The non-stop erotic cabaret by the award-winning duo Marc Almond - Dave Ball is undeniably one of the most exciting expressions of 80s techno-pop, although it is mostly known for the cover of the classic soul "Tainted Love." Yet it is precisely in this album that some of the most original sound solutions of pop in that decade find their space. What was the secret of the formula that – by popularizing many insights from Suicide and Kraftwerk for the mainstream audience – was nevertheless captivating enough to shine on its own? Dave Ball was the mind. A brilliant multi-instrumentalist in love with northern soul, as well as a skillful weaver of synthesizer textures, at times symphonic, at times hi-nrg. In tracks like "Frustration," "Secret Life," "Entertain Me," and the already mentioned "Tainted Love," his icy keyboards trace ruthless funk trajectories, which would become one of the keys to the sound of the newly begun decade (Martin Gore and Neil Tennant will have their ears ringing...). Marc Almond was the arm. An expressive and over-the-top performer like few others, he literally molds the shape of the songs with his vivid lyricism and with the uncomfortable homosexual imagery he references.

The album title is symptomatic, being the name of a nightclub in Soho, and the music sounds like the soundtrack of a journey into a red-light district. Chronicles of ordinary depravity in pre-Thatcher and pre-Aids United Kingdom, between nightclubbing and porn cinemas. Emblematic in this sense is the hi-nrg march "Sex Dwarf," with Almond languidly repeating "Isn't it nice/Sugar and spice/Luring disco dollies to a life of vice?". Or the panting "Seedy Films," where Almond stages a bizarre Lou-Reed-like skit with the cry of "feeling sleazy in sleepy sin city". A stunning episode in capturing the scent of sex, sweat, and physicality from soul music and adapting it to the synthetic sound of the '80s. The protagonist of this tasty role-play is almost always the frustrated and repressed middle-class bourgeoisie on the loose ("Frustration" indeed, "Secret Life" and "Say Hello Wave Goodbye," another famous single). It is instead heartbreaking the more intimate homosexual microcosm to which Almond refers: that of a teenager desperately chasing his youth ("Bedsitter," the keeper of the bedsitting mark that would make Morrissey's fortunes), only to see it fade like a grain of sand from his hand ("Youth"). These tracks form the apex of the album, with Ball's symphonic interweaving perfectly emphasizing Almond's pathos: "Dancing laughing Drinking loving/ And now I'm all alone In bedsit land/ My only home" or "Youth has gone/ And don't think I don't cry /We let ourselves slip/ And now I ask myself why I'm on my own" are illuminating glimpses in this sense. It's precisely this lyricism - reminiscent of punk urgency - that gives the Soft Cell cabaret that something extra that makes it shine 25 years after its release. Not only in a sea of similar works that haven't been able to overcome the inevitable obsolescence of records based on electronic sounds, but also compared to many electronic works of the past decade, whose authors already seem to have fallen into oblivion.

Tracklist Lyrics and Samples

01   Frustration (04:10)

Fr..fr...fr...frustration!
Frustration
Frustration

I have life
Ordinary wife
I have car
A favourite bar
I have job
A moderate wage
I get the pains
That come with age

I am so ordinary

I have child
She goes wild
I have home
A mortgage of my own
I have hobby
But it's nothing very special
I do the garden
I watch girls

I am so ordinary

I have life
I have cage
I'm going bald
I want to tell the world
I've done nothing
I've achieved nothing
I work for a firm
But I want to burn it down, down

I am so ordinary
I am so ordinary

I was born
One day I'll die
There was something in between
I, I don't know what
Or why
I'm a man
I want to break a rule
I am a no, no, no, no, no, no, nobody
Everybody's fool
I am so ordinary

Frustration (x4)
I'm so tired of endless art
Love stories
I'm beginning to not give a damn
I wish I could reach right out for the untouchable
Film starring Bruce, John Wayne, Elvis Presley
Experiment with cocaine, LSD and set a bad bad example
Live a little, run a harem, be a tiger
Meet Bo Derek and be her Tarzan
Reach, reach out out
Live, live, live
Die, die, die
I, I, I, I wanna die...

