Soft Cell were formed in 1978, after Marc Almond and David Ball had met at Leeds Polytechnic in the previous year, and their initial efforts at recording with a simple two-track recorder resulted in an EP titled 'Mutant Moments', released in 1980 on their own A Big Frock Rekord label, and which was funded by a loan of £2,000 from Dave Ball's mother. Their next recording was 'The Girl With The Patent Leather Face', which appeared as a contribution to the 'Some Bizzare Album' in 1981, and which featured bands such as Depeche Mode, The The, and Blancmange, and was a sampler of the label's musical ethos, including acts which were not signed exclusively to the label at the time. However, Soft Cell did ultimately sign to the Some Bizzare label, backed by Phonogram Records, and their first single for them was 'A Man Could Get Lost' b/w 'Memorabilia' on 7" and 'Memorabilia' b/w 'Persuasion' on 12", both produced by the founder of Mute Records Daniel Miller. 'Memorabilia' was a success in nightclubs, but did not enter the UK singles chart, and after 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 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. Released in 1981, 'Tainted Love' was a No. 1 hit in 17 countries, including the United Kingdom, where it was the second best selling single of 1981, and in 1982 it 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. The A-side of the 12-inch version of the single actually featured a two-song medley, with 'Tainted Love' blending into the Supremes Motown classic 'Where Did Our Love Go', with the full version of that song being released on another edition of the single. 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, with 'Seedy Films' talking of long nights in porno cinemas, while 'Frustration' and 'Secret Life' deal with the boredom and hypocrisy associated with suburban life. 'Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret' garnered two additional hits, with 'Bedsitter' reaching No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1981, while the ballad 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye' peaked at No. 3 in February 1982.
Soon after 'Say Hello Wave Goodbye' dropped out of the chart, the band released a brand new song 'Torch', a love song which was to prove the closest they ever got to having a No. 1 hit with one of their own songs, entering straight into the Top 20 and peaking at No. 2. In June 1982, as was the trend at the time, the duo released a mini album titled 'Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing', containing remixes of older material along with their new single, 'What!', which was a cover of the 1965 song by Melinda Marx. By 1983, fame and nearly constant drug use were having a bad effect on the duo, while 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 attempt to be able to experiment out of the glare of the Soft Cell spotlight. Their third album release, appropriately titled 'The Art Of Falling Apart', was a Top 5 hit in the UK, but the singles were only modest successes, with 'Where The Heart Is' only reaching No 21, while the double A-side 'Numbers'/'Barriers' peaked at 25. In September 1983, the duo released a new single 'Soul Inside', which returned them to the UK Top 20, but by early 1984, Almond and Ball had amicably decided to end Soft Cell, playing farewell concerts at Hammersmith Palais in January, and released one final album called 'This Last Night In Sodom' in March. Almond and Ball reunited as Soft Cell in 2000 with a series of live dates, followed by a mini-tour later in the year, and recording re-commenced with the track 'God Shaped Hole' featuring on the Some Bizzare compilation titled 'I'd Rather Shout At A Returning Echo Than Kid Someone's Listening', released during 2001, and bringing the band full circle to their first Some Bizarre appearance. However, this collection concentrates on their stand-alone singles and non-album b-sides from the first part of their existence, alongside their first self-released EP and a limited edition flexi-disc from 1983.
Track listing
Disc I - 1980-1982
01 Potential (from The 'Mutant Moments' EP 1980)
02 LOVE Feeling (from The 'Mutant Moments' EP 1980)
03 Metro Mr X (from The 'Mutant Moments' EP 1980)
04 Frustration (original recording from The 'Mutant Moments' EP 1980)
05 The Girl With The Patent Leather Face' (from the 'Some Bizarre Album' compilation 1981)
06 A Man Can Get Lost (single 1981)
07 Memorabilia (b-side of 'A Man Can Get Lost')
08 Where Did Our Love Go (b-side of 'Tainted Love' 1981)
09 Facility Girls (b-side of 'Bedsitter' 1981)
10 Persuasion (b-side of 'Memorabilia' 1981)
11 Torch (single 1982)
12 Insecure Me (b-side of 'Torch')
Disc II - 1982-1984
01 ...So (b-side of 'What!' 1982)
02 It's A Mugs Game (b-side of 'Where The Heart Is' 1982)
03 Ghostrider Live '83 (Cellmates Limited Edition flexi-disc 1983)
04 Barriers (b-side of 'Numbers' 1983)
05 Soul Inside (single 1983)
06 You Only Live Twice (b-side of 'Soul Inside')
07 007 Theme (b-side of 'Soul Inside')
08 Her Imagination (b-side of 'Soul Inside')
09 Disease And Desire (b-side of 'Down In The Subway' 1984)
10 Born To Lose (b-side of 'Down In The Subway' 1984)
