CD: BBL2008CD
RELEASED: 1996
LABEL: Beggars

01. God's Zoo
02. Brothers Grimm
03. Ghost Dance
04. Horse Nation
05. Christians
06. Flower in the Desert
07. Too Young
08. Butterflies
09. With Love
10. Gods Zoo (These Times)

With his departure from Theatre of Hate in late 1982, Billy Duffy was also moving musically towards 'rock', a genre that had been discredited by the punk revolution. When The Southern Death Cult broke up, singer Ian Astbury quickly linked up with Duffy; they recruited a rhythm section from the band Ritual and adopted the name Death Cult to capitalise on the profile of Ian's former group. They recorded a 4 track debut single which went to the top of the indie charts but, as the first post-punk 'supergroup', the weight of expectation hung heavily on Death Cult's shoulders, so they chose to play their first gigs far away from the UK press, in Europe. Still finding their musical feet, while growing up in public, and after a low-key UK tour in September, the group changed drummer and recorded their second single, 'Gods Zoo'. This was the extent of their proper 'studio' recording, but the band also performed 4 tracks for a BBC radio session. Though all of these would be re-recorded during the sessions for Dreamtime, The Cult's debut album, these versions of the songs are radically different. 'A Flower In The Desert' is performed 'unplugged'; 'Too Young' and 'With Love' underwent lyrical and arrangement overhauls before they became respectively, 'Rider In The Snow' and 'Sea And Sky'. On Friday the 13th January 1984 the band announced their final name change and became The Cult. The Death Cult recordings chart that musical genesis and this is the first time they have all been released on an album. 'Ghost Dance' is the full 10 tracks, re-mastered and sounding great, and brings this 'lost' phase into the album catalogue. The 16 page booklet includes an illustrated, colour discography / band photos / and extensive sleeve notes by Pat Gilbert of Record Collector detailing the band's history.

Influences / Similar Artists:
Gene Loves Jezebel, The Mission, Death Cult, Bauhaus