Overview

A rich and revealing examination of the legendary pop duo Soft Cell. Soft Cell are not your average pop band. Marc Almond and Dave Ball may be best known for the string of hits they released in 1981, but the powerful first phase of their collaboration embraced a staggering array of sounds, influences and innovations that would change the face of music to come. In Bedsit land, Patrick Clarke plunges into the archives and interviews more than sixty contributors, including the band members themselves, to follow Soft Cell through the many strange and sprawling worlds that shaped their extraordinary career. They lead him from the faded camp glamour of the British seaside to the dizzying thrills of the New York club scene. From transgressive student performance art to the sleaze and squalor of pre-gentrified Soho. From the glitz of British showbiz to the drug-addled chaos of post-Franco Spain.

Full Product Details

9781526173560

Table of Contents

Reviews

‘A fascinating psychogeographic exploration of Soft Cell and the worlds that spawned them: Leeds, Soho, New York and the northwest seaside resorts where Almond and Ball grew up. Clarke’s expert sifting of witness testimony captures the soul inside the eighties’ most brilliantly subversive duo.’ Cathi Unsworth, author of Season of the Witch: The Book of Goth ‘Patrick Clarke paints a vivid picture of the careening brilliance of Soft Cell, showing how from the beginning the band's mainstream pop success was rooted in a career-threatening embrace of all things unpalatable and underground. Read this book as an antidote to the gentrified music industry of today!’ Gavin Butt, author of No Machos or Pop Stars: When the Leeds Art Experiment Went Punk 'A fascinating and energetic dive into the seedy chaos of Soft Cell's short early life, with fresh interviews and insight emphasising how the duo connected the avant-garde and mainstream of both early 1980s England and New York.' Luke Turner, author of Out of the Woods: Nature, Sexuality, and Faith in the Forest -- .

'A fascinating and energetic dive into the seedy chaos of Soft Cell's short early life, with fresh interviews and insight emphasising how the duo connected the avant-garde and mainstream of both early 1980s England and New York.' Luke Turner, founder of The Quietus -- .

Author Information

Patrick Clarke is a music journalist and live DJ. He is the deputy editor of the Quietus and a freelance contributor to the Guardian, NME, DIY Magazine and many more.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available