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Thursday, April 19, 2018

Soft Cell's much anticipated boxset Keychains & Snowstorms - The Soft Cell Story released on 7th Sept. The ten-disc (9CD + 1DVD) set available pre-order now. Misery. Complaints. Self Pity. Injustice. @soft_cell @softcellhq @MarcAlmond @dbelectrode

Well, there goes another 70 quid of my hard earned cash on another 1980s fav. Can't wait!

Misery
Complaints
Self Pity
Injustice.

This comprehensive 10 disc – 9CDs and 1 DVD – box set tells the definitive story of one of electronic music's most thrilling and pioneering acts, Marc Almond and Dave Ball, better known as Soft Cell. With over 50% previously unreleased music, 'Keychains & Snowstorms' is a genuine treasure trove of art-school experimentation, huge pop hits, ground-breaking club tracks and piercing introspection straight out of bedsit land.

CD1 features remastered versions of the band's legendary early-'80s 12" single A-sides, with 'Numbers' and 'Soul Inside' being very slightly edited in order to fit onto the disc, CD2 contains all the full-length B-sides, also remastered, and CD3 includes brand new versions and extended versions of key Soft Cell fan favourites. The extended versions feature only original parts from the multitrack masters, while the new versions have been created especially by Dave Ball, who has finally created the definitive mix of 'Say Hello Wave Goodbye' that he always imagined, as well as new takes on some of his favourite album tracks and B sides. These new versions are more than fit to take their place among the existing greats.

CD4 includes a mixture of unreleased and less widely available material, as well as demos from the 1980-1984 period, rare international radio-only edits, and the fabled unreleased 12” mix of 'Forever The Same', once mooted to be the third single release from 'The Art Of Falling Apart'. CD5 is made up of music from Soft Cell's earliest years, including one of the first recordings ever made by Dave Ball, plus tracks recorded at the band's first ever gig in December 1979. This disc also includes a remastered version of the debut 'Mutant Moments' EP, plus one of Soft Cell's earliest recordings, previously unreleased and not even available on any bootleg. As well as other early demos, this CD also documents Daniel Miller's work with Soft Cell in 1980 and 1981.

Recently found in Universal Music's vaults, CD6 contains live recordings made by Flood of the US dates from 1983 where the band previewed songs from the then-upcoming 'This Last Night In Sodom' album. Originally slated for a live album release the tapes have been painstakingly mixed and mastered and capture Soft Cell at their live zenith. This show was recorded at The Palace in Los Angeles, with a certain Michael Jackson part of the audience! CD7 features the final section of the Los Angeles show, plus other live highlights, including tracks from Soft Cell's farewell shows at Hammersmith Palais in January 1984. Remaining selections come from the band's reunion tour dates in 2002-3, where producer Ingo Vauk recorded the whole UK tour.

Disc 8 features 'Non-Stop Euphoric Dubbing', a Dave Ball directed 12-suite continuous mix of Soft Cell classics which forms a moody counterpart to the pioneering dub album 1982's 'Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing'. This CD also includes a splatter of remixes, including the first ever remix by Erasure, who have remixed 'Bedsitter'. In addition, The Grid's 1991 remixes of 'Memorabilia' and 'Where The Heart Is' have been reworked to replace Marc's 1991 re-vocalled versions with his original takes.

The ninth and last audio disc CD9 features highlights from the BBC's vaults, including previously unreleased audio of their Whistle Test appearance in 1982. Soft Cell's first recordings since 1983 are also included, with an unreleased extended version of 'Divided Soul,' and the set is completed with Marc and Dave's favourite tracks from 2002's comeback album 'Cruelty Without Beauty'.

Finally, the DVD features the 'Non-Stop Exotic Video Show' plus the official promos for 'Where The Heart Is', 'Numbers', 'Down In The Subway' and 'Monoculture'. There's a host of TV appearances, including The Oxford Road Show, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top Of The Pops, The Tube, The Switch and The 1983 Supersonic Christmas Special plus a previously unreleased gig 'Live At Leeds Amnesia Club' from 28th May, 1981. Finally, there's the 'Young Guns Go For It' BBC documentary.

The box is 10”X10” square with a comprehensive book packed with photos and a new essay by Simon Price.

Released Friday, 7th September 2018 and available for pre-order now.

Format: Soft Cell - Keychains & Snowstorms – The Soft Cell Story - (Super Deluxe Boxset)
Label: Universal Music
Release Date: Friday, 7th September 2018

Disc 1 : The Phonogram 12” Hits 1981-1984

Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go 8.57
Bedsitter 7.52
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye 8.56
Torch 8.29
What 6.10
Where The Heart Is 9.46
Numbers 9.49
Soul Inside 11.12
Down In The Subway 7.50

Disc 2 : The Phonogram B Sides 1981-1984

Tainted Dub/Where Did Our Love Go? 8.51
Facility Girls (12” Version) 7.17
Fun City 7.33
Insecure Me (12” Version) 8.16
So (12” Version) 8.44
It's A Mug's Game (12” Version) 8.11
Barriers (12” Version) 7.10
You Only Live Twice (12” Version) 6.58
Her Imagination 5.20
007 Theme 3.27
Disease & Desire 4.04
Born To Lose 2.55

