Tag: Sparks (Page 1 of 8)

A Beginner’s Guide To DAVE BALL

9 June 2026 /

Photo by Roger Kamp

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”!

Available on the SOFT CELL boxed set ‘Keychains & Snowstorms’ via Universal Music

https://www.softcell.co.uk/

SOFT CELL Say Hello Wave Goodbye (1981)

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.

Available on the SOFT CELL album ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ via Phonogram Records

https://www.facebook.com/softcell

VICIOUS PINK PHENOMENA My Private Tokyo (1982)

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

https://www.instagram.com/vicious.pink.music/

SOFT CELL Baby Doll (1983)

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.

Available on the SOFT CELL album ‘The Art Of Falling Apart’ via Mercury Records

https://www.instagram.com/softcellhq/

CABARET VOLTAIRE Crackdown (1983)

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

https://www.facebook.com/CabaretVoltaireOfficial

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

https://www.facebook.com/daveballofficial

SOFT CELL Mr Self Destruct (1984)

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.

Available on the SOFT CELL album ‘This Last Night In Sodom’ via Phonogram Records

https://youtube.com/@softcell

OTHER PEOPLE Have A Nice Day (1984)

‘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

https://www.discogs.com/artist/65297-Other-People

PSYCHIC TV Money For E… – DAVE BALL Remix (1990)

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 made the bassline beefier while adding icier synth lines for full spacey effect.

Available on the PSYCHIC TV album ‘Origin Of The Species’ via Invisible Records

https://www.genesisporridge.com/

THE GRID Floatation (1990)

“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.

Available on THE GRID album ‘Electric Head’ via Cherry Red


https://www.facebook.com/thegriduk

MARC ALMOND Meet Me In My Dream (1991)

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.

Available on the MARC ALMOND album ‘Tenement Symphony’ via WEA Records

https://www.marcalmond.co.uk/

PET SHOP BOYS DJ Culturemix (1991)

‘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

http://www.petshopboys.co.uk/

VIC REEVES Abide With Me (1992)

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

https://www.discogs.com/artist/164485-Vic-Reeves

ERASURE Am I Right? – THE GRID remix (1992)

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

https://www.erasureinfo.com/

THE GRID Swamp Thing (1994)

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

https://www.instagram.com/thegrid789/

BILLIE RAY MARTIN In Your Loving Arms (1994)

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.”

Available on the BILLIE RAY MARTIN album ‘Deadline For My Memories’ via Warner Music

https://www.billieraymartin.com/

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’

https://allsparks.com/

KYLIE MINOGUE Breathe (1997)

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.

Available on the KYLIE MINOGUE album ‘Step Back In Time’ via BMG

https://www.kylie.com/

SOFT CELL Le Grand Guignol (2002)

“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.

Available on the SOFT CELL album ‘Cruelty Without Beauty’ via Cooking Vinyl

https://www.discogs.com/artist/12196-Soft-Cell

NITEWRECKAGE Solarcoaster (2011)

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’

https://www.discogs.com/artist/2445615-Nitewreckage

DAVE BALL & JON SAVAGE Dead Neon (2016)

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

https://coldspring.co.uk/csr217cd

DAVE BALL Nighthawks (2020)

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

https://www.instagram.com/daveballelectro

THE GRID / FRIPP Leviathan (2021)

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

https://robertfripp.com/

SOFT CELL & PET SHOP BOYS Purple Zone (2022)

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

https://www.facebook.com/petshopboys

GAVIN FRIDAY Ecce Homo (2024)

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

https://www.gavinfriday.com/

In memory of Dave Ball 1959 – 2025

‘Electronic Boy: My Life In and Out of Soft Cell: The Autobiography of Dave Ball’ is published by Omnibus Press in hardback

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has compiled a Spotify playlist ‘The Secret Life Of Dave Ball’ at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3HO813W9cf5K8mjuLgLxrv

Text by Chi Ming Lai
9th June 2026

THE ELECTRONIC LEGACY OF 1986

13 January 2026 /

What of 1986? This was at times, unlike previous years, a difficult one to enjoy musically.

TEARS FOR FEARS and SIMPLE MINDS had shown in 1985 that the most bankable way to break America was to present a new wave sound that had some synthesizers but not too many while big compressed drums and rawk guitars would be the relatable component for FM radio shows to draw in listeners for their commercials in between.

Following the ubiquity of Phil Collins throughout most of 1985, the domination of the GENESIS axis continued with seemingly endless stream of singles from the ‘Invisible Touch’ album while former leader Peter Gabriel achieved international mainstream success with the Staxx-flavoured art funk of ‘Sledgehammer’ on major rotation at MTV.

Elsewhere, WHAM! ended on a high as George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley played their final concert at Wembley Stadium but also playing what turned out to be their last concert with Freddie Mercury at Knebworth Park were QUEEN. Having gone down the dumper in 1984 with their third album ‘Waking Up With The House On Fire’ having been assessed as a “disaster of mediocrity” by Smash Hits’ Tom Hibbert, the long playing attempt to rescue CULTURE CLUB out of the dumper ‘From Luxury To Heartache’ did nothing to change fortunes with Boy George’s then undisclosed heroin addiction affecting its prolonged production.

Hollywood was where is it at in 1986; Giorgio Moroder and his mechanic Tom Whitlock would win an Oscar and Golden Globe for ‘Best Original Song’ with ‘Take My Breath Away’ which provided the love theme for ‘Top Gun’, the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide; although it was credited to BERLIN, it featured none of its members apart from vocalist Terri Nunn and would cause tensions that would split up the band.

