In 1988, one of the greatest heavy-metal songs ever melted faces inside Auburn University’s basketball arena. On October 20 of that year, New York rockers Living Colour performed at Eaves Memorial Coliseum as part of an MTV-sponsored “New Music Assault Tour” featuring rising bands. Living Colour’s Auburn set included a sizzling performance of “The Cult of Personality,” a song that later won the band a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance.

You can watch a video clip of the band’s ‘88 Auburn performance here.

“The Cult of Personality” is powered by guitarist Vernon Reid’s crushing riff, Corey Glover’s bellowing vocals and stegosaurus grooves by bassist Muzz Skillings and drummer Will Calhoun. The track is off “Vivid,” Living Colour’s aptly named double-platinum debut album. According to setlist.fm, Living Colour’s Auburn set also included poignant “Vivid” cuts “Broken Hearts” and “Open Letter (To a Landlord).”

The ‘88 tour that brought the band to Auburn was headlined by The Sugarcubes. An Icelandic combo fronted by future solo star Bjork, The Sugarcubes’ debut album “Life’s Too Good” boasted the number-one U.K. hit “Birthday.” You can watch a clip of The Sugarcubes Eaves Coliseum performance in Auburn here.

Completing the tour lineup: The Godfathers, an English band that scored a U.S. rock hit with “Birth, School, Work, Death.” That group got a boost in notoriety when Jon Bon Jovi sported a Godfathers T-shirt onstage in the music video for Bon Jovi’s 1988 single “Bad Medicine.” You can watch a video clip of The Godfathers’ 1988 Auburn set here.

The late ‘80s were a heyday for hard-rock and heavy-metal acts, many of which performed in Alabama as part of their tours. Countless visually appealing guitar bands scored platinum records and hit MTV videos.

One of the things that made Living Colour different was they were Black. Rock has traditionally been dominated by skinny white dudes. But there are important exceptions to that rule, like groundbreaking Black guitarist Jimi Hendrix, sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson of hit-making band Heart, guitar goddess Lita Ford, etc.

Lyrical subject matter was another key difference between Living Colour and their leather-clad contemporaries. Instead of singing the praises of partying and super-hot-babes, Living Colour lyrics addressed social and racial issues. “The Cult of Personality” namechecks the likes of Gandhi, Stalin and Mussolini. Other classic Living Colour hits include “Type,” “Love Rears Its Ugly Head,” “Elvis Is Dead” and the aforementioned “Open Letter.”

Auburn footage of Living Colour, The Godfathers and The Sugarcubes later aired on MTV’s alternative music show “120 Minutes.” As on the studio recording, Living Colour’s live performance of “The Cult of Personality” opens with a sample of a quote from late civil rights activist Malcolm X. The recording also works in samples from the respective inaugural speeches of U.S. presidents John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Decades after “The Cult of Personality” released, it’s rightfully being celebrated again. It clocks in at number 12 on Rolling Stone’s recent “The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time” list. Living Colour’s signature tune bested juggernauts like AC/DC’s “Black in Black” (number 17) and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” (number 13) and just below Metallica epic “One” (number 11). Sabbath’s 1970 title song “Black Sabbath” topped Rolling Stone’s list.

Living Colour’s other early Alabama performances included a show at iconic Birmingham rock bar The Nick. About a year after their Auburn coliseum show, Living Colour were onstage at Birmingham’s Legion Field, in the highly coveted opening act slot for The Rolling Stones’ 1989 tour supporting Stones reunion album “Steel Wheels.” Stones frontman Mick Jagger played a role in Epic Records signing Living Colour. Jagger also did some production/studio work on the “Vivid” album, including the single “Glamour Boys.”

More recently in the band’s Alabama history, Living Colour played Huntsville’s Mars Music Hall in 2021. In 2022, the band — which has since the mid ‘90s featured Doug Wimbish on bass, to go along with classic members Reid, Glover and Skillings – performed at Brazil’s huge Rock in Rio music festival with guitar virtuoso Steve Vai sitting in as their special guest. You can find updates on the band at livingcolour.com.

MORE ON MUSIC:

The greatest Huntsville concert that never happened

Daru Jones on playing drums for Jack White, Meg White’s drum skills

Ann Wilson talks Heart, new Muscle Shoals album, Led Zeppelin

Wolfgang Van Halen talks Mammoth WVH, Guns N’ Roses tour, Van Halen

From Huntsville’s Oakwood University to ‘Saturday Night Live’