“I don’t like country & western, I don’t like rock music… I don’t like rockabilly! I don’t like much really do I? But what I do like, I love passionately!!”: CHRIS LOWE
‘Cry & Dance’ by A THOUSAND MAD THINGS was undoubtedly the best body of work released in 2025.
The project of William Barradale, his style of dark synthpop explored themes of desire, shame and insecurities through his own personal experiences as a young gay man. With his haunted demeanour, his vocal delivery falls under the spectre of doomed romantics like Billy MacKenzie of ASSOCIATES.
Following a majestic debut headline show at London’s Paper Dress Vintage comes the new EP ‘Hate It’; William Barradale told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “Although all these songs were made at a similar time, EP2 has more energy in its production and tone. I picked the songs I felt had more to say for themselves to go second. ‘Cry & Dance’ was about establishing the project and EP2 feels more expressive and darker in tone. I have a whole concept about what it is to be a flawed person and each song represents a different part of that person (the thoughts, the feelings, the body, the needs etc). I wanted to hold back these songs for EP2 because I wanted to wait until I had some attention to share them. The sound is similar though and it’s a lot of the same synths and production style.”
Photo by Romy Caton-Jones
Still maintaining the sharp modern songwriting of its predecessor which eschews the longer intros and fades of Synth Britannia, the ‘Hate It’ EP begins with haunting gothic swing of ‘Promises’. Mournfully reflecting that “I’d never break the promises I chose to make that night”, it catches the bouncy rhythmic snap of THE CURE during their fantasy phase to exude an artful pop demeanour.
A cousin to ‘Wide Awake’ from ‘Cry & Dance’ in its literal cry, the hypnotic technopop of ‘Remorse’ asks the question “what did I do to hurt you?”. In a sign of the times, ‘Truth You Seek’ exudes a frustrated intensity that “this is my final vow”; built on a colder cacophony of synths, the engine room acts as the backbone to the seedier uncertain aspects of romantic yearning expressed in Barradale’s theatrical vocals.
The sombre bass driven drama of ‘Empty Part of Me’ sees Barradale note “how can you not hate the way they stare at you and me?” while displaying his lower and higher vocal registers before the ‘Hate It’ title song closes the EP with some dark disco dancing; singing of “ugly sin”, there are elements of SUICIDE as there was on ‘Girl’ on ‘Cry & Dance’ while there is also a Cold War drama lurking over proceedings.
Less immediate than ‘Cry & Dance’, the glorious darker overtones of ‘Hate It’ dig deeper and show that the debut was not a fluke. With yet-to-be released songs such as ‘Loving Was Easier’ and ‘Cracked Mirror’ outlining that there is more to come, A THOUSAND MAD THINGS is now the great hope for dark British synthpop. With promising acts like MIRRORS and EAST INDIA YOUTH unable to sustain their initial creative momentum, William Barradale is here to fill that void with his honest soulful celebration of all aspects of the human condition and chooses to be the better man!
When SIMPLE MINDS released the documentary ‘Everything Is Possible’ in 2023, it was an enjoyable 90 minutes that offered the historical perspective of front man Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill.
But it was notable for downplaying the roles of three former members Brian McGee (drums), Mick MacNeil (keyboards) and Derek Forbes (bass) who had been involved in the first four SIMPLE MINDS albums ‘Life In A Day’, ‘Reel To Real Cacophony’, ‘Empires & Dance’ and ‘Sons & Fascination / Sister Feelings Call’.
However the joint Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill memoir ‘Our Secrets Are The Same’ published in 2025 went further and laid claim to the pair writing most of the songs and that some band members were lucky to even get a cut of the publishing at all! But as Brian McGee declares: “whoever’s in the room writes the song, whoever starts from the beginning to the end of the song, records it, plays it, is part of the team, should be credited equally!”. Certainly in the way SIMPLE MINDS worked back then, music would be jammed and then structured as instrumentals before Kerr added words and vocals.
With a desire to speak their truth, reflect on the good times and give fans a special view on the conflicts at play, ‘There Are Two Truths’ is an independent documentary series exploring contested narratives. The first episode re-examines the history, conflicts and creative legacy of SIMPLE MINDS by those who were there.
