Soft Cell -- classic or dud?

"Non-Stop Erotic Caberet" still sounds good tho...

Also loved The Torch, Martin etc. Hut does anyone know that amazing Marc Almond 6 track EP (I think, I only had a copy) with Matt Johnson (The The) Starts with a proto-drum'n'bass rhythm and beautiful chord sequence, then a psychadelic indianish track, Jacques Brel's "If you go away", what I think is a Scott Walker song, plus another Dave Ball classic ... I think it was called "The Unnamable" or something ...

as for the story.... well, often male prewar country singers would sing ballads from the POV of a woman, which often serves to heighten my investment in the story even though from today's perspective this habit seems odd indeed. here we have a gay man singing in the persona of a straight guy singing to a girl, and the effect seems somewhat the same--not coy, not ironic, not camp as i understand that. just a story whose emotional undercurrents are made universal via the conviction with which almond puts across the details.

(those details included an entirely convincing back-and-forth between denial and disgust, transcendence and pettiness. i guess that's even hinted at in the title. and left unresolved by song's end.)

(i suppose a possible alternate reading, which i'm happy to hold in my head at the same time as the previous one, is of a [closeted?] gay man falling extravagantly in love with love for a woman, as a means of denying/transcending other feelings. the resulting melodrama is less the source of emotional trauma than the projection of a trauma that cannot be admitted.)

but yeah this song feels like a kind of apocalypse, but with just enough bitter humor to keep it from feeling sticky or overwrought.

though actually i think the lyric is written and delivered in such a way that it can support all of these interpretations. v. clever of almond to register the emotional overlap between radically different forms of self-denial and -disgust. (or are they so radically different?)

ouch! I always found these lyrics so dirty and cruel and true - like a slap in the face. but i'm definitely a soft cell/ marc almond fanatic...

A very fine reading of an apocalyptically great song. I was reminded recently again of Soft Cell's brilliance thanks to the weird and wonderful Non-Stop Erotic Video Show getting a DVD release, as I wibble on about here...

I'd forgotten about the genius of Seedy Films. It's his Walk on the Wild Side, I guess. Whatever, it works so beautifully. Blimey, and to think I was 14 when I first heard it

1 .. Potential
2 L.O.V.E. Feeling
3 Metro Mr X
4 Bleak Is My Favourite Cliche
5 Occupational Hazard
6 Mix
7 Factory Fun
8 Science Fiction Stories
9 Purely Functional
10 A Cut Above The Rest
11 Paranoid
12 Excretory Eat Anorexia Nervosa
13 Cleansing Fanatic
14 Walking Make Up Counter
15 Pyrex My Cuisine
16 Tupperware Counter

it has a little skeletal rap in the middle eight, addressed to a girl. the way the bassline comes back in during this final couplet:

make your single bed
and push the tea leaves down the drain
take a long deep breath
and start the nightlife over again

brings tears to my eyes; just the sheer perfection of it.

there's also a heartbreaking additional refrain towards the end: "i'm waiting for something/i'm only passing time". this wasn't in the original, was it?

is everyone familiar with this version or not - ie is it just me that's managed to miss its existence for all these years?

― grimly fiendish, watching the mirror and counting the lines (grimlord), Saturday, 6 August 2005 15:54 (twenty years ago)

shit.

normal service now resumed.

it has a little skeletal rap in the middle eight

Yeah, I love that -- first time I heard that I was all 'amazing! and so good! how to improve on something theoretically unimprovable.'

-- Onimo (gerry.wat...), April 3rd, 2005 10:57 PM. (GerryNemo)

WTF was I on about?

Curse you drunken internets!

-- Onimo

I just realised it's a Dr Who reference. Tainted Love is played by Cassandra on the "iPod" in The End Of The World

Curse you failing memory!

What I meant to say, is I think "Down In The Subway" is Soft Cell's best cover. Feel free to disagree, as I'm sure you all do.

the 12" of "say hello" (which might, on the day of reckoning, just end up being my favourite song in the world)

i've just finished copying a dusty HD's worth of old MP3s on to my new(ish) mac. out of several thousand, this is the one i went straight to and played.

i don't think i'd change a word of what i wrote there, either.

I just rediscovered Non-stop Erotic Cabaret. God I love this album. Is it a bad thing that it kind-of speaks to me?

