Southern Death Cult were a British

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

band that formed in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

during the early 1980s. They are now primarily known for having given their lead vocalist and parts of the name to the multi-platinum

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band

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

. Despite the similarities in the names, "Southern Death Cult" were distinct from "Death Cult"/"the Cult".

History

The musical history of Southern Death Cult can be charted as far back as early 1979 in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

with the band Violation. Bassist Barry Jepson and drummer Haq Nawaz "Aky" Qureshi had formed the band with a guitarist now only known as Mick. The band rehearsed for about 7 months before playing their first show. The band played about 20 shows in total over the 18 months that they were together and recorded a set of thirteen demos on a 4 track on 3 and 4 January 1981 at Bradford Community Studio. Southern Death Cult formed in 1981, with a lineup of vocalist

Ian Astbury Ian Robert Astbury (born 14 May 1962) is an English singer, best known as the lead vocalist, frontman and a founding member of the rock band the Cult. During various hiatuses from the Cult, Astbury fronted the short-lived band Holy Barbarians ( ...

, guitarist David "Buzz" Burrows, Jepson, and Aky. The group's name derived from an old term for the

Southeastern Ceremonial Complex Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (formerly Southern Cult, Southern Death Cult or Buzzard Cult), abbreviated S.E.C.C., is the name given by modern scholars to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies, and mythology of ...

, a mound-building Native American

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

(and the band were also known for their use of Native American imagery), but it also served as a critique of the imbalance of power in the English North-South divide. The first Southern Death Cult show took place on 29 October 1981 at the Queen's Hall in Bradford.
Southern Death Cult toured heavily in the UK to promote the single, including slots opening for Theatre of Hate and

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

at the end of 1982, but Astbury disbanded the group after a show in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

on 26 February 1983. The band's sole album, ''The Southern Death Cult'', was posthumously issued by Beggars Banquet in 1983, compiling all three tracks from the single, live performances and

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

sessions.

Later projects

Astbury and guitarist

Billy Duffy William Henry Duffy (born 12 May 1961) is an English rock musician, best known as the guitarist in the band the Cult. Early life Duffy was born and grew up in Manchester, England. He has Irish and Jewish heritage and ancestry. He began playin ...

(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 RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

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 British and Irish Modern Music Institute. Burrows and Qureshi formed a band called Joy. Qureshi then went on to form the political Islamic

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group Fun-Da-Mental and created the label Nation Records.

Discography

Singles

*"Moya/Fatman" a.k.a. ''The Southern Death Cult'' 7"/12" (1982,

Situation 2 Situation Two (a.k.a. Situation 2) was a British independent record label founded in 1981 by Peter Kent as an offshoot of the Beggars Banquet label. The name is a reference to Bauhaus's old management company, Situation 1. At the time, Be ...

)

Compilation albums

*''The Southern Death Cult'' (1983,

Beggars Banquet Records Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. History In 1977, spurred by the prevailing D ...

)

References

External links

Reproduction of Paul Morley interview, 1982Lastfm.atBibliotheque.cenacle.free.fr
{{Authority control English gothic rock groups English post-punk music groups Musical groups from Bradford Situation Two artists