Guess What

A belated happy birthday to Marina Diamandis, born 10th October 1985.

My joy at the news that Marina is celebrating this - and 6th album Princess Of Power - with a UK tour, including a date at the Beacon in Bristol, was tempered at approx. 10.05am on Friday when I found that it had already sold out, bar a couple of 'reserved seating' tickets way back, going for £117 a pop. 

That's the challenge with multiple tour tickets going on sale simultaneously at 10.00am on Friday. My first stop had been to get tickets for Cabaret Voltaire's final tour (as I wrote about on Wednesday), then Marina, then Tinariwen. Two out of three ain't bad, as Meat Loaf once opined.

I'm consoling myself with the fact that the majority of tickets may have been snapped up in a pre-sale and my five minutes prioritising the Cabs sealed my fate.

A shame though, as I have no doubt that it will be a spectacular show in a venue that can manage big artists whilst feeling intimate at the same time. And Marina is big: all six albums have been Top 20 in the UK, five of them Top 10, three of them Top 5, one (2012's Electra Heart) went to #1.

Marina is often described as 'anti-pop', but that's missing the point. Her music is unequivocally pop, though pop that doesn't shy away from sharp lyrical observation and commentary, especially on the industry that she has been immersed in for half her life.

Sex Yeah!, the opening song on today's selection, sums it up perfectly:

Question what the TV tells you

Question what a pop star sells you

Question mom and question dad

Question good and question bad

If women were religiously recognized sexually

We wouldn't have to feel the need to show our ass-ets to feel free

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt

Sold my soul, and yeah, the truth hurt

Tired image of a star, acting naughtier than we really are

Listening to artists like Charli XCX and Wet Leg, I hear the influence of Marina, in the song narrative, hooks and riffs and spectacular vocal range. There's a fascinating interview with Marina for Harpers Bazaar, posted in June when Princess Of Power was released, which is well worth ten minutes of your time.

So, if like me you've missed out on Marina tickets and need cheering up, I've created an hour long, 15-song selection of pop gems. There are some gaps: I haven't yet bought Princess Of Power and I have also so far managed to miss her 2019 mononymous debut, Love + Fear.

Whilst the selection is heavy on her music as Marina & The Diamonds, it's a veritable treasure trove of album cuts, singles, remixes, demos and even a cover version of Rita Ora, performed on BBC Radio 2.

If you're unfamiliar with Marina, then this is as good a primer as any, and hopefully the start of your latest musical obsession. Enjoy!

1) Sex Yeah! (Demo II): Marina & The Diamonds (2012)

2) Homewrecker (Album Version): Marina & The Diamonds (2012)

3) Obsessions (The Aspirins For My Children Remix By Daniel Barker): Marina & The Diamonds (2009)

4) Valley Of The Dolls (Lonely Hearts Club Tour Studio Version): Marina & The Diamonds (2013)

5) Fear & Loathing (Album Version): Marina & The Diamonds (2012)

6) Scab & Plaster (Demo II): Marina & The Diamonds (2012)

7) Savages (Album Version): Marina & The Diamonds (2015)

8) Purge The Poison: Marina (2021)

9) Primadonna (Album Version): Marina & The Diamonds (2012)

10) I Am Not A Robot (Doorly Remix By Martin Doorly): Marina & The Diamonds (2010)

11) Froot (Album Version): Marina & The Diamonds

12) Hollywood (Gonzales Version By Jason Beck): Marina & The Diamonds

13) How To Be A Heartbreaker (Single Version By Benny Blanco): Marina & The Diamonds

14) Only Want You (Live @ Dermot O’Leary Show, BBC Radio 2) (Cover of Rita Ora): Marina (2019)

15) Girls: Marina & The Diamonds (2010)

2009: Obsessions EP: 3

2010: Hollywood EP: 12

2010: I Am Not A Robot EP: 10

2010: The Family Jewels: 15

2012: Electra Heart: 2, 5, 9

2012: How To Be A Heartbreaker EP: 13

2012: The Rejects: Demos (bootleg MP3): 1, 6

2013: The Lonely Hearts Club Tour (Studio Version) (bootleg MP3): 4

2015: FROOT: 7, 11

2019: Live At BBC Radio 2 EP: 14

2021: Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land: 8

Guess What (1:01:59) (GD) (M)

I managed to miss Marina's birthday in 2023 too, and similarly celebrated in belated style with a Dubhed selection of Marina's songs, remixed and reinvented. You can find it here.