As well as Brian McGee, Mick MacNeil and Derek Forbes, presenter and SIMPLE MINDS fan Ben Barclay also speaks to SIMPLE MINDS’ first manager Bruce Finlay, lawyer Robert White, former drummers Mike Olgletree and Mel Gaynor, original second guitarist Duncan Barnwell and The Blitz Club DJ Rusty Egan. He is not afraid to ask difficult questions about the decision making process within the band, particularly those associated with Jim Kerr who comes over as astute but having an agenda from the start.
Subtitled ‘Our Shares Are Not the Same’, the hour long exploration of authorship, credit and fairness does not pull any punches. From the moment that SIMPLE MINDS signed to Arista Records and released their debut album ‘Life In A Day’, there was contention. Songs were credited as being written by “Kerr / Burchill” but as Mick McNeil says: “It would be naïve to deny that the keyboard parts didn’t make that a pop song, it wasn’t the guitar… the contribution to the commercial aspect of ‘Chelsea Girl’ and even the track ‘Life In A Day’, I think they’re massively influenced by the keyboard parts that scream out commerciality…”! As Forbes adds rhetorically: “Did Charlie put in that keyboard part on ‘Chelsea Girl’? I mean that’s f*cking boll*cks innit?”
Lyric writing is often publically misinterpreted as “songwriting” with credit bias towards words. But as Elvis Costello recently said to MOJO about ‘Shipbuilding’ which he co-wrote with producer Clive Langer: “I get more credit for that song than I deserve because if it wasn’t for Clive’s melody, I wouldn’t have had anything to hang the story on.”
For the second album ‘Reel To Real Cacophony’ and beyond, the arrangement was changed to the songwriting credits being split equally between all five members of the band… or was it? The documentary reveals through past contractual paperwork that Jim Kerr was bagging 50% of the publishing as lyricist, even on the record’s three instrumentals! This was similar to the stunt that Ralf Hütter pulled on the KRAFTWERK tracks ‘Spacelab’ and ‘Metropolis’ from ‘The Man Machine’ by repeating the one word titles as vocals and claiming they were lyrics, thus diminishing Karl Bartos’ share! So that meant Burchill, MacNeil, Forbes and McGee were only getting 12.5%! However, as the albums including the follow-up sold poorly, the issue fell under the radar while the band signed to Virgin Records to achieve a breakthrough with the ‘Sons & Fascination / Sister Feelings Call’ double opus.
But McGee would leave in 1981, and then Forbes would be fired from SIMPLE MINDS with his contributions to 1985’s massive selling ‘Once Upon A Time’ being written out of the eventual publishing. MacNeil would leave in 1989 and over the following years, it was discovered that the retrospective share agreement percentages of Forbes and McGee were reduced even further form the original 12.5% while MacNeil’s went up to 20%. On that pre-1982 section of the back catalogue, Kerr and Burchill have evened up and are now on 30% each.
This documentary is made with a much lower budget so has nothing like the production values and locations seen in ‘Everything Is Possible’. But it is the content that matters although the AI generated moving images, particularly of past decades, may not be to everyone’s taste. Certainly ‘There Are Two Truths’ is eye opening and prompts more questions rather than making conclusions. While the angle is naturally based towards MacNeil, Forbes and McGee who have since reunited as THE MINDS, their points are backed by documentation and perspective. As Barclay closes his commentary, he remarks “Make of that as you will” and ultimately it is up to individual SIMPLE MINDS fans to decide what has gone on.
Just about every act be it KRAFTWERK, JAPAN, VISAGE, SPANDAU BALLET, THE SMITHS and many others have fallen foul on the issue of publishing. But it’s no coincidence that acts like U2, DURAN DURAN and COLDLAY have maintained harmony by agreeing to split everything equally from the start before they hit the big time. As the journalist and author Hunter S Thompson was once quoted as saying: “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”
With a future episode on ‘Arrivals & Departures’ on the way, ‘There Are Two Truths’ will not only appeal to long standing SIMPLE MINDS but anyone remotely interested in the often-unseen dynamics and perils of being in a band.
‘There Are Two Truths’ is available to view on YouTube
Collaboration is at the heart of both; NINA’s most recent releases were with Ricky Wilde and Kid Moxie while as RADIO WOLF, Oliver Blair’s portfolio includes work with Sarah Blackwood, Kelli Ali and a then-unknown Jorja Chalmers when they were members of the new wave trio HOTEL MOTEL.
