This is the discography of Soft Cell, a British synth-pop duo consisting of Marc Almond and Dave Ball who rose to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo broke up in 1984 after releasing four albums, but reunited in the early 2000s for a series of live dates and released an album of new material in 2002. The group reunited again in 2018 for a final farewell concert,[1] accompanied by a host of musical and video releases, including a career-spanning box set[2] and a single.[3]
| Soft Cell discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 5 |
| EPs | 3 |
| Live albums | 5 |
| Compilation albums | 15 |
| Singles | 22 |
| Video albums | 3 |
| Remix albums | 1 |
Albums
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
AUS [5] |
CAN [6] |
FIN [7] |
GER [8] |
NED [9] |
NZ [10] |
SWE [11] |
US [12] |
US R&B/HH [12] | |||||
| Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret |
|
5 | 34 | 2 | 19 | 23 | — | 7 | 25 | 22 | 55 | |||
| The Art of Falling Apart |
|
5 | — | 82 | — | — | 43 | — | — | 84 | — |
| ||
| This Last Night in Sodom |
|
12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Cruelty Without Beauty |
|
116 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Happiness Not Included |
|
7 | — | — | — | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Happiness Now Completed |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Remix albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
US [12] | |||
| Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing |
|
6 | 57 |
|
Live albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Additional Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
UK Indie [15] |
UK Vinyl [16] |
SCO [17] | |||
| Live |
|
— | — | — | — |
|
| Soft Cell at the BBC |
|
— | — | — | — |
|
| Say Hello, Wave Goodbye: Live |
|
— | — | — | — |
|
| Say Hello, Wave Goodbye – 2018 |
|
95 | 11 | 18 | 38 | |
| Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret & Other Stories |
|
— | — | — | — |
|
Compilation albums
editCharting compilations
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
BEL [18] |
EUR [19] |
GER [20] |
SCO [21] | ||||||||||
| The Singles |
|
58 | — | — | 54 | — | ||||||||
| Memorabilia – The Singles |
|
8 | — | 40 | — | — | ||||||||
| The Very Best of Soft Cell |
|
37 | — | — | — | 63 |
| |||||||
| Hits & Pieces: The Best of Marc Almond and Soft Cell |
|
7 | 134 | — | — | 5 | ||||||||
| Keychains & Snowstorms – The Soft Cell Story |
|
56 | — | — | 80 | 36 | ||||||||
| Keychains & Snowstorms – The Singles |
|
34 | — | — | — | 30 | ||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Complete list
- 1982 – The Twelve Inch Singles (Some Bizzare) (6x12" vinyl boxset with booklet)
- 1986 – The Singles (Some Bizzare)
- 1991 – Memorabilia – The Singles (Mercury) (Soft Cell with Marc Almond)
- 1994 – Down in the Subway (Spectrum)
- 1996 – Say Hello to Soft Cell (Spectrum)
- 1998 – Master Series (Mercury)
- 2001 – The Twelve Inch Singles (PolyGram) (3CD re-release of the 1982 boxset)
- 2002 – The Very Best of Soft Cell (Universal)
- 2005 – The Bedsit Tapes (Some Bizzare) (Recorded in 1978–1980)
- 2006 – Demo Non Stop (Some Bizzare) (Recorded in 1978–1980)
- 2006 – 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Soft Cell (Universal)
- 2008 – Heat: The Remixes (Mercury) (2CD collection of new remixes)
- 2017 – Hits & Pieces The Best of Marc Almond and Soft Cell (UMC)
- 2018 – Keychains & Snowstorms – The Soft Cell Story (10 Disc Box Set) (UMC)
- 2018 – Keychains & Snowstorms – The Singles (UMC)
Extended plays
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Mutant Moments |
|
| Club Mixes 2018 |
|
| Magick Mutants |
|
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
AUS [5] |
BEL [18] |
CAN [22] |
FIN [7] |
GER [23] |
IRE [24] |
NED [9] |
SWE [11] |
US [12] | |||||
| 1981 | "A Man Can Get Lost" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Memorabilia" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Tainted Love"/ "Where Did Our Love Go" |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 8 | Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret | |||
| "Bedsitter" | 4 | — | 33 | — | 29 | — | 10 | — | — | — |
| |||
| 1982 | "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" | 3 | — | 36 | — | — | 29 | 12 | 30 | — | — |
| ||
| "Torch" | 2 | 68 | 6 | — | 9 | 75 | 7 | 12 | — | — |
|
Non-album single | ||
| "What" | 3 | — | 32 | — | — | 64 | 6 | — | — | –[A] |
|
Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing | ||
| "Where the Heart Is" | 21 | — | — | — | 23 | — | 14 | — | — | — | The Art of Falling Apart | |||
| "Loving You, Hating Me" (North America Only Release) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1983 | "Numbers"/"Barriers" | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | — | — | — | |||
| "Heat" (North America Only Release) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Soul Inside" | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | — | — | — | This Last Night in Sodom | |||
| 1984 | "Down in the Subway" | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | — | — | — | |||
| 1985 | "Tainted Love" (re-issue) | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| 1991 | "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye '91" (featuring Marc Almond) |
38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Memorabilia – The Singles | ||
| "Tainted Love '91" (featuring Marc Almond) |
5 | 93 | — | — | — | 22 | 4 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1999 | "Tainted Love" (Soft Cell vs Club 69) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| 2002 | "Monoculture" | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Cruelty Without Beauty | ||
| 2003 | "The Night" | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2018 | "Northern Lights"/ "Guilty (Cos I Say You Are)" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Keychains & Snowstorms: The Singles | ||
| 2021 | "Bruises on All My Illusions" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Happiness Not Included | ||
| 2022 | "Purple Zone" (with Pet Shop Boys) |
—[B] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Nostalgia Machine" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Last Chance (Christmas Mix) / Light Sleepers" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Promotional singles
Video albums
edit| Year | Title | Format | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Soft Cell's Non-Stop Exotic Video Show
|
VHS | Reissued on DVD in 2004, and included on the Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset DVD disc |
| 1991 | Memorabilia – The Video Singles
|
VHS | Soft Cell with Marc Almond – video compilation released alongside the 1991 compilation album of the same name |
| 2002 | Live in Milan
|
DVD |
Music videos
edit| Year | Title | Director | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Tainted Love | Tim Pope | Released on Soft Cell's Non-Stop Exotic Video Show and Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset |
| Bedsitter | Released on Soft Cell's Non-Stop Exotic Video Show and Memorabilia – The Video Singles and Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset | ||
| Say Hello, Wave Goodbye | Released on Soft Cell's Non-Stop Exotic Video Show and Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset | ||
| 1982 | Torch | Released on Soft Cell's Non-Stop Exotic Video Show and Memorabilia – The Video Singles and Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset | |
| What! | |||
| Entertain Me | Released on Soft Cell's Non-Stop Exotic Video Show and Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset | ||
| Frustration | |||
| Seedy Films | |||
| Secret Life | |||
| Youth | |||
| Memorabilia | Released on Soft Cell's Non-Stop Exotic Video Show and Memorabilia – The Video Singles and Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset | ||
| Sex Dwarf (Intro) | Released on Soft Cell's Non-Stop Exotic Video Show and Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset | ||
| Sex Dwarf | Original, banned version that has yet to be officially released | ||
| 1983 | Where The Heart Is | Released on Memorabilia – The Video Singles and Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset | |
| Numbers | |||
| Soul Inside | |||
| 1984 | Down in the Subway | Released on Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset | |
| 1991 | Say Hello, Wave Goodbye '91 | Peter Christopherson | Released on Memorabilia – The Video Singles and Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset |
| Tainted Love '91 | |||
| 2002 | Monoculture | Tim Pope | Included as a multimedia track on the Monoculture single and Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset |
| 2018 | Northern Lights | Included as a multimedia track on the Northern Lights single and Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset | |
| 2022 | Purple Zone | Yassa Khan | Soft Cell & Pet Shop Boys Single |
| Light Sleepers | Charlie Ann Max |
Rarities and miscellaneous
edit| Year | Title | Label | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Some Bizzare Album | Some Bizzare | Compilation featuring exclusive track "The Girl with the Patent Leather Face." |
| 1982 | Metro MRX | Flexi | 1982 green flexi-disc free with Flexi-Pop magazine. |
| 1983 | Ghostrider – Live '83 | Cellmates | Flexi-disc of a live cover of the song Ghost Rider by Suicide. Available in black, blue, or green and issued by the Soft Cell fan club. |
| 1991 | Bedsitter '91 / Torch | Withdrawn UK promotional 7" & 12" single, originally intended to be the 3rd single release from the 1991 compilation 'Memorabilia'. Credited to Soft Cell / Marc Almond. | |
| 2001 | I'd Rather Shout at a Returning Echo than Kid That Someone's Listening | Some Bizzare | Compilation that includes the track "God-Shaped Hole." |
| 2016 | Sex Dwarf | UMC | 12" Vinyl UK Record Store Day 2016. Contains the 3 existing (At the time) remixes of the song.[33] |
| 2018 | Say Hello Wave Goodbye / Youth | UMC/Mercury | 12" Vinyl UK Record Store Day 2018 First Release limited to 1,500 copies, containing new mixes by Dave Ball: Say Hello Wave Goodbye (Dave Ball Lateral Mix) & Youth (Dave Ball Wasted on the Young Mix)[34] |
| 2018 | Night and the City (And You) & One Last Time | Exclusive Tracks contained on limited edition 'Keychains & Snowstorms' USB Stick. | |
| 2020 | Cruelty Without Beauty 2020 Extended Mixes | Limited to 500 copies in a PVC sleeve with sticker.[35] |
Notes
edit- ^ "What" did not enter the US Billboard Hot 100 but did peak at number one on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 extension chart.[27]
- ^ "Purple Zone" did not enter the UK singles chart, but peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart.[28]
References
edit- ^ "Soft Cell Announce One-Off 40th Anniversary Concert".
- ^ "Announcing 'Keychains & Snowstorms – the Soft Cell Story' Boxset".
- ^ "Soft Cell to release brand new single Northern Lights plus new Best of compilation in September".
- ^ a b c d e UK chart peaks:
- "UK chart peaks". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 9781904994107.
- "Chart Log UK 1994–2010". zobbel - Dipl.-Bibl.(FH) Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ a b Peaks in Australia:
- All except noted: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 280. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- "Tainted Love '91": Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 259.
- ^ Canadian albums chart peaks:
- "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". RPM. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "The Art of Falling Apart". RPM. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ a b Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ "Discographie von Soft Cell". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Dutch chart peaks". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "New Zealand chart peaks". charts.nz. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Swedish chart peaks". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d "US chart peaks". Billboard. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "British certifications – Soft Cell". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 July 2024. Type Soft Cell in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ a b "Music Canada > Gold & Platinum > Soft Cell". Music Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ UK live albums chart peaks:
- "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye – 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ UK vinyl albums chart peaks:
- "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye – 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ Scottish live albums chart peaks:
- "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye – 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Belgian (Flanders) chart peaks". ultratop.be. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ European compilation album chart peaks:
- "Memorabilia – The Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ German compilation albums chart peaks:
- "The Singles". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "Keychains & Snowstorms – The Soft Cell Story". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ Scottish studio albums chart peaks:
- "The Very Best of Soft Cell". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "Hits & Pieces: The Best of Marc Almond and Soft Cell". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "Keychains & Snowstorms – The Soft Cell Story". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "Keychains & Snowstorms – The Singles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ Canadian singles chart peaks:
- "Tainted Love". RPM. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ German singles chart peaks:
- "Tainted Love". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "Torch". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "What". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "Tainted Love '91". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ Irish singles chart peaks:
- Note: User needs to click on the "Search Charts" tab. Then enter Soft Cell into the "Search Artists" field and press "Search". "Irish singles chart peaks up to 1999". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Platinum and Gold Singles 1982". Kent Music Report. 28 February 1983. Retrieved 10 November 2021 – via Imgur.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Soft Cell)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ "US Hot 100 Bubbling Under". Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ "Sex Dwarf/Entertain Me/Seedy Films promotional single". Discogs. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "What/Insecure...Me? promotional single". Discogs. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Songs from The Last Night in Sodom promotional single". Discogs. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Soft Cell". MVDbase. ASG. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- ^ "Soft Cell – Sex Dwarf". Discogs.
- ^ "Soft Cell – Say Hello Wave Goodbye / Youth". Discogs.
- ^ "Soft Cell – Cruelty Without Beauty 2020 Extended Mixes". Discogs.