Ha Ha Hallowe'en

A spooky selection today, in a nod to Hallowe'en, whether you will ready for the hordes of Trick or Treaters, or battening down the hatches and pretending you're not in when the doorbell rings.

Inevitably, lots of Halloween-referencing songs to choose from, though dig a little deeper into some of the lyrics and you may be surprised by what you find. I've also lobbed in a few pumpkins, though they're not necessarily seasonal tunes.

I had to include some music by John Carpenter, though rather than go for the obvious with the main theme of 1978's defining moment Halloween, I've instead picked an extract from the 2018 'sequel', which Carpenter scored for director David Gordon Green. 

1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins was a classic slice of nostalgic rock until Moby got his hands on it and transformed it into a spine-tingling horrorshow. 1979 was a ripe year for horror films, with Alien, Phantasm, The Driller Killer, The Amityville Horror, The Brood, Nosferatu The Vampyre, and a(nother) remake of Dracula.

The Prisoner by Tears For Fears is the penultimate song on their debut album The Hurting and a re-recorded version of an old B-side. It gave me the chills when I listened to it as a young lad, though it was - and remains - one of the best things they've ever done.

The Basement Jaxx remix of Trick Me by Kelis is arguably far too upbeat for inclusion in this selection, but I like the jarring juxtaposition with Siouxsie & The Banshees before and Phoebe Bridgers afterwards.

And, having recently discovered EMF's unexpected but strangely compelling cover of Bauhaus' classic Bela Lugosi's Dead, it was a shoo in for this selection.

And who better to start and end proceedings than Misfits? 

1) Halloween: Misfits (1981)

2) Halloween Parade: Lou Reed (1989)

3) Halloween: Ash (1997)

4) Laurie Sees The Shape: John Carpenter (2018)

5) 1979 (Moby Mix): The Smashing Pumpkins (1996)

6) Pumpkin (Reincarnated): Tricky ft. Lucia (2023)

7) Halloween: The Gaslight Anthem (2014)

8) Pumpkin Head Xscapes: The Fall (1992)

9) Halloween: Japan (1979)

10) Halloween: Kirsty MacColl (1991)

11) Halloween: Sonic Youth (1986)

12) The Prisoner (Album Version): Tears For Fears (1983)

13) Halloween: Dead Kennedys (1982)

14) Halloween (Album Version): Siouxsie & The Banshees (1981)

15) Trick Me (Jaxxbackclash Rerub) (Remix By Basement Jaxx): Kelis (2004)

16) Halloween: Phoebe Bridgers (2020)

17) Bela Lugosi's Dead (Cover of Bauhaus): EMF (2025)

18) Halloween II: Misfits (1981)

1979: Quiet Life: 9

1981: Halloween EP: 1, 18

1981: Juju: 14

1982: Plastic Surgery Disasters: 13

1983: The Hurting: 12

1986: Flower / Halloween EP: 11

1989: New York: 2

1991: Electric Landlady: 10

1992: Ed's Babe EP: 8

1996: 1979 EP: 5

1997: A Life Less Ordinary EP: 3

2004: Trick Me EP: 15

2014: Get Hurt (Deluxe Edition): 7

2018: Halloween OST: 4

2020: Punisher: 16

2023: Maxinquaye (Reincarnated): 6

2025: Bela Lugosi's Dead EP: 17

Ha Ha Hallowe'en (1:06:08) (GD) (M)

If that's not frightening enough for you, then I've refreshed my #SpookyTunesSeason selections, originally posted on Bluesky this time last year. Follow the link for Volume One and Volume Two. 

