October 31, 2019
From Soft Cell to Sex Cells - Talking with Marc Almond
Robert Nesti READ TIME: 8 MIN.
There is a symmetry in Marc Almond appearing as part of Sex Cells, the Los Angeles club party that is currently bringing their nights of music, dancing, and debauchery to cities throughout the country this month. The brainchild of art gallery owner and promoter Danny Fuentes, the club night was inspired by Almond's '80s band Soft Cell, specifically, their song "Sex Dwarf," whose sexually charged lyric describes a describes a dominatrix in a Rolls-Royce. Now Almond, who hasn't toured the states in decades, is currently traveling as part of the Sex Cells tour, which takes him to Boston's Paradise on October 31 and New York's Brooklyn Bazaar on November 1.
Sex Cells came to Almond's attention when he was invited to perform at one of their parties earlier this year. "Danny's Sex Cells party was simply out of this world, sensational," said the singer best-known as part of the British pop duo Soft Cell. "It was a great thrill to play in LA to such an amazing, beautiful crowd. Unforgettable and mind-blowing."
Soft Cell is best-known for the hit "Tainted Love," which set a record in 1981 for the longest consecutive stay (43 weeks) on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. For Almond, though, its success was bittersweet: the song was a cover of an obscure pop song, which was paired with a cover of the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go?" on the single, the group didn't receive any authorship royalties after the single went viral. Over his four-decade career, both with Soft Cell and as a solo artist, Almond has sold over 30 million records worldwide. And thoughout, he doesn't like being pigeonholed as a gay artist, saying in his autobiography that such a label "enables people to marginalize your work and reduce its importance, implying that it won't be of any interest to anyone who isn't gay."
Sex Cells began two years ago when Fuentes launched hs party night at the LA club Echoplex. Since then it has become (according to LA Weekly) "a provocative, gender-bending, dress-up parade featuring performance artists, DJs and musical acts, hosted by some of Los Angeles' most flamboyant characters."
In taking the club night on the road, Fuentes and Almond plan on recreating the transgressive energy that defines the LA event. EDGE spoke to Almond about the night, his career and his feelings about contemporary LGBT culture.
Jumped at the chance
EDGE: You are coming to Boston for Halloween as part of the Sex Cells party tour. How did this happen for you?
Marc Almond: I haven't played in America for such a long time. I haven't toured since 1999, and I missed it so much. It just hasn't been possible to do. I was asked to do something a couple of years ago at the Microsoft Center in Los Angeles. It was an '80s thing and I am not overly fond of doing too many of those things, but I really enjoyed it and got a great response for it. Backstage I met Danny Fuentes, who invited me to Los Angeles earlier this year to do a set and it went down really, really well.
So we thought about doing a set of parties and I jumped at the chance because it was a great way for me to get over the U.S. and play to fans. I put together a setlist of songs from Soft Cell, my own songs keeping it to an electro-rock base thing, very much in the vein of Soft Cell. I did an online survey of what songs people wanted to hear and picked my set from that, as well as some of my own choices and some new things. I didn't want to come and just do recent things because I know people want to hear certain songs. That's how it started. I am doing an hour-and-a-half set with stuff that I hope will appeal to U.S. fans.
Edgy, experimental
EDGE: What was your takeaway from performing at Sex Cells?
Marc Almond: I thought they were a lot of fun, edgy, experimental. It was a great party crowd, a great young crowd. A great mix of people. I felt a good vibration from them. And I love all the people Danny works with. I put my set together with Sex Cells in mind. I couldn't bring an orchestra over with me, of course; so I've kept a Soft Cell feel to it, keeping an electro-vibe. Hopefully, it will be a popular set that will fit in with the Halloween night. I really like Danny. He puts up some great events. They're very transgressive and I love that. I hope in my own career I have tried to be a little subversive and transgressive as well.
EDGE: Sex Cells was inspired from one lyric from your song "Sex Dwarf" in which you describe a dominatrix in a Rolls Royce. Just what is it a dominatrix in a Rolls Royce?
Marc Almond: (Laughs) I think it is something that is edgy and transgressive, but classy at the same time. It depends on whether it is a gold Rolls Royce or a pink Rolls Royce or a black Rolls Royce, but I think of it as subverting class.
A case of sink or swim
EDGE: You had a serious motorcycling accident in 2004 and were in a coma for a month. In the aftermath, how did that affect your career and your creativity? Did things change after that?
Marc Almond: It was a pivotal moment in my life. Coming out of it, I felt myself quite lucky, but it was a case of sink and swim. I was determined to swim. I put myself back at on stage and in the studios as soon as possible, probably before I meant to. I was doing interviews on the television and, looking back, I probably shouldn't have done those because I wasn't in a place to do them. I looked in very bad shape. But for me, it helped me get my confidence back. I loved the challenge of that. I was not injured enough to not do that, but it was a very hard 2-3 year struggle. And I am left with the legacy of that today in that I have to use prompters on stage.
I have a lot of different projects and a lot of different songs to learn, so for some things I use prompters because of my head injuries. I have memory problems and problems associated with having head injuries. I work with a head injuries charity over here in England, Headwise, which helps people who have had brain injuries. But I work my way around them and feel that I have never been singing better or performing better than I am in this moment. I feel that I am performing better than the old days. I have a few more aches and pains, but I enjoy performing better and singing better than I used to.
EDGE: There is such a trend for pop artists to do musicals these days. Have you thought of doing one?
Marc Almond: I have been involved in a couple of small operas that have been written for me. I have one coming up in 2021 that is involved with a big theater here in London and in conjunction with an Australian opera house. It is a one-man vehicle but is a big project. I like moving into that area. I like moving into different genres and do more experimental things. Things that take me out of my comfort zone and give me challenges. I think that's good when you are older - to challenge yourself more and more as a musician and an artist. But it is not as if I am going to stop singing 'Tainted Love' and pop music because I love pop music. So no matter what artistic field I move into, I am not going to give up the pop.
Out of context
EDGE: What do you think of the LGBTQ community today?
Marc Almond: I say LGBT, really, I don't say 'Q' because its something I don't apply to myself. There are too many different factions not agreeing with each other and separating themselves into different little sections. I have never really believed in this thing called the gay community because there was a time when if you were very feminine, the very masculine part of the gay community really put you down. And if you were trans, other sections of the gay community laughed at you and put you down. I think that it is still like that. The whole thing of the gay community is a myth. It may be controversial to say that, but there is too much arguing and too much separatism. I think we need to stop all the labeling and accept people as they are. I think people need to stick together, whether they want to call themselves gay or bi, or whatever, and stop putting themselves into different pockets and fighting each other.
EDGE: You will be performing on Halloween. Will you be in costume?
Marc Almond: I don't think I will have a costume. I will leave that to everybody else. I am not going to dress up as a witch or a devil. I will keep the devil in my heart.
Marc Almond performs as part of the Sex Cells tour along with Hercules & Love Affair, and DJ Chris Ewen on October 31 at the Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA. For more information,
For more on Marc Almond and Sex Cells,
For more on Marc Almond,
Watch Marc Almond perform at the 2019 Forever Young Festival in Ireland:
