Southern Death Cult
Rock bandWikipedia
20
MENTIONS
8
EPISODES
7
PODCASTS
Search complete. 20 mentions across 8 episodes found for "Southern Death Cult".
Oct 23, 2026
ChrisHOST
And now back to today and the second half of Playlist 53.
ChrisHOST
It's still early January 1983 and today we meet the southern death cult who will go on to fame with a much shortened moniker.
ChrisHOST
We also meet synth-pop impresario's China Crisis.
ChrisHOST
Hazy Fantasy have one last crack at the charts.
ChrisHOST
We're looking at a double A-side single released in November 1982.
ChrisHOST
We are looking at a song that sounds like Echo and the Bunnymen on Methadrine, splitting spleen, malice and absolute havoc.
ChrisHOST
Let's listen to Fat Man by the Southern Death Cult.
ChrisHOST
This is track 8, playlist 53.
ChrisHOST
And next week, we get more of the same, as the second half of Playlist 53 remains equally as spicy.
ChrisHOST
We meet the Southern Death Cult, who will eventually shorten their name and become a cult rock band.
ChrisHOST
The clue is in the name on that one.
ChrisHOST
We also meet China Crisis and the Alan Parsons Project.
speaker_8ADVERTISER
Here's Randy Rhoads.
speaker_9SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
They started life in the independent charts, so we know them as the Southern Death Cult, The Death Cult, and now The Cult.
speaker_9SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
And with their new single, She Sells Sanctuary, they're not only up there in the British pop charts, but also up there on that roof.
Ian AstburySOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Well, the hex that's done.
Ian AstburySOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Ached my back, ached my backbone.
Randy RenaudHOST
In the spring of 1985, the song She Sells Sanctuary became a surprise hit for a young band from Brixton, London.
Randy RenaudHOST
The Cult had released their debut album the year before, but it went mostly unnoticed.
Randy RenaudHOST
But after teaming up with a producer best known for his work with pop bands like Wham and ABC, a 12-inch dance remix of their song Sanctuary caught on in dance clubs on both sides of the Atlantic.
VioletHOST
And in this news report, uh, dancing away in the crowd is Morten Harket, the lead singer of future number one hit Take On Me by A-ha.
VioletHOST
Uh, the '80s arena rock band The Cult started as a goth rock band called Southern Death Cult.
VioletHOST
They then became another goth rock band called Death Cult, and then they became The Cult after that.
VioletHOST
And in fact, a lot of the early Cult music is still kind of inspired by that '80s goth sound, especially stuff like She Sells Sanctuary, uh, still has a lot of that reverby guitar, a lot of that melodrama.
BobHOST
The actual description from the label cites a bunch of stuff that isn't in my normal wheelhouse.
BobHOST
Southern Death Cult, They Execute, The Chameleons, stuff I've heard or maybe heard, and I don't know.
BobHOST
This one sort of comes off as special to me.
BobHOST
I hope the rest of the record is like this song, I'm all in.
DaveHOST
Mm.
Richard BladeGUEST
And, you know, they started as Southern Death Cult, then Death Cult, and then just The Cult, because of the pressure from, uh, BBC, you know, playing the songs.
Richard BladeGUEST
They've always continued to evolve, and I always respect a band that can e- evolve, that stay true to their core.
Richard BladeGUEST
And their core was rock, and that was what you expected.
Richard BladeGUEST
Yeah, I, I, I was a fan of The Cult, always.
Richard BladeGUEST
Uh, you know, they started as Southern Death Cult, then Death Cult, and then just The Cult because of the pressure from, uh, BBC, you know, playing the songs.
Richard BladeGUEST
They've always continued to evolve, and I always respect a band that can e- evolve, that stay true to their core, and their core was rock.
Richard BladeGUEST
And that was what you expected.
TimAUDIENCE
No.
TimAUDIENCE
Started off as the Southern Death Cult with Wayne Gussy, uh, Wayne Hussey, who was, uh, who I've interviewed a couple of times.
TimAUDIENCE
He, he was on the mission later on.
TimAUDIENCE
Uh, and then they split their ways, and, uh, so, um, Ian Astbury and, uh, Billy Duffy, and they're still going.