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Soft Cell
Origin Leeds, England
Genre(s) New Wave
Post Punk
Synth Pop
New Romantic
Years active 1980-1984, 2001-Present
Label(s) Some Bizzare
Sire
Cooking Vinyl
Mute Records
Vertigo Records
Members
Marc Almond
David Ball

Soft Cell is a British synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other New Wave is a Rock music genre that existed during the late 1970s and the 1980s Post-punk was a popular musical movement in the mid to late 1970s following on the heels of the initial Punk rock explosion of the early 1970s Synthpop is a subgenre of New Wave and Pop music in which the Synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument New Romantic was a short- lived Fashion and music movement that occurred primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the very early 1980s Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Some Bizzare Records is a British Independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. Sire Records Company is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros Cooking Vinyl is a UK -based Independent record company, founded in 1986. Mute Records is a Record label formed in 1978 by Daniel Miller primarily to release his own single "T Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the sixties for its Record label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI (with Marc Almond (born Peter Mark Sinclair Almond on 9 July, 1957 in Southport, Lancashire, (now in the county of Merseyside David Ball (born 3 May 1959 in Blackpool, Lancashire) is an English producer and electronic Musician Synthpop is a subgenre of New Wave and Pop music in which the Synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. It consists of Marc Almond (vocals) and David Ball (synthesizers). Marc Almond (born Peter Mark Sinclair Almond on 9 July, 1957 in Southport, Lancashire, (now in the county of Merseyside Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. David Ball (born 3 May 1959 in Blackpool, Lancashire) is an English producer and electronic Musician Lyrics by the duo often focused on love and romance as well as the darker side of life, with subjects such as kinky sex, transexualism, drugs and murder. Lyrics (in singular form Lyric) are a set of words that accompany music either by speaking or singing Love is any of a number of Emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong Affection. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE-ROMEOS*************** Kink is a term used to refer to a broad range of sexual practices (sometimes referred to as "kinky" such as spanking, bondage, Dominance and submission Transsexualism is a condition in which a person identifies with a physical Sex different from the one with which they were born Recreational drug use is the use of Psychoactive drugs for Recreational purposes rather than for work, medical or spiritual purposes Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries The duo had a huge world-wide hit in 1981 with a cover version of "Tainted Love". See also Musical groups established in 1981 Record labels established in 1981 List of 'years in music' In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released " Tainted Love " is a Song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of The Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones.

Contents

Early Soft Cell

In 1980 their initial efforts at recording resulted in an EP called Mutant Moments, funded by a loan of £2000 from Dave Ball's mother[1] , made with a simple 2-track recorder. An extended play ( EP) is a Vinyl record, CD, or Music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify Mutant Moments is a short EP, independently financed and produced by Soft Cell, a Synthpop / new wave duo who would later achieve fame with their This was released independently with only 2000 vinyl copies pressed and has since become a highly valued collector's item among Soft Cell fans. Their early shows and EP caught the interest of certain record labels, such as Mute Records and Some Bizzare Records, both of which pioneered the new wave of synthesizer bands. Mute Records is a Record label formed in 1978 by Daniel Miller primarily to release his own single "T Some Bizzare Records is a British Independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. Soft Cell's next recording, "The Girl with the Patent Leather Face," appeared as a contribution to the Some Bizzare Album, which featured other (then unknown) bands such as Depeche Mode, The The, and Blancmange. Some Bizzare Album, Some Bizzare 's first compilation Album, was released by Some Bizzare in 1981 (see 1981 in music) Depeche Mode (dəˌpɛʃˈmoʊd are an English Electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The The are an English musical and multimedia group that have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer/songwriter/frontman Matt Johnson being Blancmange are a British Synthpop band who came to prominence with a string of hits in the early to mid 1980s Their first singles, A Man Can Get Lost 7" and Memorabilia 12" were produced by Daniel Miller, the founder of Mute Records. Daniel Miller (born 14 February 1951 in London) is a British music producer and founder of Mute Records. While the single was a club hit, Soft Cell remained essentially unknown.

