Soft Cell - Mutants In Hollywood (2026)

Formed in 1978 after Marc Almond and David Ball met at Leeds Polytechnic the previous year, Soft Cell’s initial efforts at recording resulted in the Mutant Moments EP, released in 1980, which was funded by a loan of £2,000 from Ball's mother. It was made with a simple two-track recorder. The duo’s next recording, ‘The Girl with the Patent Leather Face’, appeared as a contribution to the Some Bizzare Album, which also included Depeche Mode, The The, and Blancmange. The group ultimately signed to the label, backed by Phonogram Records. Their first single, ‘A Man Could Get Lost’ b/w ‘Memorabilia’ on 7", and ‘Memorabilia’ b/w ‘Persuasion’ on 12", were produced by Daniel Miller who had founded Mute Records. 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 make a cover version of ‘Tainted Love’, an obscure 1965 northern soul track originally by Gloria Jones Released in 1981, ‘Tainted Love’ was a No. 1 hit in 17 countries, including the United Kingdom, 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. Soft Cell’s US success prompted the pair to play a short tour on the West Coast in November ’83, during which, on the 19th of the month, they performed at the Palace in LA, providing American audiences a chance to witness the group on stage. The show was an eye-opener for local fans and pushed their American popularity even higher, and it gained them heavy rotation on the newly founded MTV, a channel which provided plenty of air-time for the new, visual British bands of the early ’80s. The gig was recorded for live broadcast too and synched across the US, and is now finally available on this new 2CD set for the first time.