Frustration, oh
Frustration (x3)
I wanna die
I wanna die, die, die, die
die, die, d..d..d..die, die, die
Frustration
I wanna die

02   Tainted Love (02:34)

Sometimes I feel I've got to
Run away I've got to
Get away
From the pain that you drive into the heart of me
The love we share
Seems to go nowhere
And I've lost my light
For I toss and turn I can't sleep at night

(chorus)
Once I ran to you (I ran)
Now I'll run from you
This tainted love you've given
I gave you all a boy could give you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Oh...tainted love
Tainted love

Now I know I've got to
Run away I've got to
Get away
You don't really want any more from me
To make things right
You need someone to hold you tight
And you think love is to pray
But I'm sorry I don't pray that way

(chorus...)

Don't touch me please
I cannot stand the way you tease
I love you though you hurt me so
Now I'm gonna pack my things and go, things and go(3x)
...
Tainted love, tainted love (3x)...
Run away i've (3x)...
Need someone (4x)...
(interlude)
Tainted Love (4x)
Touch me baby, tainted love (x2)
Tainted love (x4)

03   Seedy Films (05:04)

Sleazy city
Seedy films
Breathing so heavy
Next to my neighbour
Let's get acquainted
Getting to know you
Feeling sleazy
In seedy sin city
Feeling sleazy
In seedy sin city

Sleazy city
Sleepy people
Down in your alleys
Seems that anything goes
Blue films flicker
Hands of a stranger
Getting to know you
And I'm getting to like you

Hey that's fine
Got no time
Meet me on Friday
Down, down, down in blue city
Got no address
Just a telephone number
Phone me tonight
And maybe we can talk dirty
Phone me tonight
And maybe we can talk dirty

Sleazy city
Sleepy people
Down in your alleys
Seems that anything goes
Blue films flicker
Hands of a stranger
Getting to know you
And I'm getting to like you

Sleazy city
Seedy films
Breathing so heavy
Next to my neighbour
Let's get acquainted
Getting to know you
Feeling sleazy
In seedy sin city
Feeling sleazy
In seedy sin city

Sleazy city
Sleepy people
Down in your alleys
Seems that anything goes
Blue films flicker
Hands of a stranger
Getting to know you
And I'm getting to like you

Hey isn't that you on the screen
Isn't that you on the screen
(No that's not me)

Getting to know you
Getting to like you
etc...

04   Youth (03:15)

Youth has gone
I heard you say
It doesn't matter
Anyway
Don't hide the photos
Or turn off the lights
I'm quite sure we've both seen
Funnier sights

You
Sleep in a deep deep sleep
Beauty is skin deep

Youth has gone
Though we're still young
It's hard I know to believe
That I was somebody's son
The memories
Of what you once were
The memories of what
We both were

You
Sleep in a deep deep sleep
Beauty is skin deep

Youth has gone
And don't think I don't cry
We let ourselves slip
And now
I ask myself why
I'm on my own
And don't think I really mind
When after all
The years have been fairly kind

You
Sleep in a deep deep sleep
Beauty is skin deep
Sleep in a deep deep sleep
Beauty is skin deep

Youth...Youth...Youth...Sleep

05   Sex Dwarf (05:12)

Isn't it nice, sugar and spice
Luring disco dollies to a life of vice
I can make a film and make you my star
You'll be a natural the way you are
I would like you on a long black leash
I will parade you down the high streets
You've got the attraction
You've got the pulling power
Walk my doggie, walk my little sex dwarf
We can make a scene we'll be a team
Making the headlines sounds like a dream
When we hit the floor you just watch them move aside
We will take them for a ride of rides
They all love your miniature ways
You know what they say about small boys

Sex dwarf...