"Tainted Love"

Showing impatience in the wake of the chart failure of "Memorabilia", Phonogram Records allowed Soft Cell to record a second and final single in an attempt to score a chart hit. The band opted to record a radically reworked cover version of "Tainted Love", an obscure 1964 northern soul track originally sung by Gloria Jones (the girlfriend of Marc Bolan) and written by Ed Cobb of The Four Preps. Northern soul is a type of mid-tempo and uptempo heavy-beat Soul music (of mainly African American origin that was popularized in Northern England from Gloria Jones (born Gloria Richetta Jones, 19 October 1945 Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American Singer and Songwriter. Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English singer songwriter and Guitarist The Four Preps were a Popular music quartet most popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s

Released in 1981, Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" was a number-one hit in seventeen countries, including the United Kingdom, as well as a number eight single in the United States during 1982, and went on to set a then-Guinness World Record for the longest consecutive stay on the U. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records (and in previous U S. Billboard Hot 100 chart (43 weeks). It took 19 weeks just to crack the Top 40. The A-side of the 12 inch single of "Tainted Love" actually featured a two-song medley, with "Tainted Love" blending into the Motown classic "Where Did Our Love Go?" by The Supremes. "Motown" redirects here For the city see Detroit Michigan. "Where Did Our Love Go" is a 1964 hit song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label The Supremes were an American female singing group that first formed as a quartet called The Primettes At the peak of the song's popularity, many radio stations opted to play the full medley, utilizing their own edits to shorten the 9-minute track.

According to Marc Almond's book, "Tainted Life," Soft Cell had exited the "Tainted Love" recording sessions with only modest expectations that the track might dent the UK Top 50. Further, Almond wrote that his only significant contribution to the song's instrumentation (besides the vocals) was the suggestion that the song begin with a characteristic "bink bink" sound which would repeat periodically throughout. Almond also wrote that he dedicated this song to his on-off partner Christian Andrews. While "Tainted Love" was Soft Cell's only Top 40 hit in the United States, they had ten UK Top 40 hits, including "Bedsitter" (#4), "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" (#3), "Torch" (#2), and "What!" (#3), each of which broke the UK Top 5. In addition, the band also had four UK top 20 albums between 1981 - 1984.

Usually, an artist releasing a cover version as a single would opt to write the song that appears on the B-side as this would still entitle the artist to some songwriting royalties stemming from sales of that single. Royalties (sometimes running royalties) are usage-based payments made by one party (the "licensee" to another (the "licensor" for ongoing use of an However, as Soft Cell wrote neither "Tainted Love" nor "Where Did Our Love Go" (the 7" B-side track), they lost the opportunity to make a greater sum of money from songwriting royalties stemming from one of the most popular songs of the '80s. Almond expressed regret for this in his book, and chalked the error up to naivete.

Covers and Sampling

Due to its enduring popularity, Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love" along with other songs from Non-stop Erotic Cabaret have been covered and sampled a number of times, including:

Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

Their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, further explored the trademark Soft Cell themes of squalor and sleaze. An album or record album is a collection of related audio or Music tracks distributed to the public Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is the first album released by the Synthpop duo Soft Cell, released in 1981 by Some Bizarre Records. "Seedy Films" talks of long nights in porno cinemas, while "Frustration" and "Secret Life" deal with the boredom and hypocrisy associated with suburban life. Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of Sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer A companion video entitled Non-Stop Exotic Video Show was released alongside the album and featured videos directed by Tim Pope, who later found fame as director of music videos by The Cure. Tim Pope is an award-winning Film director most famous for his Music videos having directed feature films, and for a brief pop career A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics The Cure are an English rock band that formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976 The video generated some controversy in Britain, mainly due to the scandal involved with the "Sex Dwarf" promotional film. The original version of the music video featured Almond and Ball in a bloody butcher shop surrounded by chainsaws, nude actors, and dwarves. However, the film was confiscated by police and censored before it was even released. As a tongue-in-cheek substitute, a re-filmed "Sex Dwarf" appeared in Non-Stop Exotic Video Show featuring Almond dressed in a tuxedo, directing a symphony orchestra of dwarves.

In 1982, the duo spent most of their time recording and relaxing in New York City, where they met a woman named Cindy Ecstasy. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) The City of New York It was Cindy Ecstasy who introduced them to the new club drug of the same name. By their own admission, most of Non-stop Ecstatic Dancing was recorded and mixed under the influence of ecstasy. Non-stop Ecstatic Dancing is a short album released in 1982 by Soft Cell, a pioneering Synthpop / new wave duo which featured Marc Almond MDMA ( 34-methylenedioxy- N -methylamphetamine) most commonly known today by the street name Ecstasy (often abbreviated E, X,

A dance music show on the Melbourne radio station, Student Youth Network, called their show Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret after the album. The' Student Youth Network' is a youth based media organization based at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

