Soft Cell to Release Final Studio LP

Synthpop icons Soft Cell are releasing their sixth and final studio album, Danceteria, on Sept. 25 via the Republic of Music imprint.

Coming out 45 years after the duo’s groundbreaking debut Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, the duo of Marc Almond and the late Dave Ball deliver a collection of songs that take you behind the scenes of the nightlife the duo enjoyed in the earliest of ’80s while recording in New York City.

“Soft Cell have always had a strong connection with New York, and my Soft Cell lyrics often look at America through British eyes,” says Marc. “New York in the 1980s was a particularly creative place for me. It was a pivotal era in terms of changes in my personal life and changes in the city itself. New York shaped Soft Cell, as it opened up a whole new world of possibilities. It was dirty, dark and dangerous — a real Wild West — but it was also deeply inspiring and exciting. A lot of our original influences came from America anyway: New York punk, Devo, Suicide, Lou Reed, disco and 1960s soul. But New York was like nowhere else on earth. There were 24-hour nightclubs, music, art and underground theatre. It offered a cornucopia of energy and edge, and the lyrics on Danceteria reflect that time of my life.”

 

AUDIO: Soft Cell “In Heaven (When I Dance With You)”

The latest single from the album, the infectious, summery “In Heaven (When I Dance With You),” was released this week on all streaming platforms, and gives listeners a keen perception of what to expect from this LP.

“‘In Heaven (When I Dance With You)’ is a celebration of the early ’80s joyful disco scene,” proclaims Almond. “A coming together of the sentiments of the time. I wanted it to be that moment when you run to the dancefloor.”

The release of Danceteria is also bittersweet. as it will be the very last album of new Soft Cell material we will see due to Ball’s passing on Oct. 22, 2025.

“There can be no more recordings of Soft Cell without Dave, it would not be possible,” Almond admits. “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.”

Yet to close out their recording career in homage to where it all began for Soft Cell is a fitting way to cement their legacy in song.

“The time we spent in New York — where we recorded our first three albums — shaped us both as artists and people,” Almond says. “To celebrate this period is a fitting farewell to Dave Ball and the final Soft Cell studio album.”

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.”

The 12-track album is available to pre-order now on vinyl and CD, with the CD expanding to 14 tracks including 2 bonus tracks in the form of “Crackland” and “What Is Your Morality.”

 

Danceteria tracklisting:

Vinyl:

Side A

1) Elusive (Vinyl Edit)

2) Danceteria

3) The Space Inside (Vinyl Edit)

4) Times Square (Vinyl Edit)

5) Two Of A Kind

6) The Rainbow Room (Vinyl Edit)

7) In Heaven (When I Dance With You)

 

Side B

1) Decadence Is Hard Work

2) Losing Yourself

3) After Hours

4) Wave To America

5) Out Come The Freaks

 

CD:

1) Elusive

2) Danceteria

3) The Space Inside

4) Times Square

5) Two Of A Kind

6) The Rainbow Room

7) In Heaven (When I Dance With You)

8) Decadence Is Hard Work

9) Crackland

10) What Is Your Morality

11) Losing Yourself

12) After Hours

13) Wave To America

14) Out Come The Freaks

 

VIDEO: Soft Cell “Danceteria”