DEATH CULT (PRE THE CULT) 1983 RARE UK EP LP WITH LYRIC SHEET HTF OOP ASTBURY

$

24

UK Import PRESSING

 1983

**DEATH CULT**

**EP UK IMPORT**

The origins of the band can be traced back to 1981, in Bradford, Yorkshire, where vocalist and songwriter Ian Astbury formed a band called Southern Death Cult. 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, 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. Astbury was joined 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 29 October 1981. 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.

The band signed to independent record label Situation Two, an offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records, and released a three-track, triple A-side single, Moya, during this period. They toured through England headlining some shows on their own and also touring with Bauhaus and Theatre of Hate. 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 The Southern Death Cult was released, this being 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.

In April 1983, Astbury teamed up with guitarist Billy Duffy and formed the band "Death Cult". Duffy had previously been in The Nosebleeds (along with Morrissey), 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 on 25 July 1983 and also released the Death Cult EP in the same month, then toured through mainland Europe and Scotland.

The Death Cult EP, issued in 1983, is the only EP released by Death Cult, the post-punk band that later became The Cult. "Ghost Dance" was inspired by the writings and teachings of Wovoka, and the lyrics to "Horse Nation" are taken almost verbatim from the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Death Cult EP (1983)

The original four-song eponymous EP was released in July 1983 in the United Kingdom, where it reached No. 2 on the UK independent charts.

1. A1 "Brothers Grimm"
2. A2 "Ghost Dance"
3. B1 "Horse Nation"
4. B2 "Christians"

***SITUATION TWO Records***

SIT 23T

The vinyl is a tad dusty, with a few light scratches on either side. Tested and plays fine. Remains in very good plus condition. The cover has light visible wear, four corner light wear, slight tear near opening, on both cover, about a tenth of an inch in length. I remains in very good condition.