Two original members of The Doors say The Cult's Ian Astbury is an excellent replacement for Jim Morrison.

Keyboard player Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger say they believe he fits in well with the revived group.

"I suppose there's always going to be those hardcore naysayers who believe that if it's not Jim Morrison, it's not the Doors," said Krieger.

"I don't really care what those people think," the 57-year-old guitarist added. "If they don't want to come to the show, they don't have to. It's not a problem. Believe me, those who have come to see us have loved it."

Krieger and Manzarek formed the group again last year, more than 30 years after Morrison's death in Paris.

Astbury filled the Morrison role at a weekend concert in Colorado, leather pants and all.

"He just seemed the most realistically interested," according to Krieger. "Obviously, Ian's always been influenced by Morrison. He's sort of very similar to Morrison in many ways: he's Scottish-English, which Jim was, and he's interested in shamanism and American Indians and all that stuff. He just seemed like the right guy. It felt right when we played with him."

© Associated Press

Story filed: 14:50 Monday 1st September 2003

  return to Ida's LA Woman Confidential home page   

 for more Doors news and reviews