Play Dead were an English rock band from Oxford that grew out of the English punk scene of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band made three studio albums and one-off singles for four different small labels — Fresh Records, Jungle Records, Situation 2 and Clay Records — before forming their own label, Tanz, for their final album, Company of Justice, produced by Conny Plank, which they released in 1985.

The original line-up of Play Dead consisted of Rob Hickson (vocals), Pete Waddleton (bass guitar), Mark "Wiff" Smith (drums) and Re-Vox (guitar). In July 1981, Re-Vox was replaced by Steve Green.

During their active years, Play Dead supported a number of acts, including the likes of Killing Joke, The Cult and The Sisters Of Mercy in the UK. They also appeared on Channel 4's music TV show, The Tube in late 1984.

A string of singles were released (many through Stoke-based Clay Records) from late 1983, throughout 1984 and early 1985. Play Dead toured frequently around the UK and Europe and by 1985, felt they had enough material to be able to put out their first ever live album, Into The Fire, which was released in May of that year. However, against the backdrop of similar artists such as Spear Of Destiny, The Cult, The Sisters Of Mercy and Fields Of The Nephilim, whose success was evident through having higher profiles in the music press, Play Dead struggled to compete.

In 1984, Rob and Pete created the project Mankind's Audio Development (nicknamed M.A.D.). Only one single was recorded, with the two songs "Craving" and "Sunfeast." Waddleton left the group in 1986 and, after a brief period as The Beastmaster Generals, the band dissolved.