I'm in a Rolls Royce, look its so huge!
It's big and it's gold
With my dumb chauffer
Looking to procure, run little doggie
Lure a disco dolly
Run my little sex dwarf, I feel so lonely
Get my little camera, take a pretty picture
Sex dwarf, in a gold Rolls, making it with the dumb chauffer

Isn't it nice, sugar and spice
Luring disco dollies to a life of vice
Sex dwarf
Isn't it nice
Luring disco dollies to a life of vice

Sex dwarf...

We can make an outfit for my little sex dwarf
To match the gold Rolls on my dumb chauffer
We'll all look so good, we'll knock 'em cold
Knocking 'em cold in black and gold
We can have playtime in my little playroom
Disco dollies, my sex dwarf and my dumb chauffer
I would like you on a long black leash
You can bring me all the things I need

Sex dwarf
Isn't it nice
Luring disco dollies to a life of vice
Sex dwarf
Isn't it nice
Luring disco dollies to a life of vice

Sex dwarf...

Sex dwarf
Isn't it nice
Luring disco dollies to a life of vice
Sex dwarf
Isn't it nice
Luring disco dollies to a life of vice

06   Entertain Me (03:34)

Trying to please
All these people around me
Is trying to reach for the moon
(The Moon)
I see their faces looking so empty saying
I hope that they'll finish soon
(So Soon)
Could be a chat show
(Yap Yap Yap)
Could be a go go
Reaction would be the same
(The Same)
So here I go
Though why I don't know
Trying to prove myself again

Entertain me
I'm as blank as can be
And I've seen it before
And I've done it before
And I think that I like it
But no I don't like it
It just goes on over and over
And over and over and over again

I try to give them all of my best
And it's taking a turn for the worst
(Oh No)
Things going wrong
Start to sing the wrong song
I think that we must be cursed
(You Betcha)
Playing the wrong tune
Hitting the wrong note
This is where my nerves become frayed
It's falling apart
Why did we ever start
And do you think we'll be paid
(No No)

Entertain me
I'm as blank as can be
And I've seen it before
And I've done it before
And I think that I like it
But no I don't like it
It just goes on over and over
And over and over and over again

Over and over again
Build 'em up, knock 'em down (x5)

I see a movement
Down in the front row
Maybe it's just a mistake
She's smiling at me
(Hello)
But he's frowning at me
(Goodbye)
Which conclusion
Do I make
Fold all your arms
And look straight ahead
At this puppet on a string
You're feeling confused
But you've made a decision
You don't like anything

Entertain me
I'm as blank as can be
And I've seen it before
And I've done it before
And I think that I like it
But no I don't like it
It just goes on over and over
And over and over and over again

Build 'em up, knock em down (x4)

Entertain me
I'm as blank as can be
And I've seen it before
And I've done it before
And I think that I like it
But no I don't like it
It just goes on over and over
And over and over and over again

07   Chips On My Shoulder (04:06)

Chips on my shoulder
More as I grow older
Feel I owe a debt
For the things I don't get
I only miss out
(Well I was there before)
I sit in a corner
Sit on the floor

Chorus:
Misery
Complaints
Self Pity
Injustice
Chips on my shoulder

There's no time for fun time
It's sit and complain time
I'll talk about famine
While cooking the dinner
Don't you feel guilty
Don't you feel pity (No)

While my head gets fatter
And the starving get thinner

Chorus

I should have told her
I've chips on my shoulder
I'm making a stand
While I sit on my arse
Fish and chip supper
While those in the gutter
Can't have a good time
Fun's just a farse

Misery
Complaints
Self Pity
Injustice
Chips on my shoulder
Chips on my shoulder

Now sing it

08   Bedsitter (03:35)

Sunday morning going slow
I'm talking to the radio
Clothes and records on the floor
The memories of the night before
Out in club land having fun
And now I'm hiding from the sun
Waiting for a visitor
Though no-one knows I'm here for sure

