Nigel Preston (born 4 April 1959, London, England, died 1 April 1992) was a British drummer.

He was a founding member of The Cult. He also played and recorded with Theatre of Hate, Sex
Gang Children, The Baby Snakes, The Gun Club and DeLuca.
He appeared on Top of the Pops for the first time with Theatre of Hate in 1982, playing their Top
40 single "Do You Believe in the West World".[1]
He played on Sex Gang's 1983 single "Mauritia Mayer," then switched places with Death Cult's
drummer Ray Mondo that September.
His biggest hit was "She Sells Sanctuary" by The Cult from their Love album. Recorded in
March 1985, the song was released as their fourth single and hit #15 in the UK charts. It reentered the charts at #56 in September 1986, spending 14 consecutive weeks on the charts. The
song was later voted #18 in VH1's Indie 100. Preston refused to accept being put on wages after
the song became a hit, and his bandmates believed him to be unreliable due to drugs, leading to
his departure from the band in June 1985.[2]
After The Cult, Preston worked with Nile Rodgers in New York. He also played in the band
DeLuca with Albie DeLuca (Gene Loves Jezebel) and Gary McDowell (Modern English).[3]
In 1990 he joined Irish rock band The Baby Snakes, but soon after was sent to prison for armed
robbery.[4] After his release, he also performed with The Gun Club.[5] Preston died of a drug
overdose on 1 April 1992.[6]