Ghost’s Label Didn’t Rate ‘Mary On A Cross’. It Later Turned Out To Be Their Their Biggest Song

If ever there was proof that music labels don’t know everything, look no further than this story.

When Ghost dropped ‘Mary On A Cross’ as a B-side back in 2019, no one, not even their label, thought much of it. It’s now their biggest hit.

The track, originally released alongside ‘Kiss the Go-Goat’ on Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic, quietly gained traction until TikTok sent it into orbit. It’s now sitting on more than 740 million streams on Spotify and went platinum in the US in 2022. But as frontman Tobias Forge recently told The Rock Hard Radio Show, the label initially saw it as a throwaway track.

“They were like, ‘Okay, it’s a good song, but it’s like a B-side,’” Forge recalled. “It’s not meant for…” he trailed off, adding that even with mainstream success, there’s still a lot of guesswork involved in figuring out what sticks.

According to Ghost lore, the track was penned by “Papa Emeritus Nihil” in the ’60s. In reality, Forge wrote and recorded it himself. He knew it had something. The label didn’t. “I felt like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing. One of the best songs I’ve ever written is just a B-side. Fine.’”

It was only after fans latched onto it especially live that the tide turned. The track’s runaway success caught the industry off guard. “That turned a lot of heads within the label world,” Forge said. “They were like, ‘Oh, we didn’t know.’”

Now, Forge isn’t worried about chasing another viral moment. “There’s no plan. I’m not going to chase that,” he said. “If it’s a hit, it’ll show itself. If not, we’ve got plenty of others.”

Ghost’s next move is Skeletá, out April 25. The world tour kicks off April 15 at Manchester’s AO Arena and wraps up September 25 in Mexico City. Whether another ‘Mary On A Cross’ is in the mix, Forge isn’t losing sleep over it. He’s focused on writing the best songs he can. The rest, as history’s shown, tends to sort itself out.