Something To Warm The Cockles Of Your Heart

Nubiyan Twist released Chasing Shadows on Wednesday (29th), a collaboration with the Queen of Afro-Soul, Fatoumata Diawara.

It was Fatoumata's involvement that caught my eye and drew me in. A quick check and I realise that I don't currently have any music by Nubiyan Twist in my collection. 

Fatoumata Diawara on the other hand has been a significant presence since my belated introduction to her music, followed by the privilege of seeing her perform live on stage as part of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival in May 2024. 

Chasing Shadows is a welcome antidote to a week of bad news and bad weather, and hopefully a precursor to more music together, as they complement one another very well.

To give you - and me - plenty of notice ahead of the final Bandcamp Friday of 2025 on 5th December, here are some more Nubiyan Twist nuggets that I'm discovering as a I type this.

Fatoumata Diawara's catalogue is also well represented on Bandcamp. In addition, I've reactivated the Dubhed selection that I created to accompany the gig review, if you want a compact introduction to her magnificence.

 

 

 

Making The Impossible Possible

Cabaret Voltaire played at the FORGE Warehouse in Sheffield on Saturday (25th), a reunion and live performance that was such an unlikely prospect that any thought of such a thing would previously have been dismissed as a fever dream.

And yet...the prospect of seeing two 70-year old men on a stage, playing music that never was - and was never intended to be - populist, yet has made such an indelible mark on electronic music, is enough to send people into a heightened state of emotion.

It's an intriguing concept. Founder member Chris Watson left in 1981, balancing a continued interest in music with a parallel career in television. Stephen Mallinder continued into the 1990s, before solely focusing on solo and other musical projects.

The absence of fellow founder Richard H. Kirk is inescapable. Richard tragically passed on 21st September 2021 (which I wrote about at the time), having resurrected the Cabaret Voltaire for remixes in the late 2000s and then more fully for live performances in 2014-15 and three albums and EP in 2020-21.

As people questioned whether RHK solo was Cabaret Voltaire, there will be purists today who have said that Stephen and Chris together isn't truly Cabaret Voltaire. Bollocks, I say.

This is no money-making nostalgic cash-in: this is two artists celebrating their friend, and a band that they started half a century ago, playing music that was revolutionary and game-changing on so many levels. And still sounds provocative and exciting today.

I had no reasonable chance of getting to Sheffield or seeing Cabaret Voltaire at any of shows in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London in November. However, I would have loved to have been there, just to see, hear and experience the music that I was introduced to by my brother in the mid-80s and which has been a constant ever since.

Thankfully, Ian Corbridge was in the audience on Saturday night and captured nearly half of the set on his phone. "I hold my phone just in front of my chest as I am always conscious of people behind me." Ian reassures us and it has to be said that the sound and audio quality is amazing compared to the tinny, blurry crap that you frequently get uploaded to YT.

I'm not sure how long these will remain available, but I've inserted the eight songs into their relevant setlist position below.

You can also read a great review of the Sheffield show by Daniel Dylan Wray over at The Quietus.

In a post that's all about the impossible becoming possible, in checking the info on the upcoming short tour of the UK, I was delighted to discover that Cabaret Voltaire is returning a further 11 UK dates in October 2026, supported by the wonderful Gazelle Twin and including a gig at The Forum in Bath. Tickets are on sale Friday (31st) and I will be trying my darndest to get some.

