The origins of the band can be traced back to 1981, in Bradford, Yorkshire, where vocalist and songwriter Ian Astbury formed a band called the Southern Death Cult.[3] The name was chosen with a double meaning, and was derived from the 14th century Native American religion, the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex or Southern Death Cult as it sometimes known, from the Mississippi delta area,[4] but it was also a stab at what the band viewed was the centralisation of power in Southern England (including that of the music industry), there has long been a perceived notion of a North-South divide based on social, historic and economic reasons.[5] Astbury was joined in the band by Buzz Burrows (guitar), Barry Jepson (bass) and Aki Nawaz Qureshi (drums); they performed their first show at the Queen's Hall in their hometown of Bradford on October 29, 1981.[6] The band were at the forefront of a new emerging style of music, in the form of post-punk and gothic rock (then known as positive-punk), they achieved critical acclaim from the press and music fans very early on.[6]
The band signed to indepedent record label Situation Two, an offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records, also releasing a single, Moya, in this day. They toured through England headlining some shows on their own and also touring with Bauhaus and Theatre of Hate.[6] The band played their final performance in Manchester during February 1983, meaning after only sixteen months the band was over. A compilation under the name Southern Death Cult was released, this is a collection of the single, radio sessions with John Peel for Radio One and live performances - one of which was recorded by an audience member with a tape recorder.[6]
In April 1983, Astbury teamed up with guitarist Billy Duffy and formed the band "Death Cult". Duffy had previously been in The Nosebleeds, Lonesome No More and then Theatre of Hate. In addition to Astbury and Duffy, the band also included Jamie Stewart (bass) and Raymond Taylor Smith (later known as Ray Mondo) (drums), both from the Harrow, London based post-punk band, Ritual. Death Cult made their live debut in Oslo, Norway in late June 1983 and released the Death Cult EP in July 1983, then toured throughout Europe. In September 1983, Mondo was deported to his home country of Sierra Leone and replaced by Nigel Preston, formerly of Theatre of Hate. The single "God's Zoo" was released in October 1983. Another European tour, with UK dates, followed later that autumn. To tone down the gothic connotations of their name, and to gain broader appeal, the band changed its name to "The Cult" in January 1984 before appearing on the (UK) Channel 4 television show, The Tube.