What, do you identify with being a sex dwarf?

haha, no. Just the feeling and attitude of grubby urban vice and disappointment.

Back back back again!

https://softcell.tmstor.es/

Also a new set of shows, performing _Non Stop Erotic Cabaret_ in full:

https://myticket.co.uk/artists/soft-cell

Misread the thread title as Soft Cell -- classic or duo? and thought, well gosh, really?! Can't they be both?

Hey hey, we got one of the new songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnheY81x3dM

https://thequietus.com/articles/30878-soft-cell-non-stop-erotic-cabaret-oral-history-dave-ball-marc-almond-interview
Wonderful oral history

Heads up...

https://liveherenow.co.uk/products/soft-cell-stream-ticket?_pos=2&_sid=a595cf9d2&_ss=r

Available for the next couple of days, but there will be a separate Blu-ray etc release later.

video for “Purple Zone” (duet w/ PSBs)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv4QNTg1Mps

Struggling to think of any collaboration in any medium that is quite so staggeringly less than the sum of its parts.

I think it's a sweet little fillip

More info---Pets do some mixes---Happiness Not Included (thanks for warning) out May 6: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Soft-Cell-Team-Up-With-Pet-Shop-Boys-For-The-New-Single--Purple-Zone-.html?aid=sqHHp24xO3Q&soid=1101984419757

North American dates! https://www.marcalmond.co.uk/live/index.html

--

23 AUGUST 2022
The Magnolia, El Cajon, CA, USA
(presale code TAINTED2022)

24 AUGUST 2022
YouTube Theater, Inglewood, CA, USA

26 AUGUST 2022
The Masonic, San Francisco, CA, USA
(presale code TAINTED2022)

28 AUGUST 2022
House Of Blues Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
(presale code TAINTED2022)

30 AUGUST 2022
Beacon Theatre, New York, NY, USA
(presale code TAINTED2022)

31 AUGUST 2022
History, Toronto, Canada
(presale code TAINTED2022)

listening to this last night in sodom for the first time…. ahahahaha omg

Can't wait for your review Brad

Here doggy doggy

http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/soft_cells_infamous_sex_dwarf_video_nsfw

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, March 28, 2012 1:28 PM (ten years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Link is still good but video is gone:
https://vimeo.com/429915379

Still can’t believe I get to see them again next week

Little Rough Rhinestone <33

Ah man, this sucks, but at least there'll be something:

Sadly we learned today that Dave Ball will not be able to do the Soft Cell USA tour. The shows are still happening, for full details please see the statement on the website:https://t.co/MSWd25GFnf pic.twitter.com/YLnxzVAkwW

— Marc Almond (@MarcAlmond) August 22, 2022

From the FB announcement:

Sadly we learned today that Dave Ball will not be able to do the Soft Cell tour in the USA. We hoped until the last minute that his recovery would make it possible and all was looking good but unfortunately he has had a set back and is unable to make it.
Philip has been on standby, as our contingency being the producer of the album, and having stepped up in the past.
I will miss Dave on stage as his presence is hard to replace but musically and visually the show will run the same and Phil always does a great job on synths.
I know you will still enjoy the show. The show will be in two halves: The first half a mixed selection, songs from The Art Of Falling Apart and our other albums plus a selection of new songs from Happiness Not Included. The second half the whole of Non Stop Erotic Cabaret in order.
I know Dave wants everyone to see what a brilliant show it is and he thanks everyone for their messages in recent weeks.
The team being already in the USA for this, let’s just do it.
It is stressful enough as it is on the occasions that Dave is not with me, so hopefully the love and support will be there for us.
Marc Almond

damn so its just a marc almond show i guess.

Sad news. Wishing Dave Ball the best.