Created, recorded, produced and mixed in a custom-built home studio in Berlin, NINA and RADIO WOLF aim to convey the darker aspects of romance on the first volume of their ‘Jukebox Dream’ double album. Opener ‘Don’t Trust The Night’ perhaps does too much stopping and starting to achieve momentum but the couple’s fiery first single ‘My Dark’ is a revelatory anti-love song about the dark side of relationships; NINA unveils her inner femme-fatale and on this enjoyable track is more provocative than she has ever been.
Mixing elements of THE CURE and COCTEAU TWINS, NINA’s voice is as exquisite as ever on ‘To See You’ but with all the ruggedness, listener can’t help but wonder what the finished article might have sounded like produced by Ricky Wilde. Another case in point is ‘The Ghosts Of Prom Night’ which could be a glorious synthwave power ballad but instead is realised musically as an overdriven indie number.
There’s a shady swung ‘Twin Peaks’ mood to ‘Galaxy Eyes’ while tape dragged synths and sparring guitar take ‘Cosmic Highway’ into hazier dreampop territory. Lo-fi indie aesthetics act as the backbone of ‘Lost In This Forever’ which comes over like NINA being backed by THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN. But following NINA and RADIO WOLF into a ‘Jukebox Dream’, this progressive title set piece gets lost in its wall of sound with the night vision goggles not providing any further clarity.
The darker moonlight escapades ‘Jukebox Dream Vol1’ add another string to NINA’s bow but whether the fans of “The Queen Of Synthwave” will embrace this alternative persona remains to be seen. With Vol1 offering a glimpse into this other world, it will be interesting to see where the nocturnal atmospheres stretch to on Vol2 which is expected to contain two previous singles ‘Tokyo Cowboy’ and ‘Bluesbreaker’.
Without doubt, Vince Clarke is a supreme pop genius with a run of hits that began in 1981 with DEPECHE MODE and continued with YAZOO, THE ASSEMBLY and ERASURE.
There have also been collaborations with Jean-Michel Jarre, Paul Hartnoll, Martyn Ware, Ana Brun and the late Robert Marlow as well as numerous remixes. 26 have been chosen by Vince Clarke himself on this new Cherry Red collection ‘Remix / Remodel’ with many of the tracks never having been released on a physical product before.
While Clarke’s programmed synthesized melodies and counter-melodies are desired textures in pop, what he is first and foremost is a songwriter. So with that in mind, this collection of remixes for other artists has many variables with the end result dependent on time, budget, connections and reciprocal arrangements.
These Vince Clarke remixes successfully work in some unexpected quarters; Johnny Marr’s ‘Spirit Power & Soul’ is superb and somehow, Clarke has turned THE SMITHS guitarist into classic DEPECHE MODE. And speaking of his former band, Clarke’s Extended Vocal take on ‘Behind The Wheel’ is darkly hypnotic but it doesn’t come close to the totally brilliant Shep Pettibone single remix which came out in its own right in 1988 and surpassed the underwhelming ‘Music For The Masses’ album version.
From 1988, the Vince Clarke remix of HAPPY MONDAYS’ ‘WFL Wrote For Luck’ was considered incongruous back in the day but this indie dance hybrid still packs a punch under the strobe lights. FRANZ FERDINAND’s ‘No You Girls’ gets an enjoyable electro-disco makeover while the SAINT ETIENNE instrumental ‘Blue Kite’ is given more form under the watch of Clarke who uses THE GRID’s ‘Floatation’ as his blueprint. With WARRINGTON-RUNCORN NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENT PLAN’s ‘A Shared Sense Of Purpose’ getting its hauntology backdrop percussively industrialised, the hypnotic ‘Faito’ by Clarke’s own VeryRecords signings ALKA benefits from the interventions of the boss which come over very Jean-Michel Jarre.
However, the understated ballad ‘Almost’ by OMD, which is said to be the song turned Clarke onto the synthesizer, does not benefit from his busier interventions which have been retrospectively added 40 years after the song was recorded. Similarly, the treatment of SOFT CELL’s ‘Bedsitter’ under the ERASURE banner does not work either but perhaps the original version is just too known for any remix to stand a chance. For that reason, one would expect his remix of Andy Bell’s ‘Dance For Mercy’ to possess the bounce of ERASURE but it ends up being a rather ploddy guitar-based number!
Girl group THE SATURDAYS were at one point virtually glued to the hips of Vince Clarke, what with their ‘Situation’ sampling debut single ‘If This Is Love’ in 2008 and a cover of ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ in 2009. In between was Clarke’s remix of their third single ‘Issues’ but it chugs away without any real consequence, as does ‘I Wanna Get Better’ by BLEACHERS aka Vince Clarke fan and Taylor Swift producer Jack Antonoff.