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS re-recorded ‘Pretty In Pink’ for the John Hughes movie of the same name while having already featured discreetly during a mall scene with ‘Tesla Girls’ during another Hughes film ‘Weird Science’ the year before, OMD achieved their biggest hit in America with the specifically written standalone song  ‘If You Leave’ which soundtracked the closing prom scene to touch the hearts of many teenagers stateside. However, the act who contributed the most music to the film was NEW ORDER with ‘Shellshock’, ‘Elegia’ and ‘Thieves Like Us’!

In the rush to make things more palatable for the American market, there were lukewarm offerings by THE HUMAN LEAGUE, HEAVEN 17, DURAN DURAN and EURYTHMICS who only a few years before had released some excellent albums. “We were all a bit lost by then” said Phil Oakey later in 2009 on the BBC documentary ‘Synth Britannia’, “we didn’t have anything to prove!”. But the worst one was ‘U-Vox’ by ULTRAVOX; as the lame titled suggested, this was a band with something missing and the record was to 1986 what OMD’s ‘Crush’ was to 1985 as it battled to incorporate orchestras, brass sections, acoustic guitars and the traditional Irish combo THE CHIEFTAINS into its sound.

After the programmed perfection of their Trevor Horn-produced chart toppers ‘Relax’ and ‘Two Tribes’, new producer Stephen J Lipson may well have been misguided in allowing FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD to play their own instruments on the second album ‘Liverpool’ as tensions within the band were about to cause implosion. Certainly the programmed Trevor Horn single remix of ‘Warriors Of The Wasteland)’ was far superior to the lame “as live” album version which unsurprisingly sounded like it was performed by a slightly polished-up pub rock combo!

Making a successful transition to organic instrumentation were TALK TALK with ‘The Colour Of Spring’, probably one of the best albums of 1986 regardless of genre. In E&MM, Mark Hollis said “I absolutely hate synthesizers” despite the band having had their breakthrough using them; while the sleeve credits did much to appease more rockcentric audiences with the vague acknowledgement of “instrumental” for Ian Curnow’s synth solos, the enjoyable long player did feature an electronic wind instrument called a Variophon and the state-of-the-art Kurweil on ‘Happiness Is Easy’!

Also heading into more organic territory with an ambitious double album divided into song-based and ambient instrumental records was David Sylvian; bringing in a number of guest guitarists like Robert Fripp, Phil Palmer and Bill Nelson, ‘Gone To Earth’ required more effort from listeners as the former leader of JAPAN distanced himself further from his old band although former bandmates Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri made contributions on a number of tracks.

As DAF went disco, Electronic Body Music influenced by the German duo’s imperial years on Virgin Records was emerging as a harder and darker alternative to the sanitised American-friendly sound that was now prevalent, with FRONT 242 and NITZER EBB issuing important singles that would trigger a new cult movement.

Overall, 1986 was a massive disappointment and confirmation of a wider downward spiral towards electronic creativity in pop music. House and dance would point towards the future but these sub-genres often lacked songs. Meanwhile, the emergence of Stock, Aitken & Waterman as a pop production factory would change the face of Top Of The Pops, Smash Hits and even the Independent Charts after years of delightful oddness but that is another story for others to tell…

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has somehow managed to assemble a list of 20 albums to represent The Electronic Legacy of 1986, although it must be highlighted that a fair number of those included would not have made the cut in previous years which had their embarrassment of riches. Not a “best of” list by any means, as usual, these are presented in alphabetical order by artist…

A-HA Scoundrel Days

While Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Pål Waaktaar were being perceived as a teenybop band thanks to the success of ‘Take On Me’, there was always an inherent Nordic gloom lurking within A-HA. Mostly produced by Alan Tarney, the blistering title song was swathed in a chilling melancholy. Then there were the hit singles but while ‘Cry Wolf’ was bouncy pop, there were snarls of frustration present in ‘I’ve Been Losing You’ and ‘Manhattan Skyline’.

‘Scoundrel Days’ is still available via Warner Music

https://a-ha.com/

ALPHAVILLE Afternoons In Utopia

ALPHAVILLE were under pressure on their second album ‘Afternoons in Utopia’, especially with the departure of founder member Frank Mertens. Ricky Echolette joined Marian Gold and Bernhard Lloyd but after the gritty commentary on heroin addiction of ‘Big In Japan’ in 1984, songs like ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Dance With Me’ possessed an anthemic optimism while on ‘Red Rose’, Gold moved from his Robert Smith impersonation into Bryan Ferry territory.

‘Afternoons In Utopia’ is still available via Warner Music

https://www.alphaville.earth/

THE ART OF NOISE In Visible Silence

Having flown the ZTT nest, Anne Dudley, JJ Jeczalik and Gary Langan took their Fairlighted musique concrète to China Records and came up with ‘In Visible Silence’. With more variety and more polish, ‘Legs’ was classic AoN while a rework of ‘Peter Gunn’ with Duane Eddy and ‘Paranoimia’ would provide the hits, although the latter’s album version would be without Max Headroom. Although Langan would depart, a high profile collaboration with Tom Jones beckoned…

‘In Visible Silence’ is still available via Warner Music

https://www.theartofnoiseonline.com/

THE BOOK OF LOVE The Book Of Love

A quartet comprising of Susan Ottaviano, the unrelated Ted Ottaviano, Jade Lee and Lauren Roselli, BOOK OF LOVE signed to Sire Records and opened for DEPECHE MODE on two US successive tours. Their self-titled debut LP contained lively synthpop tunes such as ‘You Make Me Feel So Good’, ‘Boy’ and ‘I Touch Roses’ but it was a song named after the Italian artist ‘Modigliani’ that had most impact, appearing in an episode of ‘Miami Vice’ and the film ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’.