Well...if you're made of money:

https://thesoundofvinyl.com/collections/soft-cell/products/non-stop-erotic-cabaret-6cd-box-set

CD1 - NSEC REMASTERED ALBUM & ORIGINAL 7" VERSIONS & NON-ALBUM SINGLES
Frustration
Tainted Love
Seedy Films
Youth
Sex Dwarf
Entertain Me
Chips On My Shoulder
Bedsitter
Secret Life
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
Memorabilia (NSED Version)
Where Did Our Love Go? (NSED Version)
What? (NSED Version)
A Man Could Get Lost (NSED Version)
Chips On My Shoulder (NSED Version)
Sex Dwarf (NSED Version)
A Man Could Get Lost (Single Version)
Torch (Single Version)
What? (Single Version)
CD2 - NON-STOP EXTENDED CABARET & NEW REMIXES
Frustration (Extended Version)
Tainted Love (2021 10" Extended Version)
Seedy Films (2023 Extended Version)
Youth (2018 Extended Version)
Sex Dwarf (2023 Extended Version)
Entertain Me (2023 Extended Version)
Chips On My Shoulder (2018 Extended Version)
Bedsitter (1981 Extended Version)
Secret Life (2018 Extended Version)
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (2018 Extended Version)
Memorabilia (Daniel Miller 2023 Remix)
Memorabilia (The Hacker 2023 Remix)
A Man Could Get Lost (2023 Extended Version)
CD3 - CURIOS, RARITIES, SESSIONS & ALTERNATIVE MIXES
Frustration (Original Mutant Moments Version)
Tainted Love (2022 Version)
Seedy Films (Richard X Remix)
Youth (Dave Ball Warhol Funeral Mix)
Sex Dwarf (BBC Whistle Test)
Entertain Me (BBC Live Session)
Chips On My Shoulder (BBC Live Session)
Bedsitter (Flexipop Version)
Secret Life (George Demure Remix)
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (ORS Live)
A Man Could Get Lost (Live at Leeds Warehouse 2018)
Facility Girls (2018 Extended Mix)
Torch (Live) (TOTP2, 2002)
Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go (US Radio Edit)
Seedy Films (BBC Live Session)
Youth (BBC Whistle Test)
Chips On My Shoulder (ORS Live)
Bedsitter (BBC Live Session)
A Man Could Get Lost (Original Demo)
Tainted Love (Aborted Studio Take)
CD4 - NON-STOP INSTRUMENTAL CABARET & DEMOS
Frustration
Tainted Love
Seedy Films
Youth
Sex Dwarf
Entertain Me
Chips On My Shoulder
Bedsitter
Secret Life
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
Frustration (Original Demo)
Tainted Love (Original Daniel Miller Demo)
Seedy Films (Original Demo)
Chips On My Shoulder (Original Demo)
Secret Life (Original Demo)
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Original Demo)
Facility Girl (Original Demo)
Memorabilia (Original Demo)
Persuasion (Original Demo)
Memorabilia (Instrumental)
A Man Could Get Lost (7" Instrumental)
CD5 - ORIGINAL 12" MIXES & B SIDES
Memorabilia (Original 12" Version)
Persuasion (Original 12" Version)
Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go? (Original 12" Version)
Tainted Dub (Original Version)
Facility Girls (Original 12" Version)
Fun City (Original Version)
Torch (Original 12" Version)
Insecure…Me (Original 12" Version)
What? (Original 12" Version)
So (Original 12" Version)
CD6 - NON-STOP EROTIC CABARET, LIVE IN LEEDS, NOVEMBER 2021 PLUS MORE
Frustration (Live)
Tainted Love (Live)
Seedy Films (Live)
Youth (Live)
Sex Dwarf (Live)
Entertain Me (Live)
Chips On My Shoulder (Live)
Bedsitter (Live)
Secret Life (Live)
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Live)
Torch (Live in Leeds, 2021)
Memorabilia (Live in Leeds, 2021)
Insecure Me (Live at 02, 2018)
What? (Live at O2, 2018)
Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go? (Live in Leeds, 2002)

Woah, sounds great.

"This Last Night In Sodom": a perfect album, I say. Consistent throughout. Buzzy, wild synths and boxy drum machines. Almond's nearly unhinged overdubbed harmonies and backing vox. Tons of reverb. MONO! Frayed and hungover sounding yet full of a weird, speedy energy. Needs more accolades!

Trudat!

Thirded! (is it really mono though? I never noticed)

Some of the tracks are, yes!