Cabaret Voltaire @ the FORGE Warehouse in Sheffield, Saturday 25th October 2025

Personnel: Stephen Mallinder, Chris Watson, Eric Random, Oliver Harrap (standing in for Ben 'Benge' Edwards, who was poorly)

1) 24/24

2) Animation

  

3) Why Kill Time (When You Can Kill Yourself)

4) Tinsley Viaduct (Chris Watson music from Inside The Circle Of Fire)

5) The Set Up

6) Landslide 

7) Allen Ginsberg: Howl (intro excerpt) / 

    Crackdown

8) Spies In The Wires

9) Just Fascination

10) Taxi Music

11) Yashar

12) Sex Money Freaks

13) Easy Life

14) Do Right

Encore:

15) Nag Nag Nag

16) Sensoria 

Raise Your Leg, Raise Your Foot And Jump

Mura Masa, aka Alexander Crossan, is another in a long list of artists that have been going for a decade or more and receiving plenty of plaudits and acclaim before this clloth-eared Johnny Come Lately finally cottons on to their music.

What an introduction, though. The Curve +1 EP came out on Friday and every single one of the four tracks is a banger. 

Lead track JUMP was released in March and is an absolute joy, built around a sample from a 30-year old song that I was also ignorant of up to now, the Bajan groove of Hol' Up Ya Foot & Jump by Zulu Lightning aka Dale Husbands and Oscar Michelson Joseph Lovell. And the video, featuring Martha Igbinosa and the incredible Showdem troupe, is glorious.

I'm Really Hot (For Myself) followed in September, with a stuttering sample, heavy riff break and pounding rhythm that had throwing all kinds of ungainly shapes around the kitchen. Best advised not to play this whilst making hot food, otherwise play loud and let loose...!

Another striking video to accompany the music, directed (as all three selections are) by The Reids aka South London siblings Will and Ed. Featuring "pole dancing sensation for hire" Georgina Circus and "absolute showstopper" Jaytheystallion, it offers a refreshing take on the familiar dance studio set up.

Track three, Losing, doesn't have a video (yet), but it's a bass-heavy beast of a track, that teases and then releases an infectious beat, with rippling, bubbling vocal samples dropping in and out. 

The EP closes with the song that I chanced upon on YouTube, Handsup is built around a couple of teasingly familiar samples urging you to "shake ya ass" if you want a good time and to "put your hands in the air like it's a stick up", whilst blending a laidback groove with frenetic beats... and an earworm ringtone. 

On paper, tracks like this should never work, with so much going on, but Handsup works brilliantly. The video warns of flashing imagery and I'll confess that even at a smidge over three minutes, my brain was trying to force it's way out through my eye sockets. The tune however, is spot on.

The Curve +1 EP is available from Bandcamp, Juno and all the usual places in various digital formats and price points. 

The former also offers up the Selected Weapons 2023-2024 EP, released in January as a free download. The four tracks are built on samples and mash-ups of Basement Jaxx, Dave & Central Cee, Ice Spice, Panic! At The Disco, Stardust and The Dare. Individually and collectively, well worth your time.

Mr. Morgan's On The Train

Dub Pistols + Freestylers x JA-13 + Derrick Morgan = Ska Train.

The opening ten seconds should be enough to convince you to hop on board, but once the legendary Mr. Morgan's voice blasts out over the tannoy.

For the return trip, why not hop on the Reggae Train, which inspired this slick update? Here's Derrick again to welcome you aboard, live at The 100 Club in London on 13th September 2008.

Dub Pistols and Freestylers have recorded a full album, Enter The Sound, following in March. 

As well as Derrick Morgan, JA-13 and regular collaborator Seanie T,  the Enter The Sound line-up includes Belle Humble, General Levy, Harry Shotta, Horseman, Johnny Osbourne, MC Spyda, Persona, Scarlett Quinn, Tenor Fly, Tippa Irie and Too Many T’s.

You can buy Ska Train now and pre-order Enter The Sound on all formats, including a lovely yellow marble vinyl.

Northern Synth Soul Weekender (Sunday)

Day 2 of a non-stop erotic cabaret weekend, celebrating the genius of Dave Ball.
 

It's impossible to talk about Dave Ball without referring to Soft Cell and The Grid, and inevitably they both feature heavily in today's second selection of choice cuts from Dave's career.

Dave's work with Marc Almond and Richard Norris is incredible in it's span, not only in terms of commercial success, but also in it's ambition and longevity. However, it's not the only evidence of what, from the outside looking in, portrays Dave as a person that others wanted to work with and keep working with, time and time again.

I mentioned Psychic TV yesterday and Dave's involvement with Genesis P-Orridge in the late 1980s on the legendary 'acid house' albums Jack The Tab and Tekno Acid Beat.  I featured Joy, the lead single from the latter, on Saturday's selection. I also noted Genesis' appearance on Dave's solo album, In Strict Tempo, and today features Man In The Man, one the two songs they co-wrote.

Gavin Friday also appears on In Strict Tempo, and was another frequent flyer with Dave. Gavin co-wrote and sang on the (almost) title track in 1983; The Grid remixed Gavin's 1996 single You Me And World War Three. In 2009, Dave and Gavin recorded a cover of Ghostrider by Suicide, released on 10* vinyl the following year for Alan Vega's 70th Birthday Limited Edition EP Series. 

In 2019, another long-term friend and collaborator, Anni Hogan, released the album Lost In Blue, produced by Dave. The penultimate song, Angels Of Romance, features - you guessed it - Gavin. Last year, I was delighted that Gavin returned with a new solo album, Ecce Homo, with Dave joining him at the controls. The title track is an essential pick here.

The other significant 'duo' for me is Dave's work with Ingo Vauk, which often seems to be overlooked and understated. Ingo is credited as an engineer on The Grid's debut album Electric Head in 1990, the start of a songwriting and production partnership. 

Although Dave and Ingo never 'formed a band' and released their own music, you may be surprised at how many songs in your collection credit the pair. Kylie Minogue's 1998 single Breathe? They co-wrote and produced it. The 'Double Click' and 'Lost In Space' remixes of Hallo Spaceboy by David Bowie? That's them. Billie Ray Martin's 1999 single Honey? They produced it. In fact, Ingo was in the studio (as engineer) with Dave and Richard in 1993 for Billiie's sublime 4 Ambient Tales EP, which also features here. 

The point that all of the above is labouring is that Dave is repeatedly described as a lovely bloke and this is borne out by the number of people that continued to work with him throughout his career. 

In Marc Almond's 1999 autobiography, Tainted Life (which I really must read again), he recalls that

"When Dave Ball had walked into Leeds Polytechnic in the autumn of 1977, 

the first person he had bumped into was me. 

We couldn't have been more contrasting: 

Dave in a denim jacket, jeans and desert wellies, 

tall and stocky with black curly hair; 

me in gold-lamé trousers, a leopard skin T-shirt 

on a small skinny frame with a blond crop. 

He asked me the way to the art department, 

and I pointed him down the corridor. 

Neither of us then could have imagined the strange adventure 

we be embarking on in less than three years' time, 

nor even that this encounter would have any significance at all."

Richard Norris' 2024 autobiography, Strange Things Are Happening (also sitting on my bookshelf) recounts the making of the Jack The Tab album in 1987:

"On the Sunday, Gen brings along a friend to help with the proceedings - 

Soft Cell keyboard player Dave Ball. 

I'm a little intimidated. 

We've all been bopping about in the studio, mucking about, 

adding vocals and mad effects. 

A deranged nightclub meets laboratory experiment. 

Having Dave here makes things feel a little more professional. 

He's an actual pop star, after all. 

How is he going to fit in with these demented tracks 

featuring wolves howling, falsetto Tiny Tim samples and 

Gen and Paula's bedroom tapes?

Very well, it turns out."

I'd been meaning to get Dave Ball's autobiography, Electronic Boy, for some time. Sadly, it's taken his passing to give me the proverbial boot and order a copy. I'm looking forward to reading Dave's own recollections of this incredible life in music, albeit with a sadness that the last chapter has been written.

Dave's music endures, however, and today's selection once again provides the merest hint of how and why this is so.

I said yesterday that I would often buy a record solely because Dave's name was on it somewhere and there are a couple of examples here. I was never a huge fan of Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine at the time (although I've since revised my opinion), yet seeing the words "Remixed by The Grid" on a promo 12" of 1994 single Glam Rock Cops was enough to make me buy, buy. buy. Three great remixes, titles inspired by The Sweeney and Kojak, I've picked the main extended version to open today's proceedings.

Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson is a phenomenally talented violin player and in 1990s had a similar impact in popularising the instrument - and classical music in general - as Nigel Kennedy had in the previous decade. Dave and Ingo did a couple of remixes for a USA-only 12" single in 1995; the version of Classical Gas featured here arrived in the UK in 1997 as a bonus track on the CD single of I Feel Love. 

The aforementioned Breathe by Kylie Minogue was featured on her album Impossible Princess, before Lady Di's death caused the record to be pulled and reissued as a self-titled album. The single featured remixes by Todd Terry and Sash! though neither come close to the original production by Dave Ball and Ingo Vauk. I'll commit myself to saying it's my favourite Kylie single ever.

Vicious Pink Phenomena (later just Vicious Pink) aka Josie Warden and Brian Moss, started out as backing vocalists for Soft Cell. Dave Ball produced their debut single in 1982 and reappeared (albeit uncredited) on their unexpected 2024 album called, er, Unexpected.

Billie Ray Martin is rarely far away from my playlist, having initially come to my attention with Electribe 101 then via a continuing solo career. The latter launched with a cover of Persuasion by Throbbing Gristle then followed up with the 4 Ambient Tales EP, produced by Dave Ball and Richard Norris as The Grid. It's a beautiful, beautiful quartet of songs and essential listening. 

Hifi Sean is very popular around these parts and his (currently three) albums with David McAlmont are magical, to say the least. In 2016, Sean released his first 'solo' album, Ft., which as the title suggests features collaborations with David, Fred Schneider, Maggie DuMonde and Yoko Ono. On Ultratheque, Sean pairs with Dave Ball and delivers a club classic that nods to the past whilst embracing the future. Great stuff.

Soft Cell and The Grid inevitably remain present throughout the selection. The Grid's follow up to Floatation, also featuring Sacha Souter, is A Beat Called Love. It got to #64 in the UK charts in September 1990. Criminal. It should have been a number one.

The remix of Loving You, Hating Me added here appeared on a promo 12" single in 1983 and is about a minute longer and very different from the version that appeared on the official 12" single and subsequent compilations. 

Last Chance appeared on Soft Cell's 2002 'comeback' Cruelty Without Beauty, which again deserved better than it got at the time. I was thrilled that Dave and Marc were back together and, unlike so many reunions, they remained true to Soft Cell's identity and mission statement without trying to recreate the past.

And there you have it. I struggled a lot with shortlisting a selection of Dave's music, because every single second of it was up for inclusion. I'm happy with the two 12-song selections that I've presented this weekend, in the hope that you'll be inspired by songs you know - and those you don't - to play even more, now and for years to come.

The electronic boy done good.

Thanks Dave, for the light, the shade, the darkness, the joy, the dancing and so many utterly fantastic tunes.

1) Glam Rock Cops (Regan & Carter Mix By The Grid): Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine (1994)

2) A Beat Called Love (Album Version): The Grid ft. Sacha Souter (1990)

3) Loving You, Hating Me (Special Mix By Soft Cell & Mike Thorne): Soft Cell (1983)

4) Breathe (Radio Edit By Dave Ball & Ingo Vauk): Kylie Minogue (1998)

5) Classical Gas (Stradosphere Mix By Dave Ball & Ingo Vauk): Vanessa-Mae (1995)

6) Ghostrider (Cover of Suicide): Gavin Friday & Dave Ball (2009)

7) Man In The Man: Dave Ball ft. Genesis P-Orridge (1983)