‘The Book Of Love’ is still available via Sire Records

https://www.bookoflovemusic.com/

CHINA CRISIS What Price Paradise

With CHINA CRISIS now more of a band than the original duo concept fronted by Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon, ‘What Price Paradise’ had less of a Trans-Atlantic flavour compared to its predecessor ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’. Still featuring great songs such as ‘It’s Everything’, ‘Best Kept Secret’, ‘The Understudy’ and ‘Hampton Beach’, it is still one of life’s great mysteries that the magnificent ‘Arizona’ never got beyond No47 in the UK charts!

‘What Price Paradise’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://www.facebook.com/chinacrisisofficial

THE COMMUNARDS Communards

Although THE COMMUNARDS, Jimmy Somerville’s venture with future TV vicar Richard Coles was intended to have more traditional musical values, the electronic sound of his previous band BRONSKI BEAT could not be left totally behind. With Mike Thorne still at the production helm, ‘Disenchanted’ crossed ‘Why?’ with ‘Smalltown Boy’ while the spirited Hi-NRG cover of ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ with Sarah-Jane Morris would be the UK’s biggest selling single of 1986.

‘Communards’ is still available via London Records

https://www.jimmysomerville.co.uk/

DAF 1st Step To Heaven

When Robert Görl and Gabi Delgado reunited in 1985 to record ‘1st Step To Heaven’, they opted not only to stop wearing back but to sing in English. Less aggressive than previous DAF works with a more electronic disco sound, ‘Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi’ quoted from LADY MARMALADE despite being an original while ‘Pure Joy’ was inspired by Prince’s ‘1999’. But best of all was the joyous ‘Brothers’ which celebrated Görl and Delgado’s friendship.

‘1st Step To Heaven’ is currently unavailable

http://www.robert-goerl.de

DEPECHE MODE Black Celebration

Producer Daniel Miller wanted a dystopian intensity to the fifth DEPECHE MODE album ‘Black Celebration’ and with Gareth Jones acting as Tonmeister, Martin Gore’s increasingly bleaker songs found the perfect sonic backdrop. The 7 track segue from the opening title song to ‘Stripped’ that included ‘Fly On The Windscreen’ and ‘It Doesn’t Matter Two’ remains DEPECHE MODE’s most outstanding sequence of music.

‘Black Celebration’ is still available via Sony Music

https://www.depechemode.com/

ERASURE Wonderland

Andy Bell and Vince Clarke’s debut album ‘Wonderland’ was not an instant hit. The lead single ‘Who Needs Love (Like That)?’ was mistaken by some to be an unreleased YAZOO recording. Among the album’s highlights were the joyous ‘Reunion’ and the funky ‘Push Me… Shove Me’ . The record’s HI-NRG centrepiece ‘Oh L’Amour’ flopped as a single but undeterred, ERASURE toured the college circuit to build up a new fanbase from scratch.

‘Wonderland’ is still available via Mute Records

https://www.erasureinfo.com/

I START COUNTING My Translucent Hands

As I START COUNTING, Simon Leonard and Dave Baker finally released their longform debut following two impressive Daniel Miller-produced singles ‘Letters To A Friend’ and ‘Still Smiling’. Both included on the CD edition of ‘My Translucent Hands’, quirky tracks such as ‘Catch That Look’ and maintained the standard if with less immediacy. The duo would open for Mute label mates ERASURE on their 1987 European tour.

‘My Translucent Hands’ is still available via Mute Records

I Start Counting / Fortran 5 / Komputer

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Rendez-Vous

‘Rendez-Vous’ had something of a loose space theme but the space shuttle Challenger tragedy tinged the release with sadness as the ‘Last Rendez-Vous (Ron’s Piece)’ was to have featured astronaut Ron McNair playing sax. Meanwhile, the symphonic ‘Second Rendez-Vous’ inspired by Wendy Carlos would become favourite of Pope John Paul II and the rousing ‘Fourth Rendez-Vous’ captured the vein of the classic Jean-Michel Jarre single.

‘Rendez-Vous’ is still available via Sony Music

https://www.jeanmicheljarre.com/

HOWARD JONES One To One

After two hit albums with Rupert Hine, Howard Jones had Arif Mardin on production duties for ‘One To One’ having been impressed by his work with SCRITTI POLITTI. While still very synth-driven, an array of session musicians on drums, guitars, bass and brass featured for a more sophisticated sound. But ‘Little Bit Of Snow’ found him in reflective mood on the ivories as the singles ‘All I Want’ and ‘You Know I Love You… Don’t You?’ failed to crack the UK Top30.

‘One To One’ is still available via Cherry Red Records

http://www.howardjones.com/

KRAFTWERK Electric Café

Coming after the 5 year wait since 1981’s ‘Computer World’ as the world KRAFTWERK anticipated came true, ‘Electric Café’ was something of a disappointment. Distracted by cycling and technology, there were still delights to be found. ‘The Telephone Call’ featuring Karl Bartos on lead vocals was a highlight along with the voice sample-laden ‘Musique Non Stop’ while the ironic ‘Sex Object’ was fun despite the barrage of DX7 presets like a YouTube tutorial…

‘Electric Café’ is now available as ‘Techno Pop’ via Parlophone Records

https://kraftwerk.com/

NEW ORDER Brotherhood

NEW ORDER were simultaneously about indie guitar rock and electronic disco, although rarely mixing. On their fourth album ‘Brotherhood’, the band’s schizophrenic musical personalities were separated across two sides. The electronic part was headed by ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’, but there was also the solemn ‘All Day Long’, the sinister ‘Angel Dust’ and the Lou Reed pastiche ‘Every Little Counts’ with its laughter and unforgettable scratching stylus ending!

‘Brotherhood’ is still available via Rhino

https://www.neworder.com/

GARY NUMAN Strange Charm

Things really had got “strange” for Gary Numan as his Numanoids marched on BBC Broadcasting House to protest that ‘This Is Love’ and ‘I Can’t Stop’ had charted yet were not getting radio airplay; however, they were the worst songs on ‘Strange Charm’. Something of an underrated record, the dreamy ‘My Breathing’ and the Vangelis-inspired title song were impressive while there was also a new great Bill Sharpe collaboration ‘New Thing From London Town’.

‘Strange Charm’ is still available via BMG

https://garynuman.com/

OMD The Pacific Age

A much better record than the rotten ‘Crush’, with a heavier synth, choral and live drum edge, one highlight was ‘The Dead Girls’ which revisited the sonics of ‘Architectural & Morality’ but with digital technology. Although the hit came from the Paul Humphreys sung ‘(Forever) Live & Die’, the Andy McCluskey fronted ‘Stay’ and ‘We Love You’ provided the electronic rock disco drive while ‘Flame Of Hope’ clearly fell under the spell of THE ART OF NOISE.

‘The Pacific Age’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://omd.uk.com/

PET SHOP BOYS Please

While PET SHOP BOYS debut album wasn’t perfect with ‘Suburbia’ and ‘Violence’ improving in re-recordings, ‘Please’ featured not only ‘West End Girls’ and ‘Love Comes quickly’ but had an array of brilliant track including ‘Two Divided By Zero’ and ‘Tonight Is Forever’. While an ironic observation on the rise of yuppies, the misunderstood ‘Opportunites (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)’ proved to be quite prophetic for Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, but who was the brains?

‘Please’ is still available via Parlophone Records

https://www.petshopboys.co.uk/

SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK Flaunt It

SUICIDE reconfigured for the 21st Century with Giorgio Moroder at the studio helm, behind the hype of cyberpunk combo SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK were some decent tracks even if they all sounded the same! The throbbing drive of ‘Love Missile F1-11’, ‘21st Century Boy’ and ‘Sex-Bomb-Boogie’ provided the fun but the flow was spoiled by novelty effects and samples while there were paid adverts between tracks as an honest statement on commercialism.

‘Flaunt It’ is still available via BMG

https://mail.sputnikworld.com/Sigue_Sigue_Sputnik.html

SPARKS Music That You Can Dance To

Inspired by a London Records A&R muttering “why can’t you make music that you can dance to?” after the avant pop of ‘Change’, SPARKS took inspiration for their lively if underrated 14th album, recorded in Brussels with old pal Dan Lacksman of TELEX engineering. The title song echoed ERASURE’s ‘Oh L’Amour’ while Ron Mael played with bursts of Fairlight and Roland Jupiter 8 on the falsetto soul of ‘Fingertips’ and Russell got to impersonate Gene Pitney on ‘Rosebud’.

‘Music That You Can Dance To’ is still available via Repertoire Records

https://allsparks.com/

STACEY Q Better Than Heaven

The front woman of synthpop act SSQ who had a US dance hit with ‘Synthicide’ in 1983, Stacey Q may have begun as a ‘Shy Girl’ but with its fair number of tunes as good as ‘Two Of Hearts’ like sister song ‘Insecurity’ and the more Jam & Lewis influenced ‘Music Out Of Bounds’, her debut album ‘Better Than Heaven’ is a reminder how fun and carefree pop music once was and should still be. The album remains a collection of wonderfully innocent escapism.

‘Better Than Heaven’ is still available via Cherry Red Records

https://www.facebook.com/people/Stacey-Q/100040905591794

Text by Chi Ming Lai
13th January 2026

Lost Albums: NOËL Is There More To Life Than Dancing?

21 December 2025 /

In 1977, Russell and Ron Mael opened their ears to the burgeoning electro-disco sound as heard on Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ and were put into contact with her producer Giorgio Moroder.

With aspirations to work with a band, the Munich-based Italian set to work with the first fruit of labours being the tremendous ‘No1 Song In Heaven’. Released in 1979 on Virgin Records, it hit the UK single charts a few months before TUBEWAY ARMY’s ‘Are Friends Electric?’.

While the parent album ‘No1 In Heaven’ also featuring ‘Beat The Clock’ and ‘Tryouts For The Human Race’ did not sell well, it retrospectively became highlighted as the landmark electronic pop album that heralded the emergence of the synth duo with acts like YAZOO, SOFT CELL, BLANCMANGE and PET SHOP BOYS following not long after.

Photo by Jack Lorenz

SPARKS’ career trajectory has since seen them become spread into collaboration, production and musicals. The Maels had discovered Patricia A Noël, a Los Angeles-based model-turned-singer playing Farfisa organ and doing background vocals with The Mick Smiley Band at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. Having learnt about electronic instrumentation from working with Giorgio Moroder on ‘No1 In Heaven’, they wanted to apply those techniques and processes with Noël as the Maels’ very own Donna Summer.

Written and produced by SPARKS at Larrabee Sound Studios in LA, perhaps unexpectedly Virgin Records gave the brothers total freedom to work with their protégée on ‘Is There More To Life Than Dancing?’. Acting as the Maels’ Harold Faltermeyer on programming was future film composer Gary Chang.

Only released as a 5 track picture disc in the UK with limited availability elsewhere and surprisingly not issued at all in the US, ‘Is There More To Life Than Dancing?’ became a mythical album that no-one had ever heard. There were even rumours that it was SPARKS in-joke with Noël actually being a varispeeded Russell Mael! Noël’s vocal delivery was different from the more soul oriented disco diva, so gave the record a more leftfield edge despite being aimed at the dancefloor.

Taking cues from Moroder’s MUNICH MACHINE side project, at nearly 10 minutes, ‘Dancing Is Dangerous’ was hypnotically catchy with Noël’s histrionic vocals closely imitating Russell Mael’s own intonation. Declaring that “dancing is dangerous gently embraces us, then won’t let go ’til the end of our days…”, the track length allowed for trancey instrumental breakdowns to highlight the sequencer and synth craft that would have made Moroder proud.

Seguing into the ‘Is There More To Life Than Dancing?’ title song, it saw Italo-styled male backing vocals from Oren Waters dropped in while Noël’s own were more Donna Summer asking that euphoric rhetorical question while encapsulating glitterballs and Studio 54.

Punctuated by gospel tinged voices from Julia and Maxine Waters, ‘The Night They Invented Love’ also brought in some frenetic conga madness from noted Brazilian percussionist Paulinho Da Costa and nocturnal sax from Herbie Hancock Quartet member Michael Brecker. Meanwhile the accompanying arpeggios recalled another disco pioneer, Frenchman Marc Cerrone whose ‘Supernature’ has been a huge international smash.

Photo by Jack Lorenz

With a smoother Liza Minnelli cabaret lead from Noël, ‘Au Revoir’ provided a less convincing theatrical outlier with a unexpected fade but ‘I Want A Man’ provided the rousing energetic finale; with icy string synths and bubbling effects but also bass guitar, lyrically this was however more throwaway in its repeated declaration of desire.

Like with the solo Giorgio Moroder electronic disco albums ‘From Here To Eternity’ and ‘E=MC2’, side one was the superior set but overall, it was a joyous celebration of hedonism. A worthy companion album to ‘No1 In Heaven’, ‘Is There More To Life Than Dancing?’ deserved a more receptive audience but it was not to be and became a SPARKS collectors curio. There would an aborted attempt by the Maels to write for the Belgian-based popster Lio, but this led to a collaboration with TELEX instead and SPARKS would continue a well-documented up-down-up-down-up career over the following decades.

Meanwhile Virgin decided not to take up the option on a second album, so Noël continued modelling but would release one more album ‘Peer Pressure’ with American new wave band THE RED WEDGE before a career working on radio and TV commercials while also co-owning two recording studios in Los Angeles.

Photo by Jack Lorenz

Long deleted but with growing interest in the wider career of the Maels thanks to ‘The SPARKS Brothers’ documentary in 2021, they reissued ‘Is There More To Life Than Dancing?’ on their Lil Beethoven label in 2024. As well as the original album and bonus single edits, it contained three previously unreleased songs; of those, the blippy female empowering statement ‘I Never Want To Be A Mother’ would, with more work, have made an ideal sixth track on the album if the tracklisting format of ‘No1 In Heaven’ had been totally aped.

“It was inspiring to work on this album and inspiring to work with Noël. We hope that people will rediscover what a lost gem this record is” said SPARKS in the press release for the reissue of ‘Is There More To Life Than Dancing?’; the missing part of the electronic disco trilogy which sits between ‘No. 1 In Heaven’ and ‘Terminal Jive’ has been found again and can take its place alongside other similarly spirited diversions such as the Peter Baumann produced ‘Welcome To Joyland’ by Leda and the Klaus Schulze produced self-titled long player from Jyl that have previously only been heard and appreciated by the cognoscenti.

‘Is There More To Life Than Dancing?’ is reissued by Lil Beethoven Records as a 2CD set

https://www.noelmusicofficial.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thisisnoel.music/

http://www.allsparks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sparksofficial/

https://www.instagram.com/sparks_official/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
21st December 2025

2025 END OF YEAR REVIEW

14 December 2025 /

50 years from KRAFTWERK appearing on the BBC’s ‘Tomorrow’s World’ to perform ‘Autobahn’ and demonstrate the future of music, as Ralf Hütter remarked at the start of the 21st Century, “electro is everywhere” and can now be made on your mobile phone!

And while the KRAFTWERK brand continues to be fronted by the 79 year old Hütter with an extensive UK tour pencilled in next year, 2025 saw the sad passing of Synth Britannia heroes Dave Ball and Stephen Luscombe, while there was also the loss of COVENANT associate Andreas Catjar-Danielsson, NITZER EBB frontman Douglas J McCarthy and Gary Numan’s brother / former live band member John Webb. Outside of the genre, cult film director David Lynch, BLONDIE drummer Clem Burke, veteran diva Marianne Faithfull, The Prince Of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne and Head Beach Boy Brian Wilson were among those who left this mortal coil.

Musically in 2025, Mari Kattman became the alluring gothic club queen she always had the potential to be on her best album yet ‘Year Of The Katt’. She headed a strong feast of feisty releases from Ela Minus, Marie Davidson, Zanias, Jennifer Touch, Charly Haze, Ani Glass, Emmon, Minuit Machine and Compute alongside those by the female fronted DLINA VOLNY, CAUSEWAY, DINA SUMMER, AUSTRA, NNHMN and PARADOX OBSCUR.

Among the new talent making a good impression were Spike, Shears and Hannah Hu who is currently working on her first album with Dean Honer of I MONSTER. Having already released a couple of albums, on the ascendancy was self-styled Californian “retro electro artist” Sophie Grey who was joined by Trevor Horn during her live cover of ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ while supporting Sting at the London Forum.