Bit of a fun surprise!

https://www.softcell.co.uk/product/non-stop-ecstatic-dancing-2025-coloured-double-vinyl-edition-pre-order

CD1

1 Memorabilia (Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing Version) – Remastered

2 Where Did Our Love Go? (Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing Version) – Remastered

3 What! (Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing Version) – Remastered

4 A Man Could Get Lost (Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing Version) – Remastered

5 Chips On My Shoulder (Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing Version) – Remastered

6 Sex Dwarf (Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing Version) – Remastered

7 Tainted Dub (From Original 12″) – Remastered

8 Torch (12″ Version) – Remastered

9 Insecure Me? (12″ Version) – Remastered

10 What! (12″ Version) – Remastered

11 So (12″ Version) – Remastered

12 Torch (7″ Version) – Remastered

13 Insecure Me? (7″ Version) – Remastered

14 What! (7″ Version) – Remastered

CD2

1 Memorabilia (The Hacker 808 Remix) – Previously unreleased

2 A Man Could Get Lost (Jon Pleased Wimmin Remix) – Previously promo only

3 Torch (MHC 2001 Remix) – Previously unreleased version

4 Insecure Me? (Hifi Sean Remix) – Previously promo only

5 So (Hifi Sean Baltimore Basement Dub) – Previously promo only

6 Bedsitter (Manhattan Clique Mix) – Previously on Heat The Remixes only

7 Tainted Love (Paul Dakeyne Remix) – Previously unreleased version

8 Memorabilia (Wally Funk Remix) – Previously promo only

9 Sex Dwarf (The Grid Remix) – Previously on Heat The Remixes only

10 Bedsitter (Erasure Remix) – Previously on Keychains box set only

11 So (The Grid Remix) – First time ever on CD

12 Memorabilia (Daniel Miller Remix)

Okay, album number six incoming:

https://www.facebook.com/softcell/posts/pfbid075bbiUjevqny2F1UvAFYhEVNKgXto93UVqSGmt4DPh2K939o544r87MueuV2zZrHl

Soft Cell @marcalmondofficial and @daveballelectro have this week signed a new worldwide recording deal for their sixth studio album, Danceteria, which will be released via Republic of Music in spring 2026.
Named after the infamous New York nightclub which played host to Soft Cell’s Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret US launch party, the club became renowned as the centre of new wave music in early 80s New York, frequented by many musicians and artists who became famous during the decade, including Marc Almond and Dave Ball.
Danceteria is the follow up to 2021’s acclaimed ‘*Happiness not included’ album, which reached Number 7 in the UK charts, and features the hit single ‘Purple Zone’ with Pet Shop Boys.
Marc Almond comments: “I have loved working on this album. Dave’s music has once again inspired me to write a set of lyrics that this time reflect a time in my life in New York in the early 80s, at a particular creative and pivotal time of changes in my personal life and the city itself. Some of the songs are very personal. Soft Cell have always had a strong connection to New York, recording our first three albums there, and taking inspiration from its’ underground and culture, my Soft Cell lyrics have often looked at America through British eyes”.
Dave Ball comments: “I’m very excited about the new Soft Cell album – the first thing to be created in my new studio in London. With Marc’s vocals recorded across the river in Soho, it’s inspired by, and tells the tales of, our London and New York experiences in the early 80s”.
After spending 2025 touring the US and Australia, Soft Cell perform their only UK show, headlining the Rewind Festival in Oxfordshire on 16th August.
Marc and Dave promise that “2026 will be a Soft Cell year”. Watch this space…

Well this'll keep you busy:

https://www.softcell.co.uk/product/new-the-art-of-falling-apart-2025-6-cd-box-set-art-print-set

The Art Of Falling Apart’ will also be available as double LP and double CD packages, featuring highlights from the 6CD box with the LP pressed on colour vinyl.

‘The Art of Falling Apart’ reissue tracklistings for the 6CD box set

CD1 – REMASTERED ALBUM, B SIDES, BONUS 12″

Forever The Same – Remastered
Where The Heart Is – Remastered
Numbers – Remastered
Heat – Remastered
Kitchen Sink Drama – Remastered
Baby Doll – Remastered
Loving You, Hating Me – Remastered
The Art Of Falling Apart – Remastered
Martin – Remastered
Hendrix Medley – Remastered
It’s A Mug’s Game (7″ Version) – Remastered
Barriers (7″ Version) – – Remastered
Loving You, Hating Me – Special Mix – – Remastered

CD2 – THE ART OF FALLING APART – EXTENDED ALBUM PLUS ORIGINAL 12″ B SIDES

Forever The Same
Where The Heart Is
Numbers
Heat
Kitchen Sink Drama
Baby Doll
Loving You, Hating Me
The Art Of Falling Apart
It’s A Mug’s Game
Barriers

