Editing Southern Death Cult (section)

==History==

The musical history of Southern Death Cult can be charted as far back as early 1979 in [[Bradford]], [[Yorkshire]] with the band Violation.<ref>[https://southerndeathcult.blogspot.com/]{{cite web |title=Southern Death Cult Blogpost |url=https://southerndeathcult.blogspot.com/ |access-date=9 May 2022}}</ref> Bassist Barry Jepson and drummer [[Aki Nawaz|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]], guitarist David "Buzz" Burrows, Jepson, and Aky.

The group's name derived from an old term for the [[Southeastern Ceremonial Complex]], a [[Mound builder (people)|mound-building]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] [[archaeological culture|culture]] (and the band were also known for their use of Native American imagery),<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=60Jde3l7WNwC&pg=PA240 |title=Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists - Pete Prown, Harvey P. Newquist |isbn=9780793540426 |access-date=31 May 2015|last1=Prown |first1=Pete |last2=Newquist |first2=Harvey P. |year=1997 }}</ref> but it also served as a critique of the imbalance of power in the English [[North-South divide in the United Kingdom|North-South divide]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thearchive.free.fr/arch-sdeathcult.htm |title=Southern Death Cult - NME 1982 |publisher=Thearchive.free.fr |date=2 October 1982 |access-date=31 May 2015}}</ref>

The first Southern Death Cult show took place on 29 October 1981 at the Queen's Hall in Bradford.<ref>[http://www.redsunrecords.com/product_info.php?products_id=751&cPath=78&language=fr]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210140717/http://www.redsunrecords.com/product_info.php?products_id=751&cPath=78&language=fr|date=10 February 2012}}</ref>
Southern Death Cult toured heavily in the UK to promote the single, including slots opening for [[Theatre of Hate]] and [[Bauhaus (band)|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 posthumously issued by Beggars Banquet in 1983, compiling all three tracks from the single, live performances and [[BBC Radio 1]] sessions.