Soft Cell have announced that they will reunite for one final show. Marc Almond and Dave Ball will perform at the O2 in London on 30 September, their first UK concert in 15 years.
Almond commented: “With Soft Cell I always felt something was unfinished. This last ever final show will be the best ever ending. It will be a real statement and sendoff, and thank you to every fan.”
The show is billed as Say Hello, Wave Goodbye in tribute to one of the band’s best known songs. It was the third single from the duo’s 1981 debut album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, acknowledged as a touchstone of the British synth-pop scene that would define the 1980s.
Unlike their more coy peers, however, Almond and Ball were credited with – and disparaged for – introducing sleaze into the mainstream, singing about pornography, S&M and nihilism several years before acts such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood would bring similar matters into the Top 40. These themes reflected the band’s own lifestyle: after the release of their debut, they entered a period of dissolution, and managed two more albums before splitting in 1984.
Following the breakup, Almond pursued a successful solo career, while Ball worked mostly as a producer. The pair remained in touch, and reunited for the first time for a 2001 tour and a new album, 2002’s Cruelty Without Beauty.
Soft Cell’s announcement follows a recent wave of venerable musicians announcing their retirement from performing. Paul Simon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin, Slayer and Anita Baker will all give their final concerts this year.
Tickets for Soft Cell’s final show at the O2, London, are on sale from 23 February.