In a collection that is more miss than hit, what is missing? ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK would have included Clarke’s remixes of ‘Other Too Endless’ for Polly Scattergood, SPARKS ‘When Do I Get To Sing My Way?’, Alison Moyet’s cover of ‘Whispering Your Name’, Robert Görl’s ‘Part 1’ and NITZER EBB’s ‘Ascend’ while preferring ‘Before’ by VeryRecords signings Reed & Caroline over the included ‘Electrons’. There are some excellent reworkings on this collection but ‘Remix / Remodel – The Vince Clarke Remixes’ is ultimately for completists only.
The late Dave Ball began his adventure in music with a Fender Telecaster guitar, twin stylus Stylophone and second hand Akai reel-to-reel tape recorder but when he purchased a MiniKorg 800DV duophonic synthesizer, he never looked back.
Enrolling on a Fine Art degree at Leeds Polytechnic, on his first day he asked for directions from a second year student wearing a leopard skin printed shirt and gold lame jeans; that student was Marc Almond and the pair were to make history as SOFT CELL…
Managed by Stevo Pearce who had included them on his ‘Some Bizzare Album’ released at the start of 1981, he secured a deal for SOFT CELL with Phonogram Records; one of the first recordings for the label was ‘Memorabilia’ which was produced by Daniel Miller and would go on to become a cult club favourite. The rise of SOFT CELL to have the second biggest UK selling single of 1981 with a cover of the Northern Soul favourite ‘Tainted Love’ is more than well documented and led to an imperial phase with ‘Bedsitter’, ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’, ‘Torch’ and ‘What’ all becoming UK Top4 singles in little more than 12 months.
The debut SOFT CELL album ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ produced by Mike Thorne was a triumph, but while it was the state-of-the-art NED Synclavier that dominated the aural template with the Roland TR808 providing the rhythmic backbone, it was Ball’s much more basic Roland Synthe-Bass SB100 which provided the record with a very distinct sound.
But Ball and Almond were art school boys and expressed their discomfort with being pop stars and tabloid fodder. Inevitably, the next two albums ‘The Art Of Falling Apart’ and ‘This Last Night In Sodom’ captured that implosion while Ball recorded a solo album ‘In Strict Tempo’ in between. Although SOFT CELL disbanded in 1984 with Almond going solo and Ball eventually finding solace in the burgeoning house scene, side projects had been part of SOFT CELL’s agenda from the start.
Photo by Roger Kamp
After various productions, guest appearances and aborted projects, Ball formed THE GRID with Richard Norris in 1988. While he also collaborated with Genesis P-Orridge for the ‘DECODER’ soundtrack, there was a reunion with Almond on his 1991 album ‘Tenement Symphony’ to co-write three of the album’s best songs ‘Meet Me In My Dream’, ‘I’ve Never Seen Your Face’ and ‘My Hand Over My Heart’, planting seeds for an eventual first reunion.
THE GRID became in-demand remixers and collaborators with remixes for PET SHOP BOYS, ERASURE and SPARKS as well as productions for Vic Reeves, Kylie Minogue and Billie Ray Martin. Further remixes would be commissioned for David Bowie, David Sylvian & Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, Neil Arthur, Boy George and Sophie B Hawkins while THE GRID themselves would have their day in the UK Top3 with ‘Swamp Thing’ in 1994.
Photo by Roger Kamp
SOFT CELL officially got back together for 2002’s ‘Cruelty Without Beauty’ album but despite successfully playing festivals in Europe, an American tour did not go so well. There had been plans to do more shows and another record, but Almond had a motorcycle accident in 2004 which left him with very serious injuries.
The pair lost touch and didn’t speak for about 15 years… but the legacy of SOFT CELL kept looming and a reunion could not be resisted; a show at London’s O2 Arena took place in 2018 and if that announcement was not enough of a surprise, then a new single ‘Northern Lights’ with the B-side ‘Guilty (Cos I Say You Are’ was the cherry on top. The A-side saw Almond and Ball reminisce about their days at the Wigan Casino and recaptured the essence of their unique brand of electronic pop.
While the O2 show was billed as being “One Night, One Final Time”, the chemistry between Ball and Almond was rekindled, leading to further shows and an album ‘*Happiness Not Included’ as well as a bonus collection of outtakes and covers ‘*Happiness Now Completed’.
