Issue four of Kindred Spirit featured an interview with The Cult. Reading back over the interview now I don’t think I could possibly have appreciated at the time what a fascinating snippet of the band’s history it would become. To start the ball rolling, I’d like to give a little background information about the band running up to us carrying out the interview in May 1984. The band Southern Death Cult was formed in 1981 by vocalist Ian Astbury, who was then living in Bradford in the UK . The band was one of the forerunners of what was at that time an emerging style of music known as positive punk (a mix of post punk and gothic rock). As a result of time spent living in Canada as a child, Ian developed a fascination for Native Americans and this is reflected in the band’s interesting name. Southern Death Cult had a double meaning. Not only was it was derived from the 14 th century Native American religion, sometimes referred to as Southern Death Cult, but it also refe