Soft Cell

Soft Cell

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Soft Cell was an English synthesizer duo during the early 1980s (later re-formed) of Marc Almond (vocals) and David Ball (keyboards).
Their lyrics often focused on love and romance as well as the darker side of life, with subjects such as the nightlife, kinky sex, transvestism, drugs and murder. They had a huge world-wide hit in 1981 with a cover version of "Tainted Love", a northern soul classic originally sung by Gloria Jones (the wife of Marc Bolan), that they followed up with more charting singles and one of the first remix Albums 'Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing'. Their self-penned non-album single 'Torch' missed the No.1 spot of the UK charts with a hairbreadth.
'The Art Of Falling Apart', produced with Mike Thorne and the then new CMI Fairlight at hand with endless efforts by Dave Ball aiming at perfection followed in 1982. It spawned two singles chosen against the will of the record companies; 'Where The Heart Is' and 'Numbers' the first on youthful frustration, the later about frequently changing sexual partners and neither sold too well.
The commercial pressure finally collided with their artistic ambitions which led to solo and side projects and two farewell shows in January 1984 even before 'This Last Night In Sodom' was released.
They reunited in the early 2000's and toured with a 4th studio album following in 2002. Once again they reunited for a final well documented 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye' live show in 2018 and the recording of a new single.
A new studio album is scheduled for spring 2022.
Sites:
softcell.co.uk, marcalmond.co.uk, Facebook, YouTube, instagram.com, Twitter, discog.info, Wikipedia
Members:
Dave Ball, Marc Almond
Variations:
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19,806 For Sale
Vinyl and CD
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Albums
SRK 3647 Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret — Soft Cell Soft Cell Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret (Album, Comp) Some Bizzare SRK 3647 US 1981 Sell This Version
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VB04-1-3313 Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing — Soft Cell Soft Cell Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing (Album, MiniAlbum, EP) Some Bizzare VB04-1-3313 Canada 1982 Sell This Version
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MC STAR 5299 The Art Of Falling Apart — Soft Cell Soft Cell The Art Of Falling Apart (Album, EP, Single) Some Bizzare, Some Bizzare MC STAR 5299 South Africa 1983 Sell This Version
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VOG-1-3333 This Last Night...In Sodom — Soft Cell Soft Cell This Last Night...In Sodom (Album) Some Bizzare, Some Bizzare VOG-1-3333 Canada 1984 Sell This Version
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2581-2 Cruelty Without Beauty — Soft Cell Soft Cell Cruelty Without Beauty (Album) Cooking Vinyl, Cooking Vinyl 2581-2 Brazil 2002 Sell This Version
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COOKCD267 Live — Soft Cell Soft Cell Live (Album) Cooking Vinyl COOKCD267 Europe 2003 Sell This Version
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SBZ046 The Bedsit Tapes — Soft Cell Soft Cell The Bedsit Tapes ‎(CD) Some Bizzare SBZ046 UK 2005 Sell This Version
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SCELL1 Heat : The Remixes — Soft Cell Soft Cell Heat : The Remixes (Album, Comp) Some Bizzare, Mercury SCELL1 Europe 2007 Sell This Version
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none Say Hello, Wave Goodbye — Soft Cell Soft Cell Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Album) UMC, Live Here Now none 2019 Sell This Version
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538704541 *Happiness Not Included — Soft Cell Soft Cell *Happiness Not Included (Album) BMG 538704541 UK, Europe & US 2022 Sell This Version
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Singles & EPs
ABF 1 Mutant Moments E.P. — Soft Cell Soft Cell Mutant Moments E.P. (EP) A Big Frock Rekord ABF 1 UK 1980 Sell This Version
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HARD 1 A Man Can Get Lost — Soft Cell Soft Cell A Man Can Get Lost (Single) Some Bizzare HARD 1 UK 1981 Sell This Version
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Flexipop 12 Metro MRX / Remembrance Day — Soft Cell Soft Cell / B-Movie Soft Cell / B-Movie - Metro MRX / Remembrance Day Flexipop Flexipop 12 UK 1981 Sell This Version
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DSRE 49856 Tainted Love — Soft Cell Soft Cell Tainted Love (Single, Maxi, EP) Some Bizzare DSRE 49856 US 1981 Sell This Version
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SRE 49855 Tainted Love / Memorabilia — Soft Cell Soft Cell Tainted Love / Memorabilia (Single) Some Bizzare SRE 49855 US 1981 Sell This Version
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BZS 6 Bedsitter — Soft Cell Soft Cell Bedsitter (Single, Maxi, EP) Some Bizzare BZS 6 UK 1981 Sell This Version
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HARD 12 Memorabilia — Soft Cell Soft Cell Memorabilia (Single, Maxi) Some Bizzare HARD 12 UK 1981 Sell This Version
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PRO-A-1021 Sex Dwarf / Entertain Me / Seedy Films — Soft Cell Soft Cell Sex Dwarf / Entertain Me / Seedy Films ‎(12", Promo) Sire, Some Bizzare PRO-A-1021 US 1981 Sell This Version
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7-29812 Loving You, Hating Me — Soft Cell Soft Cell Loving You, Hating Me (Single) Sire, Some Bizzare 7-29812 US 1982 Sell This Version
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AM-62201-1, AM62201-1 It's A Mug's Game — Soft Cell Soft Cell It's A Mug's Game (Single) Amnesia Records (3), Amnesia Records (3) AM-62201-1, AM62201-1 US 1982 Sell This Version
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TOS 1399 What! — Soft Cell Soft Cell What! (Single, Maxi, EP) Some Bizzare TOS 1399 South Africa 1982 Sell This Version
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335003 Say Hello, Wave Goodbye — Soft Cell Soft Cell Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Single, Maxi) Some Bizzare 335003 France 1982 Sell This Version
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none Where The Heart Is — Soft Cell Soft Cell Where The Heart Is (Single, EP, Maxi) Some Bizzare none UK 1982 Sell This Version
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6059 535 Torch — Soft Cell Soft Cell Torch (Single, Maxi, EP) Some Bizzare, Some Bizzare 6059 535 Greece 1982 Sell This Version
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PRO-A-1037 What / Insecure...Me? — Soft Cell Soft Cell What / Insecure...Me? ‎(12", Promo) Sire, Some Bizzare PRO-A-1037 US 1982 Sell This Version