Decline and Dissolution

By now, the shadow of "Tainted Love" was beginning to haunt the band, and the pressures of stardom, not to mention the constant drug use, were taking their toll. Marc Almond also formed the group Marc and the Mambas, featuring collaborations with The The's Matt Johnson and future Almond collaborator Annie Hogan, as an offshoot in order to experiment out of the glare of the Soft Cell spotlight. Marc and the Mambas was a new wave group formed by Marc Almond in 1982 as an off-shoot project from Soft Cell. The The are an English musical and multimedia group that have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer/songwriter/frontman Matt Johnson being Matt Johnson (born 15 August 1961, in London, England) is the founder and only constant member of the multimedia band, The A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new Organization or Entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a Television series based on a pre-existing Soft Cell followed their remix album with a full length album appropriately titled The Art of Falling Apart. A remix is an alternative version of a song different from the original version The singles were modest successes in Britain. Again, Soft Cell courted some controversy when their second single from the album, "Numbers," was banned from the BBC due to references in the song to the drug speed.

By 1984, they had decided amicably to dissolve the band and released one final album called This Last Night in Sodom, a critical success but a commercial failure. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) The album departed from its predecessors by having a much grittier feel, featuring more live drums and guitars than previous albums. However, the controversial subject matter still remained true to the Soft Cell ethos, with songs such as "L'Esqualita" that glamourized transvestite culture in Manhattan. This article deals with the history of the word 'transvestite' Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York

Solo years

During Almond's solo years, he and Ball continued to keep in touch. Dave Ball's ex-wife played cello in Marc Almond's solo band. Almond and David Ball did not work again together until the nineties, when Ball arranged some music for Almond's "Tenement Symphony. " David Ball formed The Grid in 1990 with Richard Norris. For other uses of the title The Grid see The Grid (disambiguation. Richard Norris (born 23 June 1965 London is a London -based music producer / engineer / Musician, best known as a member of The Grid The Grid split up in 1996, but reformed in 2005 & have a new album released in 2008 on the Some Bizzare label called Doppelganger. Some Bizzare Records is a British Independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. A doppelgänger ( or fetch is the ghostly double of a living person a sinister form of Bilocation.

Reunion

Almond and Ball's reunion as Soft Cell became official with well-received initial concerts - they performed at the opening of the Ocean nightclub in London in March 2001 to strong reviews, and a mini tour followed later in the year. The track "God Shaped Hole" featured on the Some Bizzare compilation titled "I'd Rather Shout at a Returning Echo than Kid Someone's Listening", released in 2001. Some Bizzare Records is a British Independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. I'd Rather Shout at a Returning Echo than Kid Someone's Listening is the fourth compilation album released by Some Bizzare and featured the first new track from the recently The album Cruelty Without Beauty was released in late 2002, followed by a European tour and a partial US tour in early 2003. The new album featured their first new songs together in almost twenty years. One of those songs was their 2003 single "The Night" (UK #39). Interestingly, Soft Cell had considered recording "The Night" in place of "Tainted Love" back in 1981 as their last-ditch attempt to score a chart hit. In a 2003 interview with BBC's Top of the Pops, keyboardist David Ball asserted, "I think history has kind of shown that we did make the right choice [in 1981]. Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, was a long-running British music chart Television programme, made and broadcast "

In August 2007 the band announced they have started a remix album, "Heat - The Remixes". The remix album is expected to be released in May 2008 and will include classic Soft Cell tracks remixed by such acts as Paul Dakeyne, The Grid, Manhattan Clique, Cicada, Richard X, Ladytron, MHC, Mark Moore, Kinky Roland, Spektrum, George Demure, Yer Man and many more[2]. For other uses of the title The Grid see The Grid (disambiguation. Manhattan Clique (also known as MHC are international producers and remixers Philip Larsen and Chris Smith A cicada is an Insect of the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha, in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with large eyes wide apart on the Richard Philips is a Record producer, best known by his Stage name Richard X. Ladytron are an electronic pop band originally formed in Liverpool, UK Mark Moore (born 12 January 1965, in London) is a British Dance music Record producer and DJ.

Discography

Main article: Soft Cell discography

See also

References

  1. ^ Marc Almond, Tainted Life, the autobiography
  2. ^ Soft Cell remix album in the pipeline

External links

This is a comprehensive listing of official releases by UK Synth-Pop duo Soft Cell. Say Hello Wave Goodbye Live is a Live album by Soft Cell. The album was released on June 27, 2005.
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