Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

GDR1 

Colour

Green

Colour details

Clear Green

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2023-12-01

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

796140049855 

Total Cap

Green 12"

Artist

Soft Cell

Genre GB

New Wave / Post Punk

Label GB

Vertigo

Soft Cell are an English synthesizer duo, consisting of Marc Almond (vocals) and David Ball (keyboards), who came to prominence in the early 1980s. Their lyrics often focus on love and romance as well as the darker side of life, with subjects such as the nightlife, kinky sex, transvestism, drugs and murder.
They had a huge world-wide hit in 1981 with a cover version of "Tainted Love," a northern soul classic originally sung by Gloria Jones. They followed up with more charting singles and one of the first remix Albums "Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing." Their self-penned non-album single "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" missed the No.1 spot of the UK charts by a hairbreadth.
"The Art Of Falling Apart'," produced with Mike Thorne and the then new CMI Fairlight at hand with endless efforts by Dave Ball aiming at perfection followed in 1982. It spawned two singles chosen against the will of the record companies; "Where The Heart Is," and "Numbers," which were about youthful frustration and frequently changing sexual partners respectively.
The commercial pressure finally collided with their artistic ambitions which led to solo and side projects and two farewell shows in January 1984 even before "This Last Night In Sodom," was released. They reunited in the early 2000's for a tour with their fourth studio album "C

Vertigo is a multinational music label that was launched in the UK on November 7, 1969. It quickly gained popularity and was adopted by other labels within the global Phonogram group. In 1971, Vertigo made its way to the US through the Phonogram subsidiary. The label became known for releasing popular progressive rock albums in the 1970s and is currently owned by Universal Music Group.

The original logo of Vertigo, known as the "swirl" logo, was created by Marina Apollonio in 1967. This iconic logo remained in use from 1969 to 1973 and featured a plain white A-side with a complete tracklist and a black B-side for certain releases. In early 1973, the label design changed to another iconic image called the "spaceship," which was painted by Roger Dean. This design appeared in various shades of blues and greens throughout the '70s.

Around 1981, UK releases of Vertigo started using a more plain design with an orange background while other European markets continued to use the spaceship design. With its rich history and diverse range of artists, Vertigo remains an influential force in the music industry today.

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The birth point of ecstasy in British music is usually credited to acid house and the second summer of love: a cemented vision of kids sweating and vibrating in clubs, fields and warehouses in 1988, united by universal empathy and mind-popping sounds. However, in 1981, a couple of young men from Leeds went to New York, discovered the drug in its infancy, fused its’ gritty synth pop to acid house’s squelchy 303 groove and recorded an album: Soft Cell’s Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.  The rest, as they say, is history.&nbsp;

Shortly before that Soft Cell’s debut single Memorabilia was born. Originally recorded a decade before the explosion of acid house and rooted in predominantly black NYC, Chicago and Detroit gay clubs, Memorabilia is a seminal early prelude to rave culture.  Merging a strutting disco bass line with a futuristic proto acid-techno beat, Marc Almond has past described Memorabilia as “the first acid house techno record ever”.&nbsp;

Dave Ball remembers: “Memorabilia got to about number 99 in the charts, but the clubs picked up on it. In NME or Sounds they had a chart for the Danceteria in New York, and we were in it. Our label Phonogram saw this and thought: ‘why is this weird little duo from Leeds that no one’s heard of suddenly getting played in one of the hippest clubs in New York?’ So I think they thought: ‘we’ll give them another chance’.”&nbsp;

Fast forward to 2023 and Soft Cell’s first producer, Mute Records’ 
supremo Daniel Miller, has reworked his original 1981 version of 
Memorabilia into a throbbing techno workout. Currently ripping up a 
storm in Berlin’s techno clubs on promo by the DJ cognoscenti, the remix
 package is fast picking up support clubs across Europe, the US and 
beyond.

France’s electroclash/techno legend and in-demand remixer The Hacker 
also delivers an updated 808 spectacular worthy of inclusion in any 
self-respecting late night dancing DJ set, while losing none of the 
frantic energy of the original.

Berlin’s very own upcomers Wally Funk round off the remix package, 
upping the original tempo slightly, while combining elements the of 
original production with the later Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing version to 
create a new hybrid, best played extremely loud!

A2 – Daniel Miller 2023 Remix Instrumental&nbsp;

Memorabillia 

Music GB

Discover Memorabilia by Soft Cell on vinyl. This seminal early prelude to rave culture merges disco and acid-techno beats. Label: Vertigo.