thomaston area of Great Neck, New York. The band recorded an album's worth of material for Elektra Records in 1968.

Braunstein played his final show as Soft White Underbelly's lead singer in the spring of 1969. His departure led Elektra to shelve the album recorded with him on vocals.

Eric Bloom was hired by the band as their acoustic engineer. He eventually replaced Braunstein as lead singer through a series of unlikely coincidences, one being Lanier deciding to join Bloom on a drive to an upstate gig, where he spent the night with Bloom's old college bandmates and got to hear old tapes of Bloom's talent as lead vocalist. Because of this, Bloom was offered the job of lead singer for Soft White Underbelly.