But Ball’s health began to take its toll and he was unable to perform at SOFT CELL shows from 2022 until he returned in Summer 2023 for a show at Hampton Court Palace, performing in a motorised wheelchair; he had joked to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “Once I’m on stage and I’m locked in, so long as I don’t start wheeling backwards, I’ll be fine!”
With the final SOFT CELL album ‘Danceteria’ recorded before his death in October 2025 and set to be released via Republic of Music on 25th September 2026, the legacy of Dave Ball continues with a reissue of ‘In Strict Tempo’ also on the cards.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK looks back at 25 of his works with a restriction of one track per “album project”; there are some omissions but the aim of this Beginner’s Guide is to not make the article too SOFT CELL heavy and show the artistic breadth of the Electronic Boy that was Dave Ball.
SOFT CELL Frustration (1980)
Dave Ball borrowed money from his mother to fund the first SOFT CELL EP ‘Mutant Moments’. Although it was to become a ‘Non Stop Erotic Cabaret’ highlight, the original version of ‘Frustration’ was recorded on 2 track and akin to the unsettling demeanour of THROBBING GRISTLE. The lyrics were mostly written by Ball about his own father and at the end, he took a creepy vocal turn to announce “I’M AN ORDINARY BLOKE”!
SOFT CELL’s fine debut album was finished and mixed in the more liberal setting of New York. It captured the edginess of minimal synth arrangements while married to an actual tune, as opposed to the monotone dirges of their more unorthodox contemporaries. With a magnificent arrangement by Ball that allowed Almond to indulge in his Scott Walker aspirations, ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’ is possibly SOFT CELL’s crowning achievement.
Josephine Warden and Brian Moss as VICIOUS PINK PHENOMENA were backing singers for SOFT CELL and featured prominently on ‘Non Stop Erotic Cabaret’. Ball produced their metronomic debut single ‘My Private Tokyo’ which played with many of the Far Eastern lyrical clichés of the time. The duo would shorten their name and go on to release their best single ‘Cccan’t You See’ produced by Tony Mansfield of NEW MUZIK in 1984.
Available on the VICIOUS PINK album ‘West View’ via Minimal Wave
A favourite SOFT CELL track of Dave Ball, ‘Baby Doll’ was a grim observation in the life of a stripper. With gothic choir samples and foreboding rhythms, the grittier art school aesthetic was coming into play after a period of pop stardom that did not suit Ball and particularly Almond. There was no option but for the duo to hit self-destruct as they fought with producer Mike Thorne who was now being viewed as a controller and spy for Phonogram.
With keyboards and rhythm assistance by Dave Ball, this signature CABARET VOLTAIRE track came from ‘The Crackdown’, Stephen Mallinder and Richard H Kirk’s first full-length album since the departure of Chris Watson. Issued through Some Bizzare and Virgin, it was produced by the duo and Flood where the Cabs’ earlier experimental sound was applied to accessible electronic club templates, combining funk with menace.
Available on the CABARET VOLTAIRE album ‘The Crackdown’ via Mute Artists
DAVE BALL featuring GAVIN FRIDAY Strict Tempo (1983)
Described by the man himself as “ill-conceived”, Dave Ball’s only solo album ‘In Strict Tempo’ featured Genesis P Orridge of THROBBING GRISTLE as well as his own while Gary Barnacle played sax and Virginia Astley played flute. But the album’s snarling percussive standout was the “title song” featuring Gavin Friday from VIRGIN PRUNES. Ball would go on to produce the final VIRGIN PRUNES album ‘The Moon Looked Down & Laughed’.
Originally on the DAVE BALL album ‘In Strict Tempo’ via Some Bizzare, currently unavailable
If ‘The Art Of Falling Apart’ was SOFT CELL’s difficult second long player, ‘This Last Night In Sodom’ was an even more challenging proposition. Despite having bought a PPG Wave 2.2, Ball applied a lot more Hammond B3 organ to add a more raucous rock edge to the SOFT CELL sound, particularly on the Jack Hammer cover ‘Down In The Subway’ and the self-explanatory ‘Mr Self Destruct’ which highlighted Marc Almond’s state of mind at the time.
