The co-founder of the legendary British synthpop act also talks about their upcoming final studio album 'Danceteria'
Credit: Soft Cell
NEED TO KNOW
- British synthpop act Soft Cell is touring the U.S. this summer with the Human League and Alison Moyet
- “Tainted Love,” Soft Cell’s most popular and signature hit, turns 45 this year
- Soft Cell’s upcoming album Danceteria, which will be released Sept. 4, was made before co-founder Dave Ball’s death in 2025
It's hard to imagine that Soft Cell — the British synthpop duo of singer Marc Almond and keyboardist Dave Ball — nearly passed on recording and releasing "Tainted Love," their iconic cover of Gloria Jones' 1964 song that catapulted them to superstardom. Originally, Almond and Ball had wanted to interpret the 1972 Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons track called "The Night."
"Dave loved '60s obscure soul records, which we in the U.K. called ‘Northern Soul' because it was played in Northern U.K. nightclubs at all-night events," Almond tells PEOPLE. "We wanted a song to put in our set that was far removed from what you'd expect an electronic band to do. We listened to a number of songs and nearly settled on 'The Night' by Frankie Valli (which we played on the last U.S.A. tour), but we fortuitously landed on "Tainted Love" because I loved the title and the lyrics."
Released in July 1981, "Tainted Love" went to No. 1 on the U.K. charts and later became Soft Cell's breakthrough American hit the following year. That track and the Human League's "Don't You Want Me" were the two biggest-selling songs in Britain in 1981. Forty-five years later, both acts, along with singer Alison Moyet, will embark on the Generations tour in the U.S., which begins on June 2 in San Diego.
"Soft Cell got involved with the Generations Tour because we did an extensive tour last year with the brilliant Simple Minds and Modern English and got a great reaction, so we were eager to do another," Almond, 68, says. "When the idea of the tour came up with the Human League, it was very exciting to me. Human League and Soft Cell together on the same bill at last!"
Almond had previously crossed paths with the Human League onstage as a guest artist with them in Europe, but not under the Soft Cell moniker until now. "To me it's completing a circle," he says, "as the Human League were a huge inspiration to Soft Cell when we formed in 1979. I've met Alison a few times in the past, and she is incredibly talented: it is so great to be able to tour with her, too."
Credit: Fin Costello/Redferns
The Soft Cell performance dates on the new tour will be particularly poignant following last year's death of Ball, whom Almond knew from their university days in the 1970s. "Due to Dave's illness over the years, it meant travel was limited, and he was only able to do the U.K. shows," Almond says. "For me, it would feel odd performing as Soft Cell in the U.K. without him now. His passing was such a hard thing to accept…We've had a secondary synth player as part of the Soft Cell family for a while now, Philip Larsen, who was Dave's co-producer and programmer. Outside the U.K., it was Philip who always played live in the shows."
Before his death, Ball had worked on the duo's upcoming album Danceteria, slated for release on Sept. 4. Almond says it will be Soft Cell's final album of new material."It's a celebration of his music that lives on," he says.
Almond admits that he didn't expect Soft Cell to release another album following 2021's Happiness Not Included. "It was a nice surprise to get a whole file of new tunes about a year and a half ago," he says. "I listened, felt inspired, and started forming ideas for an album that would be an early '80s New York love letter. We had already recorded a song on our previous album called "Polaroid" about meeting Andy Warhol at the Factory—exploring the reality and fantasy of meeting your idols. That song started it off; it really should have been on this [new] album."
Credit: Peter Ashworth
Almond believes that Ball knew that Danceteria might be his last Soft Cell album, so he wanted to make sure to get it right. "He only listened to it back for the first time two days prior to his death, and he was so excited about it and ready for promotion," Almond says, "which is why his death hit us hard. It's fitting that it's a love letter to New York – and the U.S.A — and the impression the city made on us back in the early '80s when it shaped us as artists and people."
Danceteria is named after the popular early 1980s nightclub in New York City, where Soft Cell recorded their first album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which contains "Tainted Love." The song was originally written by Ed Cobb and recorded by American soul singer Gloria Jones in 1964.
"I was aware of her from her connection to Marc Bolan of T.Rex," Almond says. "I was a huge fan of Marc Bolan and T. Rex since my teens; I saw her sing onstage with him when I saw them live, so the song had some connection to me. But, in truth, we actually based the feel of ours more on the original Ruth Swann version."
"It was a novelty to put into our set," he continues, "but neither of us expected it would have the life it has had to this day, where it's still played on the radio every hour somewhere in the world. It is one of the few tracks to hit a billion streams on Spotify recently, and for a while, spent the longest time in the Billboard Top 100."
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Credit: Soft Cell
Soft Cell first broke up in 1984, but had periodically reunited over the decades in the studio and onstage. Meanwhile, Almond, who has also maintained a successful solo career, is working on his own record in collaboration with musician Barry Adamson, known for his work with Magazine and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
"It's very much in my world with a high production and a new slant on my style," Almond says of his upcoming solo record. "It's interesting working with someone new like Barry, who has a knowledge of my music but sees me through a new lens."
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