Dancing laughing
Drinking loving
And now I'm all alone
In bedsit land
My only home

I think it's time to cook a meal
To fill the emptiness I feel
Spend my money going out
I've nothing in I'm left without
Clean my teeth and comb my hair
And look for something new to wear
And start the night life over again
Kid myself I'm having fun

I look out from my window view
There's really nothing else to do
Read a book maybe write a letter
Mother, things are getting better
Watch the mirror count the lines
The battle scars of all the good times
Look around and I can see
A thousand people just like me

Dancing laughing
Drinking loving
And now I'm all alone
In bedsit land
My only home
(x2)

Dancing, laughing, drinking, loving

I'm waiting for something
I'm only passing time

09   Secret Life (03:38)

In your little black book
You've got the names
And the favourite persuasions
Of the people in the headlines
I'm in there under A
And I'm rated under B
You've got photographs to prove it
And I swear to God it's not me
You've got a hard heart
Being hard is your art
You think love is a dirty dirty word
You pick up the phone
And you ring me when I'm at home
And then you put it down
And I'm reaching for my valium

My secret life
Living life
On a knife edge of life
Tell my wife
And she's just had a breakdown
And I
I'm not rich
But you know I'm top in my pitch
And you'll ruin the lot
Finish everything I've got
My secret life
Secret life

I'll give you anything
Anything to shut you up
Why do you hate me so much
What have I ever done to you
But leave you

I don't want to play
Cat and Mouse
Have the neighbours looking over At my house
All the secret smiles
When I walk in the room
And I think I'm going to
Crack up soon
I'm going to run away
Find a place in the dark
Where I don't have to hear
The nasty nasty talk

Change my sex
Change my hair
Be hard to find anywhere

My secret life
Living life
On a knife edge of life
Tell my wife
And she's just had a breakdown
And I
I'm not rich
But you know I'm top in my pitch
And you'll ruin the lot
Finish everything I've got
My secret life
Secret life

My secret life (x5)

10   Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (05:26)

Standing in the door of the Pink Flamingo, crying in the rain
It was a kind of so-so love and I'm gonna make sure it never happens again
You and I, it had to be the standing joke of the year
You were a sleeparound, a lost-and-found, and not for me I fear

I tried to make it work, you in a cocktail skirt, and me in a suit, well it just wasn't me
You're used to worry-less and now your life's a mess, so insecure you see
I put up with all the scenes and this is one scene thats going to be played my way

Take your hands off me
I don't belong to you, you see
Take a look at my face for the last time
I never knew you, you never knew me
Say hello, goodbye
Say hello, wave goodbye

Under the deep red light, I can see the make-up sliding down
Hey little girl, you will always make-up, so take off that unbecoming frown
What about me? Well, I'll find someone that's not going cheap in the sales
A nice little housewife, who'll give me a steady life and won't keep going off the rails

Take your hands off me
I don't belong to you, you see
Take a look at my face for the last time
I never knew you, you never knew me
Say hello, goodbye
Say hello, wave goodbye

We've been involved for quite a while now, and to keep you a secret, has been hell
We're strangers meeting for the first time, ok? Just smile and say hello...

Say hello, then wave goodbye
Say hello, then wave goodbye
Say hello, then wave goodbye
Say hello, then wave goodbye
Say hello, wave goodbye
Say hello, then wave goodbye
Say hello, say goodbye
Goodbye...

Loading comments  slowly

Other reviews

By Qzerty

 I can even seem to smell coffee....RANDOM.

 This is a great album yes, I have time to realize and collapse again, RANDOM.


By mbattu59

 This opening track alone... is enough to make Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret one of the milestones of electronic/dance music of the '80s.

 For me it’s a small masterpiece, which I recommend everyone to listen to (or re-listen to) and whose relevance... seems to me to be beyond dispute.