‘Have A Nice Day’ was a curio in the industrial pop vein that saw Dave Ball work with his then-wife Gini on vocals repeating the title. The metallic electronic backdrop was offset by Andy Astle on guitar as the bassline chugged and claustrophobic voice samples lingered. Released on Arcadia Records who also issued the PSYCHIC TV cassette ‘Mouth Of The Night’ in 1985, this single was to be a one-off for OTHER PEOPLE.
Originally released as the single OTHER PEOPLE ‘Have A Nice Day’ via Arcadia Records, currently unavailable
Subtitled the “Ravemaster Mixes”, ‘Beyond Thee Infinite Beat’ was a remix companion piece to the PSYCHIC TV album ‘Towards Thee Infinite Beat’ which saw Genesis P-Orridge explicitly explore the squelchy minimalism of acid house with “A Supply Of Two Tablets Of Acid” post-THROBBING GRISTLE. Dave Ball’s incessant remix of ‘Money For E…’ made the bassline beefier while adding icier synth lines for full spacey effect.
“I was pleased when it was recognised as an Ibiza chill out classic” said Dave Ball said to ELECTICITYCLUB.CO.UK of ‘Floatation’ in 2016. The idea was for a slower record to play on a beach in the open air like the closing theme of a film. Taking cues from John Barry, while the original album mix sounded KRAFTWERK, the more familiar Andrew Weatherall remix took out the rigidity and added vocals from Sasha for some simmering relaxation.
While Marc Almond’s ‘Tenement Symphony’ album is best remembered for Trevor Horn produced covers ‘Jacky’ and ‘The Days Of Pearly Spencer’, it also hosted his first creative reunion with Dave Ball. Both co-writing with Richard Norris, ‘Meet Me In My Dream’ was a classic SOFT CELL song in all but name, complete with soprano sax solo, it was a reminder of the undeniable magic that Ball and Almond together possessed.
‘DJ Culture’ was a MASSIVE ATTACK influenced single by PET SHOP BOYS in a statement as a statement on the first Gulf War reflecting on how US George HW Bush’s speeches utilised Winston Churchill’s wartime rhetoric in a manner similar to DJs sampling. . For a separately released remix by THE GRID, Ball and Norris added more Latin style percussion to the BROTHERS IN RHYTHM produced track while keeping the song itself intact.
Originally released on the PET SHOP BOYS single ‘DJ Culturemix’ via Parlophone, currently unavailable
Comedian Vic Reeves had a No1 single with a cover of ‘Dizzy’ with THE WONDER STUFF while the parent album ‘I Will Cure You’ also included a synthy version of DEEP PURPLE’s ‘Black Night’ produced by Philip Oakey. To close it, Dave Ball and Richard Norris were brought in produce a raved-up version of the FA Cup Final hymn and funeral standard ‘Abide With Me’. The joke was lost on the church who tried to get the BBC to ban it.
Available on the VIC REEVES album ‘I Will Cure You’ via Island Records
The third single from the ERASURE album ‘Chorus’ saw a separate remix of ‘Am I Right?’ by THE GRID that highlighted Dave Ball and Richard Norris’ status as in-demand remixers. As with PET SHOP BOYS ‘DJ Culturemix’, the song remained intact while the Vince Clarke’s understated analogue backing was made much beatier and widescreen as more prominent bass sequences and synth pads were included.
Available on the deluxe ERASURE album ‘Always’ via Mute Records/BMG
THE GRID’s biggest UK hit ‘Swamp Thing’ mixed banjo and old samples for a thumping slice of cowpunk techno. The five stringed instrument was played by Roger Dinsdale who Ball had spotted performing at an Irish pub in Marylebone. He laid down his own riffs over a bassline and drumbeat. Equal parts joyous and annoying, the novelty caught on in Europe with ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ by Swedish act REDNEX following not long after.
Available on THE GRID album ‘Evolver’ via Deconstruction
THE GRID’s first production to get in the UK Top 10 and into the US Billboard 100 in the US, the energetic ‘Your Loving Arms’ was written by German dance diva Billie Ray Martin with British DJ David Harrow after her band ELECTRIBE 101 split. The blissfully dramatic number was a slow burner and did not find major mainstream success until 1995; “I guess it was the song that made all the difference for me and does to this day” Billie Ray Martin said, “I am grateful.”
SPARKS When Do I Get To Sing My Way – THE GRID Instrumental Radio Edit (1994)
Like a phoenix from the flames, SPARKS returned for yet another run of mainstream success with ‘When Do I Get To Sing My Way’ hitting the No7 spot in the German singles chart. The single came in a plethora of remixes including one by Vince Clarke. But the best was THE GRID’s instrumental radio edit which pushed the symphonic synth lines to the fore. A vocal version came out to head a 1995 UK reissue but that didn’t work as well.