Reviews Show All 7 Reviews

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Somnium_Obmutum

Somnium_Obmutum

February 20, 2022
edited 6 months ago
Can't agree enough with ttooyyss's review below me. So much more than just a Tainted Love. Not praised enough for being one of the first nihilistic provocateurs disguised as pop. Marc Almond raised very important topics of existential crisis, urban despair, the darker side of neon-coated hedonism and prostitution. Though he can be slightly edgy and too horny at times (as it was the case with some cringy songs on the 1st album), most of his texts are surprisingly witty and clever for a guy in his early 20s. Some of his songs are "simply-unsimply" life-changing. Dave Bull's electronic minimalism is exemplary in all things syth-pop. "The Art Of Falling Apart" is a masterpiece of an album.

D!XI
numanmania

numanmania

April 6, 2021
New Soft Cell album for 2021, it´s official!. Check out offcial Soft Cell page.
See 1 reply
neilkelly

neilkelly

October 9, 2018
Soft Cell 1978-2018 RIP.
They have released some great stuff in the 21st century.
Check out 'Divided soul' and 'Somebody, somewhere, sometime' from 2002.
Their 2002 album 'Beauty without cruelty'.
Finally their 2018 newies including 'Northern lights' and 'Guilty ('Cos I say you are)'.
The farewell concert on 30/09/18 which was their biggest headlining gig by far was superb! I caught it at the cinema
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ttooyyss

ttooyyss

January 22, 2013
There was NOTHING like Soft Cell! The dramatic delivery, the instumentation, the exciting sound, the minimalist approach (now I see it like that), the maximalist output, the super-taste for the sonic timbres. Nobody in the synth-genre was ever able to create anything similar. Super genuine, extremely powerful, organic. Non-Stop erotic Cabaret -era was the real thing. We would die for getting more and so am I even a bit today. It would be a very good idea to dig out hidden tracks, mixes, studio-outtakes, bits and pieces from them. We'd be thankful to the great Mike Thorne!
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