101 in the US Charts, but was a major hit in the UK and reached No. Almond later admitted that the album was recorded and mixed under the influence of ecstasy. It was later covered in 1968 by Judy Street, whose version became extremely popular on the Northern Soul scene. This was a cover of the 1965 song by Melinda Marx. The duo released an EP titled Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing, containing remixes of older material along with their new hit single, "What!". The song entered straight into the Top 20 and peaked at No.
Soon after "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" dropped out of the chart, Soft Cell released a brand new song: "Torch", a love song which was to prove the closest the band ever got to having a No. ĭuring 1982, the duo spent most of their time recording and relaxing in New York City, where they met a woman named Cindy Ecstasy whom Almond would later confirm was his drug supplier (it was Cindy Ecstasy who introduced them to the new nightclub drug of the same name). 3 in February 1982 and was subsequently covered by David Gray nearly 20 years later when his version reached No. The song was highly acclaimed in a retrospective review by AllMusic journalist Ned Raggett who wrote that it "ranks as one of the best, most realistic portrayals of urban life recorded." The final single on the album, the ballad " Say Hello, Wave Goodbye", peaked at No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1981. Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret garnered two additional hits: " Bedsitter" dealt with the loneliness and lifestyle of a young man having recently left home to live in a bedsit while partying hard. The original version of the music video was confiscated by police and censored before it was even released. The video generated some controversy in Britain, mainly due to a scandal involved with the "Sex Dwarf" clip. A companion video titled Non-Stop Exotic Video Show was released alongside the album and featured videos directed by Tim Pope. "Seedy Films" talks of long nights in porno cinemas, while "Frustration" and "Secret Life" deal with the boredom and hypocrisy associated with suburban life. The duo's first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, hit UK No. 5 and further explored the now-trademark Soft Cell themes of squalor and sleaze. 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" (originally recorded by the Supremes in 1964). The song's popularity developed slowly, needing 19 weeks to enter the US Top 40. In 1982, "Tainted Love" became a No. 8 single in the United States and went on to set a Guinness World Record at the time for the longest consecutive stay (43 weeks) on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Released in 1981, Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" was a No. 1 hit in 17 countries, including the United Kingdom, where it was the second best selling single of 1981 after selling 1.05 million copies (a total which increased to 1.35 million copies by of August 2017). The band opted to record a cover version of "Tainted Love", an obscure 1965 northern soul track originally released by Gloria Jones (the girlfriend of Marc Bolan at the time of his death) and written by Ed Cobb of The Four Preps. Īfter the chart failure of "Memorabilia", Phonogram Records allowed Soft Cell to record a second and final single in an attempt to score a chart success. The duo have sold ten million records world-wide.
Their track "Memorabilia" earned recognition for the band as pioneers of the synth-oriented techno genre. Soft Cell's songs have been covered by several artists, including David Gray, Coil and Nine Inch Nails. They held a reunion concert in London on 30 September 2018, stating it would be their last live UK performance as a duo but that they may still perform abroad and record together. In 1984, the duo split however, they reformed in 2001 to tour and release a new album. They also had four top 20 albums between 19. In the United Kingdom, Soft Cell had twelve top 40 hits, including "Tainted Love" (number 1), " Torch" (number 2), " Say Hello, Wave Goodbye", " What" (both number 3), and " Bedsitter" (number 4).
The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of " Tainted Love" and their platinum-selling debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. The duo consisted of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. Synthpop, new wave, minimal synth, electronic