Originally released on the SPARKS single ‘When Do I Get To Sing My Way’ via Logic Records, vocal version available on the expanded edition album ‘Gratuitous Sex & Senseless Violins’
THE GRID had gone into hiatus and Ball found a new studio partner in Ingo Vauk. While Kylie Minogue had been going through her “indie” phase working with Nick Cave and MANIC STREET PREACHERS, she found room to work with Ball and Vaux on three tracks for her ‘Impossible Princess’ album. The electronica-based ‘Breathe’ was the best known, coming in a slightly pacier radio edit over the more slow-mo album version.
“Would you like to taste a little pain?” asked Marc Almond on ‘Le Grand Guignol’, one of the highlights from SOFT CELL’s comeback album ‘Cruelty Without Beauty’. Using a form of graphic sensationalist horror originating from a noted theatre in Paris as a cynical life metaphor, the bass throb and saxy timpanic drama that saw Ball growl alongside a cynical vocal from Almond and eerie voice samples en Français.
Comprising of Celine Hispiche on vocals, programmer Rick Mulhall, drummer Terry Neale and Ball, NITEWRECKAGE was one of the last projects that the late producer Martin Rushent worked on; “Martin was a lovely man and a total genius in the studio” said Ball in 2016. Capturing a blend of leftfield synth and gothic rock, ‘Solarcoaster’ was firmly rooted in SOFT CELL with Hispiche providing a detached Eurocentric twist.
Originally on the NITEWRECKAGE album ‘Take Your Money & Run’ via Alaska Sounds, available as the single ‘Solarcoaster’
Dave Ball and Jon Savage (not the journalist!) bonded over Minimoogs, Prophets 5s and a Roland Fantom X6 to compose dark ambient pieces for a one hour work inspired by organisms using sunlight to synthesise nutrients from CO2 and water, juxtaposed with the spectre of global warming and war. The haunting ‘Dead Neon’ embraced harp and oboe textures alongside deep drones to exude an avant classical tone.
Available on the DAVE BALL & JON SAVAGE album ‘Photosynthesis’ via Cold Spring
Originally a Dave Ball instrumental issued as a single that came with the boxed set of his autobiography ‘Electronic Boy’, the tense industrialised pulse of ‘Nighthawks’ recalled the sweaty alternative club overtures of one-time Some Bizzare stable mates CABARET VOLTAIRE. Listeners were treated to the deep growly voice of Mr Ball himself repeating the words “Electronic Boy” and “Nighthawks in a lonely city, Nighthawks in a lonely place”.
Originally released on the DAVE BALL album ‘1979 – 2019’ via Big Frock, SOFT CELL version available on the album ‘*Happiness Not Included’ via BMG
Noted for his guitar Frippertronics with Brian Eno, David Bowie and David Sylvian, Robert Fripp played on THE GRID’s 1992 album ‘456’. Norris and Ball rediscovered unreleased tapes from these sessions and were inspired to add new electronic backing and effects to create an album ‘Leviathan’ named after the mythological sea creature referenced in The Bible. The title track was a glorious nautical ambient work to savour.
Available on THE GRID / FRIPP album ‘Leviathan’ via Discipline Global Mobile / Panegyric
In a union of “The Blackpool Electro Mafia” comprising Dave Ball and Chris Lowe who attended the same school while never meeting, as well as featuring the voices of both Almond and Tennant, ‘Purple Zone’ was turned into rousing uplifting Europop number with very anthemic reminiscences of PET SHOP BOYS. But without the groundwork laid by SOFT CELL, PET SHOP BOYS may not have had an open door to walk through.
Available on the SOFT CELL & PET SHOP BOYS single ‘Purple Zone’ via BMG
With a long gestation period, the ‘Ecce Homo’ album began in earnest in 2016 after a collaboration between Gavin Friday and Ball on a version of SUICIDE’s ‘Ghost Rider’ which SOFT CELL had also covered. Combining elements of synth with post-punk, the title song itself was a wonderfully deathly slice of disco gothique that sounded like Ian McCulloch meeting SOFT CELL at Berghain given an extra chill by an opera soprano sample!
Available on the GAVIN FRIDAY album ‘Ecce Homo’ via BMG
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