Soft Cell announce 2021 UK tour dates ahead of first new record in 20 years

Soft Cell have announced their first new album in 20 years, *Happiness Not Included, which is set to be released spring 2022. They have also shared a handful of UK tour dates for this autumn.

The English synth-pop duo first gained attention in the music scene in the 80s with their 1981 debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. Their cover of Gloria Jones' 1965 song 'Tainted Love,' written and produced by Ed Cobb, quickly became a worldwide hit. Since then, their music has won them a BRIT Award and inspired countless artists.

Though frontman Marc Almond and instrumentalist Dave Ball thought the end of Soft Cell would be in 2018, the positive fan response at their "final" show at London's The O2 encouraged them to continue creating music. 

Co-produced with Grammy-winning producer Phillip Larsen, the forthcoming album will be released with BMG and is their first new record since Cruelty Without Beauty in 2002. In the album, Almond explores the feeling of being disappointed in a missed future and disillusionment, among other themes.

"In this album I wanted to look at us as a society: a place where we have chosen to put profits before people, money before morality and decency, food before the rights of animals, fanaticism before fairness and our own trivial comforts before the unspeakable agonies of others," said Almond. "But in the album there is also a belief that there is a utopia if we can peel back the layers and understand what really matters."

Of the album, Dave Ball said, "Recorded remotely during a world pandemic. Science fiction stories for the 21st Century."

Alongside performances of songs from their 1981 debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, tracks from *Happiness Not Included will be previewed at Soft Cell's autumn tour dates. They will perform in Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, and London in mid-November. Tickets will be available on August 6 at 10am here.

*Happiness Not Included is available for pre-order here.