Getting The Fear - Death Is Bigger 1984-85

Death Is Bigger: 1984–85 is the definitive archival rescue mission that finally rectifies a four-decade-old injustice in the history of British alternative music. Released in 2021 by the underground curators at Dais Records (catalog number DAIS175), this collection gathers the entire unreleased vault, studio demos, and forgotten cuts from Getting The Fear. It bridges the gap between their abrupt exit from a major label contract and their subsequent dissolution, presenting a band that burnt incredibly bright before choosing to slip away into post-punk mythology.

Formed by the explosive rhythm section of The Southern Death Cult (Barry Jepson, David "Buzz" Burrows, and Aki Haq Nawaz Qureshi) alongside frontman Paul "Bee" Hampshire, the band refused to get stuck in industry limbo after RCA Records dropped the ball on their debut single. Rather than compromise their vision, they vanished, leaving behind nothing but whispers, a legendary reputation, and a handful of cassette tapes. Death Is Bigger functions as a historical document of that brief, volatile window—a raw and unvarnished portrait of an era defined by Thatcherite economic misery, esoteric occultism, and pure creative independence.

Getting The Fear - Last Salute 12''

Born from the immediate ash and friction of The Southern Death Cult’s 1983 fracture, Getting The Fear was a volatile, short-lived blip in the UK underground that burning-hotly defined the transition from tribal post-punk to cinematic goth-avant-garde. While Ian Astbury headed off to birth Death Cult (and eventually The Cult), the remaining core power-trio of Barry Jepson, David "Buzz" Burrows, and Aki Haq Nawaz Qureshi joined forces with the enigmatic Paul "Bee" Hampshire (ex-Into a Circle and Psychic TV associate). This brief, brilliant alignment of minds signed to RCA Records, bringing an uncompromisingly dark, esoteric aesthetic directly into the belly of a major label beast.

The definitive artifact of this short era arrived in 1984 as the "Last Salute" 12" single (catalog number RCAT 432). Straddling the line between atmospheric post-punk and the emerging darkwave movement, the release encapsulated the band's obsession with ritual, memory, and political alienation. Tragically, due to a massive internal label restructuring shortly after its launch, the record lacked the distribution push it deserved, cementing Getting The Fear as a legendary "lost" band whose sparse discography would only be fully unearthed decades later by archival labels like Dais Records.