Editing Southern Death Cult

{{Short description|British post-punk/gothic rock band}}
{{About|the band Southern Death Cult|the band Death Cult|The Cult|the Native American culture|Southeastern Ceremonial Complex}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name                = Southern Death Cult
| image               =
| caption             = 
| origin              = [[Bradford]], [[West Yorkshire]], England
| genre               = {{hlist|[[Gothic rock]]|[[post-punk]]}}
| years_active        = 1981–1983
| label               = {{hlist|[[Situation Two]]|[[Beggars Banquet Records|Beggars Banquet]]}}
| spinoffs            = [[The Cult]]
| current_members     = 
| past_members        = * [[Ian Astbury]]
* David "Buzz" Burrows
* Barry Jepson
* [[Aki Nawaz|Haq Nawaz "Aky" Qureshi]]
}}
'''Southern Death Cult''' were a British [[post-punk]]/[[gothic rock]] band that formed in [[Bradford]] during the early 1980s.<ref>[http://bibliotheque.cenacle.free.fr/biblio/netgothfr_affiche.php?id=20]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050902191821/http://bibliotheque.cenacle.free.fr/biblio/netgothfr_affiche.php?id=20|date=2 September 2005}}</ref> They are now primarily known for having given their lead vocalist 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==

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.

==Later projects==
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 [[British and Irish Modern Music Institute]].{{cn|date=February 2020}}

Burrows and Qureshi formed a band called Joy.

Qureshi then went on to form the political Islamic [[hip hop music|hip hop]] 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]])

===Compilation albums===
*''The Southern Death Cult'' (1983, [[Beggars Banquet Records]])

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://thearchive.free.fr/arch-sdeathcult.htm Reproduction of Paul Morley interview, 1982]
*[http://www.julio-online.net/html/body_sdc.html Julio-online.net]
*[http://www.lastfm.at/music/The+Southern+Death+Cult Lastfm.at]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050902191821/http://bibliotheque.cenacle.free.fr/biblio/netgothfr_affiche.php?id=20 Bibliotheque.cenacle.free.fr]

{{The Cult}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:English gothic rock groups]]
[[Category:English post-punk music groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Bradford]]
[[Category:Situation Two artists]]