Soft Cell – Non-stop Erotic Cabaret – 6xCD Boxset (UK Link)

The final word – a 98-track 6CD super deluxe box set, this ultimate version of the album tells its full story. Containing many rarities previously deleted there is also a staggering 40 tracks previously unreleased.

CD1: ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’. Disc one features the album, newly remastered in 2023 by Barry Grint plus all of its attendant single 7” versions of the A and B sides from the era, including ‘Torch’ and ‘What!’, the band’s first ever Phonogram single ‘A Man Could Get Lost’ / ‘Memorabilia’ (produced by Mute’s Daniel Miller) and contemporary edits of ‘Fun City’ and ‘Persuasion’, only released on 12” at the time.

CD2: ‘Non-Stop Extended Cabaret’ contains the entire album in extended 12” form, made up from Dave Ball’s studio reworkings of the album created only using the original studio parts. These include contemporary full-length versons only previously available on the 2018 ‘Keychains & Snowstorms’ box set, on 2021’s ‘Tainted Love’ anniversary vinyl 10” plus new and unreleased 2023 extendeds of ‘Seedy Films’, ‘Sex Dwarf’, and ‘Entertain Me’. Here, ‘Bedsitter’ is represented in its original 12” extended version as all concerned agreed it just could not be improved upon! Also on CD2 are brand new previously unreleased remixes of ‘Memorabilia’ by The Hacker and Daniel Miller and a new Dave Ball extended of ‘A Man Could Get Lost’.

CD3: ‘Non-Stop Eclectic Cabaret’ is a treasure trove of rarities. Alongside a new 2023 Tainted Love’ rework are BBC session highlights, choice remixes from 2005’s ‘Heat: The Remixes”, including Richard X’s legendary take of ‘Seedy Films’, and a selection of demos, outtakes and audio from BBC TV and radio appearances on The Richard Skinner Show’, ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’, ‘Top Of The Pops / Top Of The Pops 2’ and ‘The Oxford Road Show’.

CD4: ‘Non-Stop Instrumental Cabaret’ presents the album in its full instrumental glory for the first time plus 6 original ‘Non-Stop’ demos, 5 of which are previously unreleased. These demos include an 11th hour archive unearthing of the first version of ‘Sex Dwarf’ set down on tape.

CD5: ‘Non-Stop Original Cabaret’ brings together the original iconic 12” single A and B-sides of 1981 – 1982 ‘Cabaret’-era Soft Cell including ‘Memorabilia’, ‘Tainted Love’, ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’, and the standalone smashes ‘Torch’ and ‘What!’

Finally, CD6: ‘Non-Stop Intimate Cabaret’ includes the album played in full, plus ‘Torch’ and ‘Memorabilia’, live at Soft Cell’s triumphant ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret… And Other Stories’ shows in November 2021 recorded at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo. The disc – and collection – are rounded off with ‘Insecure Me’, ‘What!’ and ‘Tainted Love’ from London’s O2 Arena, recorded in September 2018.

Also included in the beautifully presented package are an extensive essay on the story of the album by Adrian Thrills, including new interviews with Marc and Dave. There are full song lyrics, contemporary photography, album and single sleeve scans and compiler’s credits from Chris Smith.