CD3 – CURIOS, RARITIES, REMIXES & NEW MIXES

Ghost Rider (New 2024 version featuring Jim Thirlwell)
Martin (The Hacker Remix)
It’s A Mug’s Game (Dave Ball 2018 Re-Eq Version)
Where The Heart Is (The Grid Remix)
Baby Doll (Nightwreckers Remix)
Barriers (Dave Ball Broken Down Angels Mix)
Martin (Dave Ball Halloween Mix)
Where The Heart Is (Marcas Lancaster Remix)
The Art Of Falling Apart (Atomizer Remix)
Barriers (Dark Poets Remix)
Heat (Yer Man Remix)
Martin (Nightwreckers Remix)

CD4 – THE ART OF FALLING APART (DEMOS & LIVE TV APPEARANCES)

Forever The Same
Where The Heart Is
Numbers
Heat
Kitchen Sink Drama
Baby Doll
Loving You, Hating Me
The Art Of Falling Apart
Numbers (Live on BBC ORS, 14/1/83)
Heat (Live on BBC ORS, 14/1/83)
Ghost Rider (Live on CH4 The Switch)
Numbers 7″ (DJ Version)
Heat (US Single Edit)
Baby Doll (Dave Ball Dub Version)
Numbers (Dave Ball Dub Version)
Barriers (Dave Ball Dub Version)

CD5 – THE ART OF FALLING APART (INSTRUMENTALS & DUBS)

Forever The Same (Instrumental Version)
Where The Heart Is (Instrumental Version)
Numbers (Instrumental Version)
Heat (Instrumental Version)
Kitchen Sink Drama (Instrumental Version)
Baby Doll (Instrumental Version)
Loving You, Hating Me (Instrumental Version)
The Art Of Falling Apart (Instrumental Version)
It’s a Mugs’ Game (12″ Instrumental)
Martin (Instrumental)
Hendrix Medley (Instrumental)
Barriers (Instrumental)
Ghost Rider (Original 1983 Backing Track)

CD6 – THE ART OF FALLING APART (LIVE IN LONDON 2018-2021 + MORE)

Forever The Same – Live At the 02 – 30th September 2018
Where The Heart Is – Live at The o2 – 30th September 2018
Numbers – Live At the 02 – 30th September 2018
Heat – Live At the 02 – 30th September 2018
Kitchen Sink Drama – Live in Hammersmith, 2021
Baby Doll – Live At the 02 – 30th September 2018
Loving You, Hating Me – Live At the 02 – 30th September 2018
The Art Of Falling Apart – Live At the 02 – 30th September 2018
Martin – Live At the 02 – 30th September 2018
Barriers – Live at The O2, 2018
Hey Joe/Purple Haze – Live in USA, 1983
It’s A Mug’s Game – Live at Hammersmith Palais, 1983
Ghost Rider – Live at Hammersmith Palais, 1983
Numbers – Live at Hammersmith Palais, 1983

I don't know that we needed it, but I appreciate the fact that they and Thirlwell thought: "what we need is to record Ghost Rider again"

Ah damn. Farewell, Dave.

https://www.softcell.co.uk/dave-ball-tribute

Immortal JUST for that opening to “Tainted Love” forever but when you consider all the work, wow what a genius and perfect foil.

Just as a reissue of The Art of Falling Apart looms too.

Oh no way, don't believe it.

New album next year too. It’ll be a valediction.

Heartbroken

Marc Almond’s full message is worth the read.

https://www.facebook.com/100044175322220/posts/1366794434803054/

Also some words from his partner in The Grid, Richard Norris:

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Fs7pnQjVz/

Lovely Bob Stanley post:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/goodbye-dave-141888745

the Bedsitter bassline that sounded like Duane Eddy with a Korg

yes, otm!

I watched the Non Stop Exotic Video Show for the first time in over 30 years (found on youtube)... Are there any earlier examples of a band making videos for every song on their album and putting it out on vhs?

"Eat to the Beat" Blondie

Thanks!

Blondie's first video album got produced in conjunction with this record, featuring a music video for each of the album's 12 songs. It was the first such project ever in rock music.[8]