Nigel Preston (4 April 1963,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

– 1 April 1992) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

drummer. He was a founding member of

the Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury' ...

. He also played and recorded with Theatre of Hate,

Sex Gang Children Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and post-punk band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in London, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been pac ...

the Baby Snakes The Baby Snakes were an Irish rock band formed in 1985. The original line-up featured Frank Rynne, Niall O'Sullivan and Johnny Bonney. In October 1985 they recorded a radio session for Dave Fanning's RTÉ radio show and reached No. 13 in Fanning ...

the Gun Club The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. History Early days (1979–1980) The Gun Club w ...

and DeLuca. He appeared on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' for the first time with Theatre of Hate in 1982, playing their Top 40 single "Do You Believe in the West World". He played on Sex Gang's 1983 single "

Mauritia Mayer "Mauritia Mayer" is the fourth single by English gothic rock band Sex Gang Children, and their first on Clay Records. It reached No. 7 on the UK Indie Singles Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of ...

", then switched places with Death Cult's drummer Ray Mondo that September. His biggest hit was "

She Sells Sanctuary "She Sells Sanctuary" is a song by British rock band the Cult. It is from their second studio album, ''Love'' (1985), and was released as a single on 13 May 1985, peaking at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart in July of the same year. In July 20 ...

" by the Cult from their ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

'' album. Recorded in March 1985, the song was released as their fourth single and hit No. 15 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It re-entered the charts at No. 56 in September 1986, spending 14 consecutive weeks on the charts. The song was later voted No. 18 in VH1's Indie 100. Preston refused to accept being put on wages after the song became a hit, and his bandmates believed him to be unreliable due to his use of drugs; these matters led to his departure from the band in June 1985. After the Cult, Preston worked with

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

in New York. He also played in the band DeLuca with Albie DeLuca (

Gene Loves Jezebel Gene Loves Jezebel are a British rock band formed in the early 1980s by identical twin brothers Jay (born John) and Michael Aston. Gene Loves Jezebel's best-known songs include "Heartache", "Desire (Come and Get It)" (1986), "The Motion of L ...

) and Gary McDowell ( Modern English). In 1990, he joined Irish rock band

, but soon afterward was sent to prison for armed robbery. After his release, he also performed with

. Preston died of a drug overdose on 1 April 1992, three days before his 29th birthday.''The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches'' by Jeremy Simmonds

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Nigel 1963 births 1992 deaths 20th-century English musicians 20th-century drummers Drug-related deaths English rock drummers The Cult members Theatre of Hate members Sex Gang Children members