Disc 3 : New Extended & Reworked Mixes

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Dave Ball Lateral Mix) 7.08
Youth (Dave Ball Wasted On The Young Mix) 5.41
Secret Life (Extended Mix) 5.17
Chips On My Shoulder (Extended Mix) 6.14
Facility Girls (2018 Mix) 7.43
Heat (Alternative Version) 6.04
Kitchen Sink Drama (Extended Mix)
The Art Of Falling Apart (Extended Mix) 8.47
Martin (Hallowe'en Mix) 6.14
Barriers (Dave Ball Broken Down Angels Mix) 7.09
Meet Murder, My Angel (Extended Mix) 6.00
Slave To This (Life Of Existence Mix)

Disc 4 : Rarities, Alternative Versions and Curios

The Girl With The Patent Leather Face (Original Version) 4.57
A Man Could Get Lost (Daniel Miller Vocal Edit)
Memorabilia (Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing Version) 5.21
Forever The Same (Unreleased Extended Version) 10.58
Heat (US 7” Version) 4.01
Loving You, Hating Me (Special USA Mix) 7.45
Martin 10.13
Hendrix Medley (Hey Joe, Purple Haze, Voodoo Chile) 10.22
Numbers (7” DJ Version) 4.26
Down In The Subway (7” Remix Version) 4.21
L'Esqualita (7” Version) 4.22
Soul Inside (Demo) 5.21
So (Dave Ball Demo Outtake) 3.16

Disc 5 : The Early Years 1978-81

Memorabilia (Original Daniel Miller Mix)
Persuasion (Original Daniel Miller Mix)
Metro MRX (Flexipop Version)
A Man Could Get Lost (Daniel Miller Demo)
The Girl With The Patent Leather Face (Demo)
Tainted Love (Demo)
Bedsitter (Demo)
Potential (From Mutant Moments EP)
L.O.V.E Feelings (From Mutant Moments EP)
Metro MRX (From Mutant Moments EP)
Frustration (From Mutant Moments EP)
Red Tape, Sticky Tape (Demo – Previously Unreleased)
Martin (Original 1980 Demo)
Paranoid (Black Sabbath Cover)
Science Fiction Stories (Demo)
Bleak Is My Favourite Cliché (Demo)
Cleaning Fanatic (Demo)
Mix (Demo)
A Man Could Get Lost (Original Version)
Walking Make Up Counter (Live at Leeds Polytechnic, December 1979)
Occupational Hazard (Live at Leeds Polytechnic, December 1979)
Persuasion (Live at Leeds Polytechnic, December 1979)
Dave's Theme (Previously Unreleased Demo)

Disc 6 : In Session / Reunion / Cruelty Without Beauty

Entertain Me (Richard Skinner Radio 1 Session)
Seedy Films (Richard Skinner Radio 1 Session)
Chips On My Shoulder (Richard Skinner BBC Radio 1 Session)
Youth (BBC Whistle Test)
Sex Dwarf (BBC Whistle Test)
Soul Inside (David Jensen BBC Radio 1 Session)
Where Was Your Heart (When You Needed It Most) (David Jensen BBC Radio 1 Session)
God Shaped Hole (Remix)
Divided Soul (Hooker Mix)
Somebody, Somewhere, Sometime
Monoculture – Dave Ball Extended Mix
The Night
Darker Times
Last Chance
Together Alone
Caligula Syndrome
Desperate

Disc 7 : Non-Stop Euphoric Dubbing (Continuous Mix) & Remixes

Barriers (Dave Ball Broken Down Angels Dub)
Numbers (Extended Dub)
Youth (Dave Ball Wasted On The Youth Dub)
Where The Heart Is (Marcus Lancaster Dub)
Seedy Films (Richard X Dub)
L.O.V.E Feelings (Demo)
L'Esqualita (Dub)
Loving You, Hating Me (Dub)
Baby Doll (Dub)
Facility Girls (2018 Mix Dub)
Little Rough Rhinestone (Solvent Dub Mix)
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Dave Ball Lateral Dub)
Bedsitter (Erasure Remix)
Where The Heart Is (The Grid Remix : 2018 Re-Edit)
So (The Grid Remix)

Disc 8 : Live in Los Angeles, 83 Part 1

Mr Self Destruct
Soul Inside
Forever The Same
Insecure Me
L'Esqualita
Loving You, Hating Me
Torch
Youth
Disease & Desire
Where Was Your Heart
Baby Doll
Martin
The Art Of Falling Apart

Disc 9 : Live In Los Angeles, 83 (Part 2) plus other live recordings

Hey Joe/Purple Haze
Memorablilia
Heat
Ghost Rider (with Clint Ruin)
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

Live at Hammersmith Palais, 84 (Fan Recording)
Down In The Subway 4.01
The Best Way To Kill 5.20
Numbers 5.29
It's A Mug's Game 8.12
Frustration

UK Tour, Live in 2003
Tainted Love 3.39
Where Did Our Love Go 5.33
Bedsitter 3.43
Sex Dwarf 6.17
Barriers 5.28
Surrender To A Stranger 4.22

Disc 10 : DVD
Includes the 'Non-Stop Exotic Video Show' plus the official promos for 'Where The Heart Is', 'Numbers', 'Down In The Subway' and 'Monoculture'. There's a host of TV appearances, including The Oxford Road Show, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top Of The Pops, The Tube, The Switch and The 1983 Supersonic Christmas Special plus a previously unreleased gig 'Live At Leeds Amnesia Club' from 28th May, 1981. Finally, there's the 'Young Guns Go For It' BBC documentary.

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