On the gentler side of electronics, Patricia Wolf and Loula Yorke came up with their fabulous respective instrumental offerings ‘Hrafnamynd’ and ‘Time Is A Succession Of Such Shapes’. There was also the return of LADYTRON as well as Alison Goldfrapp, Claudia Brücken and Kim Wilde. Going back to glitzy electropop on her new record ‘Mayhem’, Lady Gaga did an impression of Taylor Swift doing YAZOO on one of its highlights ‘How Bad Do U Want Me?’; meanwhile Taylor herself appeared to have turned into Los Angeles trio CANNONS on ‘The Fate Of Ophelia’, the synthy opening song of her 12th album ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’.

Photo by Oliver Blair

Swedish producer Johan Agebjörn proved to have one of the most prolific years in his music career with not only collaborations with R.MISSING on ‘Fakesnow’ and NINA on ‘Hush Hush Baby’ but also a new SALLY SHAPIRO album ‘Ready To Live A Lie’ and a solo long player ‘Southern Forest’; all this while holding down his day job as a psychotherapist! Another releasing two albums in 2025 was Paul Statham although one was a collection of archive recordings for what could have been the intended 1982 debut album by B-MOVIE entitled ‘Lost Treasures’; the other was a second record from his dark country project THE DARK FLOWERS featuring Jim Kerr of SIMPLE MINDS whose most recent single ‘Your Name In Lights’ had been co-written by Statham.

Impressively, SPARKS got ‘MAD!’ and then ‘MADDER!’ while undertaking a huge world tour with Ron Mael still tap dancing at 80 years of age during the drum solo of ‘No1 Song In Heaven’ and Russell Mael able to hit many of those high notes at 77. As ERASURE made a tentative return with a series of special UK fan club shows to celebrate their 40th anniversary, Andy Bell toured his solo album ‘Ten Crowns’ with KNIGHT$ not doing himself any harm being the opening act on the German leg ahead of a new album ‘Supernatural Lover’ out in early 2026.

After a few years of recorded absence, former TANGERINE DREAM members released long awaited albums with Peter Baumann from the classic line-up issuing the esoteric ‘Nightfall’ while Jerome Froese, son of co-founder Edgar, came up with the guitartronica of ‘Sunsets In Stereo’. Playing with the atonal atmospheres of early TANGERINE DREAM in places, the dark cerebral concept of ‘The Ray Bradbury Chronicles’ by Levente was worthy of investigation.

With their keyboard player Christian Berg now something of a modern day Rick Wakeman, KITE established themselves as a major world force with a spectacular show on ice at Stockholm’s Avicii Arena which saw special guest Nina Persson of THE CARDIGANS skating with the Helsinki Rockettes while singing their mighty collaboration ‘Heartless Places’.

Tom Shear released one of his most impressive and on-point albums as ASSEMBLAGE 23 in ‘Null’ while UNIFY SEPARATE didn’t mince their words on their ‘Heavy Meta’ EP. While Tobias Bernstrup kept the dark Italo flame alive with ‘Shadow Dancer’, Berlin continued to remain a force in underground club culture with two of its leading exponents Franz Scala and Kalipo presenting well-received long players that worked on the home hi-fi as well as on dancefloors. On the more poptronica front, Eddie Bengtsson finally stopped trying to “Numanise” his sound and came up with ‘Inget Motstånd’, a record in the more classic PAGE vein.

While synthwave appeared to be dead (as the controversial blog Iron Skullet declared in 2019), the influx of generic darkwave was a major blight on electronic music in 2025. The major label supported Mareux and his second album ‘Nonstop Romance’ had any potential painfully ruined by overused deliberate distortion to make it sound like it was recorded down a drainpipe.

Meanwhile PORCELAIN DANCER seemed to be the Rob Newman parody of Robert Smith as seen on ‘The Mary Whitehouse Experience’ resurrected only several octaves lower; his live performance provoked unintentional laughter from those who arrived early to see KORINE in London!

DEPECHE MODE released 4 songs that were originally deemed not good enough to put on their 2023 album ‘Memento Bori’ to append the live album accompanying their Mexico City concert film ‘M’. But 2025 was notable for a number of figures in the British DM fan community who were coming out with particularly repugnant far right views, seemingly oblivious to the decades of lyrical messages from the two remaining mixed race band members!

But there was hope in the darker side of synth with A THOUSAND MAD THINGS; with his haunted demeanour while navigating young manhood as a tortured outsider, William Barradale’s doomed romantic delivery reminiscent of Billy MacKenzie and Trevor Herion made him undoubtedly the most promising UK act since MIRRORS; his debut 5 song EP ‘Cry & Dance’ was one of 2025’s best bodies of work. This more than made up for ‘Dance Called Memory’, the extremely dull fourth album from NATION OF LANGUAGE which was anything but memorable…

After looking back at 1981, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK were pleased to be return to the variously compiled podcast ‘Back To NOW’ to discuss the ‘NOW 1982 Yearbook’ with genial host Iain McDermott and Ian Wade, author of ‘1984: The Year Pop Went Queer’. While general music and culture podcasts such as ‘Back To NOW’, ‘Word In Your Ear’, ‘The Rest Is Entertainment’, ‘The Rockonteurs’, ‘SoundPower’ and Miranda Sawyer’s new offering ‘Talk 90s To Me’ were highly engaging listens, specific broadcasts focussed on synth and electronic music were usually weak, suffering from poor hosting and ham-fisted background research. But when a professional presenter was involved, synth-oriented chats could be enlightening as the appearance of John Foxx on ‘The Adam Buxton Podcast’ proved, despite the annoying jingles that accompanied it.

