Both Marc Almond and Dave Ball grew up in seaside towns (the former, Southport, and the latter, Blackpool), and later met while students at the Leeds Polytechnic Fine Arts University (now Leeds Metropolitan University). Almond, a performance artist, collaborated with Ball on a few avant-garde multi-media performances at the university. Although Ball's musical background consisted of guitar, he had access to the university studio and was experimenting with the nascent synthesizer technology at the time. The two students became the prototypical synth duo and were initially associated with other New Wave scenesters dubbed "New Romantics" by the British Press. Other bands associated with this scene included Visage, Duran Duran, and Spandau Ballet.
Marc Almond had a productive career as a solo artist later in the 80s and 90s and with Marc & the Mambas and other collaborations. Dave Ball has done a few solo productions with other British new wave acts in the early 80s. He also later was involved in the electronic dance act The Grid with Richard Norris.
Almond and Ball's reunion as Soft Cell became official with well-received initial concerts - they performed at the opening of the Ocean nightclub in London in March 2001 to strong reviews, and a mini tour followed later in the year. The track "God Shaped Hole" featured on the Some Bizzare compilation titled "I'd Rather Shout at a Returning Echo than Kid Someone's Listening", released in 2001. The album Cruelty Without Beauty was released in late 2002, followed by a European tour and a partial US tour in early 2003. The new album featured their first new songs together in almost twenty years. One of those songs was their 2003 single "The Night" (UK #39). Interestingly, Soft Cell had considered recording "The Night" in place of "Tainted Love" back in 1981 as their last-ditch attempt to score a chart hit. In a 2003 interview with BBC's Top of the Pops, keyboardist David Ball asserted, "I think history has kind of shown that we did make the right choice [in 1981]."
In August 2007, the band announced they were working on a remix album, "Heat - The Remixes". The remix album is expected to be released in May 2008 and will include classic Soft Cell tracks remixed by such acts as Manhattan Clique, Cicada, Richard X, Ladytron, MHC, Mark Moore, Kinky Roland, Spektrum, George Demure, Yer Man and many more.
Seedy Films
Soft Cell Lyrics
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Seedy films
Breathing so heavy
Next to my neighbour
Let's get acquainted
Getting to know you
Feeling sleazy
In seedy sin city
In seedy sin city
Sleazy city
Sleepy people
Down in your alleys
Seems that anything goes
Blue films flicker
Hands of a stranger
Getting to know you
And I'm getting to like you
Hey that's fine
Got no time
Meet me on Friday
Down, down, down in blue city
Got no address
Just a telephone number
Phone me tonight
And maybe we can talk dirty
Phone me tonight
And maybe we can talk dirty
Sleazy city
Sleepy people
Down in your alleys
Seems that anything goes
Blue films flicker
Hands of a stranger
Getting to know you
And I'm getting to like you
Sleazy city
Seedy films
Breathing so heavy
Next to my neighbour
Let's get acquainted
Getting to know you
Feeling sleazy
In seedy sin city
Feeling sleazy
In seedy sin city
Sleazy city
Sleepy people
Down in your alleys
Seems that anything goes
Blue films flicker
Hands of a stranger
Getting to know you
And I'm getting to like you
Hey isn't that you on the screen
Isn't that you on the screen
(No that's not me)
Getting to know you
Getting to like you
Etc...
The song Seedy Films by Soft Cell is a reflection on the dark side of urban life, particularly in the context of the sleazy underground film scene. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a city where anything goes, where inhabitants are engaged in unsavory activities, and where strangers become intimately connected through illicit deeds. These lines capture the sense of lost innocence and moral ambiguity that often characterizes city life. The singer’s heavy breathing and obsession with seedy films suggest a voyeuristic pleasure in the illicit and taboo.
The lyrics also introduce the theme of anonymity and a lack of personal connection, where people are reduced to flesh and viewed through the cold, distorting lens of a camera. The hands of a stranger and faces unknown contribute to creating the impression of a lonely, atomized society where everyone remains anonymous behind their masks of desire. The chorus, with its repetition of the lines “feeling sleazy in seedy sin city,” highlights the singer's unease and discomfort in this environment, while also hinting at the seductive allure of forbidden pleasures.
Overall, Seedy Films is a powerful critique of modernity’s underside, of the ways in which life in the city can become both sleazy and captivating, bleak and enticing. It offers a view into a world of sin, where the search for pleasure is tangled up with the horrors of exploitation and commodification. The song is a reminder that, for all its excitement and stimulation, urban life can be dangerous and dehumanizing.
Line by Line Meaning
Sleazy city
The city is filled with unpleasant and immoral people.
Seedy films
Movies that are cheaply produced and have sexual or explicit content.
Breathing so heavy
Panting in response to sexual arousal or excitement.
Next to my neighbour
Being physically close to someone living in the same building.
Let's get acquainted
Let's become familiar with each other in a romantic or sexual context.
Getting to know you
Learning more about someone in an intimate way.
Feeling sleazy
Feeling morally questionable or unethical.
In seedy sin city
Within a place filled with illegal, immoral or unethical activities.
Sleepy people
People who are tired, lazy or disinterested in their surroundings.
Down in your alleys
Exploring the less pleasant, usually hidden parts of the city or society.
Seems that anything goes
There are no rules or boundaries in this community or environment.
Blue films flicker
Pornographic films are playing or being projected.
Hands of a stranger
Being touched or caressed by someone who is unfamiliar or unknown.
Hey that's fine
It's okay, it doesn't matter to me.
Got no time
I am busy or not interested in spending time on certain activities.
Meet me on Friday
Let's arrange to meet on a specific day of the week.
Down, down, down in blue city
Going deeper into a neighborhood or city that is notorious for its illicit and immoral activities.
Got no address
I don't have a physical location where you can find me.
Just a telephone number
The only way to contact me is through my phone number.
Phone me tonight
Call me later today.
And maybe we can talk dirty
We can engage in sexually explicit or provocative talk.
Hey isn't that you on the screen
Are you not the person I see on the movie or television screen?
Isn't that you on the screen
Are you not the person I see on the movie or television screen?
(No that's not me)
A reply that negates the previous statement, indicating that they are not the person on the screen.
Getting to know you
Learning more about someone in an intimate way.
Getting to like you
Developing romantic or sexual feelings for someone.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID JAMES BALL, MARC ALMOND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind