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Soft Cell Announce Final Album ‘Danceteria’ with Disco-Ready Title Track

Synth-pop pioneers Soft Cell have officially announced the release of their final studio album, Danceteria, set to arrive on September 25. The project serves as a poignant farewell, arriving as a posthumous release following the passing of instrumentalist Dave Ball last year at the age of 66.

The announcement is accompanied by the release of the album’s title track, a disco-infused anthem that captures the band’s signature electronic flair. Fans can listen to the new single below.

Soft Cell
Dave Bell and Marc Almond of Soft Cell CREDIT: Mike Owen

The duo, consisting of vocalist Marc Almond and the late Dave Ball, rose to international prominence in the early 1980s with their seminal debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, and their definitive cover of Gloria Jones’ ‘Tainted Love’. Danceteria marks their seventh studio effort and their third since their 2022 reunion, which saw the release of Happiness Not Included.

Reflecting on the record, Almond shared a heartfelt statement: “Danceteria is a love letter to New York in the early ’80s. The time we spent in New York — where we recorded our first three albums — shaped us both as artists and people. To celebrate this period is a fitting farewell to Dave Ball and the final Soft Cell studio album.”

Regarding the future of the project, Almond was clear about the impossibility of continuing without his long-time collaborator. “There can be no more recordings of Soft Cell without Dave, it would not be possible,” he stated. “The sad reality is that Dave Ball was half of Soft Cell, and live work aside, I can’t write Soft Cell songs without him.”

The ‘Danceteria’ Tracklist

The upcoming album features a collection of tracks that lean into the band’s storied history:

  • ‘Elusive’
  • ‘Danceteria’
  • ‘The Space Inside’
  • ‘Times Square’
  • ‘Two Of A Kind’
  • ‘The Rainbow Room’
  • ‘In Heaven (When I Dance With You)’
  • ‘Decadence Is Hard Work’
  • ‘Crackland’
  • ‘What Is Your Morality’
  • ‘Losing Yourself’
  • ‘After Hours’
  • ‘Wave To America’
  • ‘Out Come The Freaks’

Last November, insights from an interview conducted before Ball’s passing revealed that the creative direction for Danceteria was heavily influenced by the surreal experiences Ball encountered during his final months of hospitalization.