''Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret'' is the debut studio album by English
synth-pop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
duo
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their plat ...
, released on 27 November 1981 by
Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records was a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of '' Some Bizzare Album'', a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, the The, Neu E ...
.
The album's critical and commercial success was bolstered by the success of its lead single, a cover version of
Gloria Jones
Gloria Richetta Jones (born October 19, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter who first found success in the United Kingdom, being recognized there as "The Queen of Northern Soul". She recorded the 1965 hit song " Tainted Love" and has w ...
's song "
Tainted Love
"Tainted Love" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of American group the Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964. It attained worldwide fame after being covered and reworked by British synthpop duo Soft Cell in 1 ...
", which topped the charts worldwide and became the best-selling British single of 1981. In the United States—as a result of the single's success, the album had reported advance orders of more than 200,000 copies.
The album spawned two additional top-five singles in the UK: "
Bedsitter
A bedsit, bedsitter, or bed-sitting room is a form of accommodation common in some parts of the United Kingdom which consists of a single room occupancy, single room per occupant with all occupants typically sharing a bathroom. Bedsits are includ ...
" and "
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye".
Recording
The album was created on a limited budget; it was supposedly recorded almost entirely with a
ReVox
ReVox (on-logo styling REVOX) is a brand name, registered by Studer on 27 March 1951 for Swiss audio equipment.
History
The first Studer-designed tape recorders were branded Dynavox. After the first production series of Dynavox recorders, a new ...
tape recorder, a borrowed
Roland
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
drum machine belonging to
Kit Hain
Kit Hain (born 15 December 1956) is a British musician, songwriter and writer. She was a member of the rock duo Marshall Hain and had a solo career as a performer and songwriter.
Musical career
Hain met Julian Marshall while they were pupils ...
, a
Korg
, founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, they ...
SB-100 Synthe Bass, and an
NED Synclavier, belonging to producer
Mike Thorne
Mike Thorne (born 25 January 1948) is an English record producer, arranger, composer, engineer, and musician. He started playing the piano at the age of 10. After studying physics at Hertford College, Oxford, in the late 1960s he worked as a ta ...
.
David Ball noted the Synclavier would ordinarily have been well beyond the band's means, costing £120,000: "That was our technological advantage over the other synth bands at the time. In fact, I remember
Don Was
Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer and record executive. Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was (Not Was). In later years he produced so ...
calling me – desperate to know how we got those sounds." The group caused some controversy in the United Kingdom over the song "Sex Dwarf", the music video of which was banned due to its explicit,
S&M-related content.
Reception
Reviews for the album were mixed. ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' said, "''Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret''... confronts clubland with its patchy past, rubs perspective in its pretty painted face and acts like it means nothing... Aggressively embarrassing, ''Cabaret'' is the brashest, most brilliant and least-caring indictment of pop music's bankruptcy I've ever heard. No compassion, no sorrow, no joy, it just faces facts and moves to the motions... Like traditional cabaret, the whole thing parodies true emotion and like the best subversive cabaret its shallowness makes those devalued emotions even more painful – the very real decadence of this album springs from its callous realisation of pop's impotency, and yet its bored resignation to the ritual." However, ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' found the album's premise was hollow, complaining that "the Soft Cell sex strategy should offer something spicy, rude and even a little wonderful... but Soft Cell are conceptualists who rely on too many preconceptions and play around with too many ideas to convince you of any personal energy or commitment... Soft Cell are very plain fare – unspectacular music and very drab and flat lyrics, wrapped in a hint of special promise which is never realised."
Accolades
''
CMJ New Music Report
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
'' included ''Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret'' on a list of The Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time. American magazine ''
Out'' placed the album at number 66 on their list of The 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums (of All Time). It was also included in Robert Dimery's book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...
''.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret''.
Soft Cell
*
Marc Almond
Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He ...
– vocals
*
David Ball – electronic and acoustic instruments
Additional musicians
*
Vicious Pink Phenomena – backing vocals
*
David Tofani
Dave Tofani is an American saxophonist and woodwind player, and composer. As a session musician he has performed on over 500 jazz, pop, and rock recordings such as the clarinet solo on "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" by Soft Cell.AllMusic Dave Tofani ...
– saxophone ; clarinet
Technical
*
Mike Thorne
Mike Thorne (born 25 January 1948) is an English record producer, arranger, composer, engineer, and musician. He started playing the piano at the age of 10. After studying physics at Hertford College, Oxford, in the late 1960s he worked as a ta ...
– production
* Don Wershba – engineering
*
Paul Hardiman
Paul Hardiman is a British record producer. He worked with Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (on their debut ''Rattlesnakes'') and Lloyd Cole's solo career. His other production credits include Chris de Burgh's most commercially successful albums '' ...
– engineering
* Harvey Goldberg – mixing
* Nicky Kalliongis – engineering assistance
* Andy Hoggman – engineering assistance
* Michael Christopher – engineering assistance
* Jack Skinner – mastering
* Arun Chakraverti – mastering
*
Daniel Miller – production (1996 reissue)
* David Ball – production (1996 reissue)
Artwork
*
Peter Ashworth
Peter Ashworth is an English photographer. Ashworth initially specialized in music photography, between 1979 and 2000. In the 1980s, he worked with many UK artists including The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Soft Cell, Jimmy Page and The A ...
– photography
* Huw Feather – padded cell
* Andrew Prewett – design
* Richard Smith – liner notes (1996 reissue)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Notes
References
{{Authority control
1981 debut albums
Albums produced by Mike Thorne
Mercury Records albums
Sire Records albums
Soft Cell albums
Some Bizzare Records albums
Vertigo Records albums