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Southern Death Cult

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This article is about the early 1980s goth band. For the band Death Cult, see The Cult. For the Native American culture, see Southeastern Ceremonial Complex.
Southern Death Cult
OriginBradford, Yorkshire, England
GenresGothic rock, post-punk
Years activeOctober 1981–February 1983
LabelsSituation Two, Beggars Banquet
Past membersIan Astbury
David "Buzz" Burrows
Barry Jepson
Haq Nawaz "Aky" Qureshi

Southern Death Cult were a British post-punk/gothic rock band in the early 1980s.[1][2] They are now primarily known for having given their lead singer and parts of the name to the multi-platinum hard rock band The Cult. Despite the similarities in the names, "Southern Death Cult" were distinct from "Death Cult"/"The Cult".

History

Southern Death Cult formed in 1981 in Bradford, Yorkshire, with a lineup of vocalist Ian Astbury, bassist Barry Jepson, guitarist David "Buzz" Burrows and drummer Haq Nawaz "Aky" Qureshi.

The group's name derived from an old term for the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, a mound-building Native American culture (and the band were also known for their use of Native American imagery),[3] but it also served as a critique of the imbalance of power in the English North-South divide.[4]

The first Southern Death Cult show took place on 29 October 1981 at the Queen's Hall in Bradford.[5]

The band's debut, the double A-side 7" single "Moya/Fatman", also referred to as The Southern Death Cult, was released in December 1982 on the Situation Two label (an offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records) and hit No. 1 on the UK Indie Chart. The 12" version included a third track, "The Girl".

Southern Death Cult toured heavily in the UK to promote the single, including slots opening for Theatre of Hate and Bauhaus at the end of 1982, but Astbury disbanded the group after a show in Manchester on 26 February 1983.

The band's sole album, The Southern Death Cult, was issued by Beggars Banquet in 1983, compiling all three tracks from the single, live performances and BBC Radio 1 sessions.

Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy (of The Nosebleeds and Theatre of Hate) came together in April 1983 to form an act with a similar name, first called Death Cult and then, after releasing an eponymous four-song EP and a single later in 1983, renamed The Cult.

The other three ex-members of Southern Death Cult, augmented by vocalist Paul "Bee" Hampshire, formed Getting the Fear, who released one single, "Last Salute", on RCA Records before splitting up in 1985.

Jepson and Hampshire went on to form Into a Circle, releasing the Assassins album in 1988. Jepson later worked as a concert promoter and currently teaches live sound and tour management at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music.[6]

Burrows and Qureshi formed a band called Joy.

Qureshi then went on to form the political Islamic hip hop group Fun-Da-Mental and create the label Nation Records.

Discography

Singles

  • "Moya/Fatman" aka The Southern Death Cult 7"/12" (1982, Situation 2)

Compilation albums

References

  1. ^ "The Southern Death Cult – Hören, Videos, Konzerte, Statistiken und Bilder kostenlos bei Last.fm". Lastfm.at. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  2. ^ [1] Archived 2 September 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists - Pete Prown, Harvey P. Newquist". Books.google.com. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Southern Death Cult - NME 1982". Thearchive.free.fr. 2 October 1982. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  5. ^ [2] Archived 10 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Barry Jepson | Southern Death Cult". ZoomInfo.com. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
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