Featuring commentary from PET SHOP BOYS’ Neil Tennant, the BBC’s retrospective look at the collapse of EMI called ‘Music Money & Mayhem’ showed once again that when those who know nothing about music get involved in the music business, it will end in tears. Looking at the story of the history of Beggars Banquet label in its first series and featuring Gary Numan in its opening episode, ‘States Of Independence’ documented how creative enthusiasm from the heart can actually thrive.

So where are the audiences for live electronic music these days? Certainly, if the full houses for Marie Davidson, Geneva Jacuzzi, Loscil and KITE in London’s club-sized venues were anything to go by, the crowds are out there. This was not the case for some other acts on the circuit at new, cult and one-hit wonder level who were struggling to get above half capacity or had downsized considerably since their perceived highest profile. However, new music night Release Me managed to get very good attendances for their evenings in 2025 with the premise that all acts must perform previously unreleased material; this focus on their events being about the music with announced requests to not talk during sets was a fresh and very welcome approach.

Photo by Tom Casey

Elsewhere, the retro business did prosper with reunions, exhibitions, summer hits shows, classic album tours, deluxe reissues of albums that were never that good in the first place and notable records re-released in yet another expanded set for the 5th or 6th time! There were those trying to exploit the fading nostalgia of those heady romantic times, writing memoirs that left out so many important facts omitted that there were grounds for inclusion in the “fiction” section.

Then there were others releasing overlong collections with an average track length of between 6-8 minutes that no-one asked for nor desired… filtering and editing is such an important aspect to producing music so there was no excuse for these veterans! Some even sent out unmastered music files to review outlets, blissfully unaware that the sound quality might actually be mentioned, only to get stupidly angry about it when highlighted due to their own numbskull promotional abilities; it’s a funny old entitled world…

The positive and negative of modern day music consumption is growth CAN happen organically in its own internet powered niche. But with the fragmentation of promotion with social media actually being a choice despite wider protestations, even the AXS newsletter listing the acts soon to be playing the 20,000 capacity O2 arena in London provoked cries of “WHO?”; but that is how it is now and it needs to be accepted. Why should a Boomer or Gen X-er know about the bright young thing headlining Glastonbury?

However, you CAN create your own musical universe today, not listen to radio, create your own playlists and exclude as appropriate. After all, as Nick Rhodes from DURAN DURAN once remarked: “Good taste is exclusive” –  nobody should have to like what you like and neither should what somebody else likes appeal to you… niche interests are fine.

There is no doubt fandom has become more tribal and is now akin to away game support for football teams. But as a result, it has therefore got more toxic, with some fans getting ridiculously angry on socials about old less-than-positive reviews that David Hepworth, Mark Ellen, Ian Cranna, Dave Rimmer, Tom Hibbert or Neil Tennant might have written for Smash Hits 43 YEARS AGO!! “Bet he regrets that…” someone will quip smugly but the reality is, if there is a review that a writer will regret, from the experience of ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, it will usually be the one that is too gushing with praise!

The gist of Smash Hits during its imperial phase that coincided with Neil Tennant’s tenure as Assistant Editor was it was a magazine which treated “pop” as the most “important” thing in the world while simultaneously highlighting how “ridiculous” it was too, with references to “the dumper”, “summer colds” and the “tongue sarnie”… often dismissed as a “teen mag”, a good number of teenagers could see through the up-itself pretentions of the NME so relished the more amusing and knowing “scribblings” of the Smash Hits team!

The wider public forgets that it might likely have the benefit of 4 decades of hindsight as well as weekly if not daily plays of a record in the first few years of its possession. While it has always been associated with “free speech”, “opinion” or “freedom of expression”, one of the problems with social media is the narcissistic self-seeking of validation as part of the main character syndrome that afflicts many in this modern world…

With tours in 2026 for KRAFTWERK, OMD, PET SHOP BOYS, CHINA CRISIS, HEAVEN 17, THOMPSON TWINS’ Tom Bailey, BLANCMANGE and Midge Ure among many, there is certainly plenty to keep people busy. Just don’t think everyone else will necessarily share in your passion; as time goes on, there will be a lot more of those who won’t have a clue what you are going on about…

U2 once asked “how long must we sing this song?”; so to end a divisive year where evil men with racist views have been casually normalised, the message outlined in 1981 by a trio of philosophers from South Yorkshire must continue to be repeated loud and clear: WE DON’T NEED THIS FASCIST GROOVE THANG! #FuckFarage #FuckReformUK #FuckTommyRobinson #FuckFlagshaggers #FuckTrump

A Time Called Then: ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s Oh 2025 Playlist is at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1xXptdmcHAvXnXni6hjVnA

Text by Chi Ming Lai
14th December 2025

WHEN THE 2000s CLASHED: Machine Music For A New Millennium

22 October 2025 /

With an aim to “destroy authenticity in pop” and “embrace the superficial”, when FISCHERSPOONER were launched at a lavish art space event in London, Casey Spooner turned to his musical partner Warren Fischer and said “Warren, press play…”

Some would call it performance art while others thought the mimed escapade was an affront to real music and reacted angrily… despite much press hype, the single ‘Emerge’ stalled at No25 in 2002 and Ministry Of Sound who had signed FISCHERSPOONER internationally were left with egg on their faces. Q magazine would later place the parent album ‘#1’ in their 2006 list of “The 50 Worst Albums Ever!”

