Southern Death Cult was a gothic rock band in the early 1980s. It is now primarily known for having given its lead singer and parts of its name to the multi-platinum goth and hard rock band The Cult. Despite the similarities in the names, "Southern Death Cult" was distinct from "Death Cult"/"The Cult". Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) evolved out of post-punk during the late 1970s. ... Hard rock is a form of rock and roll music which finds its closest roots in early 1960s garage rock and psychedelic rock. ... The Cult is a British rock band. ...

Southern Death Cult emerged from the ashes of the seminal Bradford punk band Violation. In place at that time were Aki Nawaz-drums, Barry Jepson-bass, Mick-guitar & Mick Brady-vocals. Notable songs in their set were 'Boys in Blue' & 'Assault & Battery'- The high point for this line-up is probably their support slot to the Clash at Bradford's St. Georges Hall in 1980.

In 1981, Ian Astbury had moved into a new house in Bradford and reportedly discovered a band rehearsing in the cellar. Ian Astbury (performing under the name "Ian Lindsay") sang alongside guitarist David Burrows, bassist Barry Jepson and drummer Haq Qureshi (a.k.a. Aki Nawaz). Astbury renamed the band Southern Death Cult, after an oscure Indian tribe around the Mississippi delta area in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Southern Death Cult's first ever performance was at the Queen's Hall in Bradford, England, on 29 October 1981. The setlist the band played was: Crow, The Girl Apache, Vivisection, (unknown song), Moya, The Crypt, and there is a bootleg recording of that show in circulation. The fifth song is sometimes refered to as 'War Song', but it's real title is unknown, seeing as the band never performed it again, nor was it ever recorded by them in the studio. The band toured heavily in the UK promoting its double A side single "Moya/ Fatman/ The Girl", which had gone to #1 on the independant charts. The band toured with Theatre of Hate, and then succeeding in getting a slot opening for Bauhaus, at the end of 1982, but Astbury disbanded the group after a show on 26 February 1983. Ian Astpurie (born May 14, 1962, in Heswall, Cheshire) is an English rock singer and lyricist. ... A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. ... A bassist is a musician who plays a double bass or electric bass (also referred to as bass guitar). ... A session drummer at practice A drummer is a musician who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ... Theatre of Hate were a gothic, post-punk rock band which formed in Britain in 1980. ... Bauhaus is a British rock band (formed in Northampton in 1978) popular in the 1980s. ...

Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy (of The Nosebleeds and Theatre of Hate) came together later in April 1983 to form a different band, with a similar name, first called "Death Cult" and then, after releaseing a four song EP and a single, the band changed their name to simply The Cult. The other members of The Southern Death Cult formed Getting the Fear. Later they changed their name to Into a Circle. Qureshi went on to form the political, Islamic hip hop group Fun-Da-Mental and to create the label Nation Records. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds was a short-lived punk band formed in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England in 1976. ... Theatre of Hate were a gothic, post-punk rock band which formed in Britain in 1980. ... The Cult is a British rock band. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... Nation Records is a record label set up by Aki Nawaz which released the first new take on world dance music, an album called Fuse. Featuring the earliest appearance by Talvin Singh as Mahatma T, the label went on to feature the early releases of Asian Dub Foundation, Joi, Transglobal...

Southern Death Cult's singles, demos, and some live recordings were later collected onto a ten song compilation album by Beggars Banquet, simply entitled Southern Death Cult. The vinyl version was released in a dozen countries after The Cult's popularity grew in the 1980's. An early ten song CD version was released in 1987 in Japan. It was issued on CD in 1988 with five bonus tracks, and then remastered and reissued on CD again in 1996. The songwriting credits to "A Flower in the Desert," off of The Cult's Dreamtime album, are from the Southern Death Cult line up- a credit which is sometimes omitted from the various different pressings of Dreamtime. An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. ... For the record label, see Beggars Banquet Records. ... The Cult is a British rock band. ... Dreamtime is a studio album by The Cult, released in 1984. ...