What came to be called electroclash was not considered cool by a wider public that was still drunk after the hangover that was Britpop! Like New Romantic before it, electroclash seen as self-indulgence by elitist poseurs but despite being ridiculed, longevity is nothing to be scared of. Today, the music of 1977-1983 has proved its worth as KRAFTWERK, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, NEW ORDER, DURAN DURAN and their like continue to fill arenas and festival fields around the world.

So now is the time for a re-evaluation of ‘When The 2000s Clashed’ and presented ”Machine Music For A New Millennium”; comprising of 5 themed CDs, the set has been compiled by Jonny Slut, founder of London club nite Nag Nag Nag and Mark Wood of READERS WIFES who DJed at the SOFT CELL reunion shows with superb sets that focussed on the songs, doing away with the self-important mixing and beat matching that afflicts many egocentric deckmeisters…

Just as New Romantic had a range of names which didn’t stick like Blitz Kids, peacock punks, futurists and the dreaded Cult With No Name, designations like synthcore, tech-pop and Romo were banded about before electroclash stuck. It became the all-encompassing term for this glittery yet gritty variant of electronic dance pop where klanky drum machines did battle with analog arpeggios, throbbing basslines on the oompah radar and often, snarly or spoken rather than sung vocals!

CD1 comprises of “Fundamentals” and here, superb trailblazing tracks such as ADD N TO (X)’s ‘Plug Me In’, JEANS TEAM’s ‘Keine Melodien…1, 2, 3, 4’, ZOMBIE NATION’s ‘Kernkraft 400’, ‘Hand To Phone’ by ADULT. and ‘Rippin’ Kittin’ featuring Miss Kittin take their place alongside PET SHOP BOYS’ Orange Alert Mix of ATOMIZER’s ‘Hooked On Radiation’ and LEGOWELT’s sinister ‘Disco Rout’. But it’s Peaches who steals the show with the feisty buzzy lo-fi romp of ‘F*ck The Pain Away’!

FISCHERSPOONER lead CD2’s “Essentials” summary with ‘Emerge’ and offering fine support are THE KNIFE with ‘We Share Our Mother’s Health’ and Richard Norris’ THE DROYDS with the reworded DURAN DURAN cover ‘Girls On Pills’. Although ‘Seventeen’ from LADYTRON is the undoubted classic of this set, other highlights include ‘What Was Her Name?’ from Dave Clarke featuring CHICKS ON SPEED and ‘Take A Walk’ by Andreas Bolz while DETROIT GRAND PUBAS offer the enjoyably bizarre ‘Sandwiches’!

CD3’s “Developments” documents the crossover of what many perceived as the electroclash sound into the mainstream charts with HOT CHIP, GOLDFRAPP, MGMT, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM and YEAH YEAH YEAHS as well as Annie and Róisín Murphy all present if not necessarily correct with THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS remix of ‘Slow’ chosen rather than ‘Come Into My World’, Kylie Minogue’s collaboration with FISCHERSPOONER.

Meanwhile it’s the Princess Superstar voiced take on ‘Exceeder’ as ‘Perfect’ rather than Mason’s superior original instrumental that is included. That aside, Khia’s ‘My Neck My Back’ can now be seen as a forerunner of Marie Davidson.

The “Evolutions” themed CD4 opens with the still outstanding ‘We Are Your Friends’ from JUSTICE VS SIMIAN but while also including DIGITALISM, SOULWAX, CSS and NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB, this particular part of the collection proves to be the most hit and miss of the entire box, but it’s all just a matter of taste…

CD5 looks back at the “Origins” of electroclash with the usual suspects like KRAFTWERK, SPARKS, THE NORMAL, CABARET VOLTAIRE, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, GINA X PERFORMANCE, NEW ORDER, HEAVEN 17, FAD GADGET, VISAGE and SOFT CELL all included. But while is it wonderful that a track other than ‘Homosapien’ in the brilliant ‘Telephone Operator’ is included from the Pete Shelley back catalogue alongside the Germanic quirkiness of ‘Fred Vom Jupiter’ by DIE DORAUS UND DIE MARINAS and ‘Zauberstab’ by ZaZa, this could almost be any other alternative collection of influential electro works.

Instead, this fifth disc could have gathered tracks from the period by THE HACKER, THE FAINT, FC KAHUNA, GREEN VELVET, NORTHERN LITE, SYNTAX or TECHNOVA next to DJ Hell, Felix Da Housecat, Anthony Rother, Tiga or Ferry Corsten, with the latter’s ‘Whatever!’ nonchalantly voiced by Esmee Bor Stotijn from 2006 being a slice of prime cut electroclash.

The way it was in the past 25 years ago, this boxed set shows that the back-to-basics approach of many of these tracks provided an excitement that led to an albeit short-lived reinvigoration of electronic pop by acts whose names began with an “L” like Little Boots, La Roux, Lady Gaga and Ladyhawke.

Gathering a diverse selection of artists, producers and remixers ranging from the biggest starlets and synthpop duos to cult bands and underground DJs, ‘When The 2000s Clashed: Machine Music For A New Millennium’ highlights that the passing of time has finally been kind to electroclash and in selecting from the best of its type, what is left is great electronic pop music. So when synthwave is reassessed in 10 years time and gets the boxed set treatment, will it too have evergreens that have stood the test of time? It will but it probably won’t have as many as ‘When The 2000s Clashed: Machine Music For A New Millennium’.

‘When The 2000s Clashed: Machine Music For A New Millennium’ is released on 31st October 2025 by Demon Music Group as a 5CD boxed set, 3LP vinyl highlights edition also available.

https://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/catalogue/releases/when-the-2000s-clashed-machine-music-for-a-new-millennium-5cd/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
22nd October 2025

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