8) My Private Tokyo (Remix By Dave Ball): Vicious Pink Phenomena (1982)

9) Planet Of The Blue (Single Version By The Grid): Billie Ray Martin (1993)

10) Ultratheque (Album Version): Hifi Sean ft. Dave Ball (2016)

11) Ecce Homo (Album Version By Dave Ball & Michael Heffernan): Gavin Friday (2024)

12) Last Chance (Album Version By Dave Ball & Ingo Vauk): Soft Cell (2002)

1982: My Private Tokyo EP: 8

1983: In Strict Tempo: 7

1983: Loving You, Hating Me EP: 3

1990: Electric Head: 2

1993: 4 Ambient Tales EP: 9

1994: Glam Rock Cops EP: 1

1995: Classical Gas EP: 5

1998: Breathe EP: 4

2002: Cruelty Without Beauty: 12

2010: Ghostrider EP: 6

2016: Ft.: 10

2024: Ecce Homo: 11

Northern Synth Soul Weekender (Sunday) (1:02:08) (GD) (M)

Northern Synth Soul Weekender (Saturday)

Day 1 of a non-stop ecstatic dancing weekend, celebrating the genius of Dave Ball.
 

I was enraptured the moment I saw Dave and Marc Almond on Top Of The Pops, performing Tainted Love. I was 10 years old, I had no idea about how and why they were subverting the pop - and teatime TV - norms. I just  knew that Soft Cell sounded great, they looked great, they appealed to me in a way that Sparks had, years previously. And they made an unforgettable first impression.

I wasn't into buying records at that point - my pocket money went on comics, books and Star Wars figures - but when I really got into collecting records in my teens, tracking down Soft Cell's singles became a thing. To the extent that, aged 19, when I spotted a pristine import 12" of Memorabilia in a record shop in Perth, Western Australia, it was an essential purchase that joined a small pile of vinyl that was shipped back to Bristol via surface mail. 

Another record that joined that shipment was Floatation by The Grid, Dave's relatively new partnership with Richard Norris, the 12" featuring a collaborative remix on each side with Andrew Weatherall and featuring the dreamy voice of Sacha Souter.

Success was around the corner for The Grid, too, not least with monster (pun intended) single Swamp Thing in 1994. I love The Grid as much as I love Soft Cell, but what I really loved was that Dave Ball had struck gold again and was deservedly scoring hit after hit once more, in addition to the pair's in demand status as remixers par excellence.

One of the blessings - and curses - of the 21st century is that bands never split up or, if they do, they manage to get over their differences and get back together. So it has been with Soft Cell and The Grid, both returning with new material that acknowledges and embraces the passage of time, but retains the spirit that made their previous music so great. 

Personally, seeing Dave Ball's name on a record, whether as writer, performer, producer or remixer, was always enough for me to go ahead and buy, regardless of whether I had heard the song or liked the artist. Dave never let me down. An otherwise dull song or EP would be enlivened by his presence.

Saturday's Northern Synth Soul Weekender is an hour-long, 12-song travelogue, darting back and forth through time, starting with Soft Cell, ending with The Grid and covering lots of extracurricular activity in between.

The Almond/Ball partnership is represented by Metro Mrx from their debut Mutant Moments EP, the sublime pop perfection of Torch, the tabloid-baiting Sex Dwarf and late period single Northern Lights, recorded for the Keychains & Snowstorms 'best of' and heralding their third and final phase.

The dynamic duo of Ball/Norris is via the art of the remix, The Grid transforming singles by Sophie B. Hawkins, The B-52's, If? and Minty (aka Leigh Bowery & co, not the cheeky chappy from EastEnders). You might want to escort those with sensitive ears out of the room, when listening to the last one, there's foul language a plenty.

In 1996, Dave Ball and Ingo Vauk remixed Duggie Dohl Caffrey Stretch Out by Black Star Liner. The same year, The Grid collaborated with Choque Hussain from Black Star Liner on a remix of Jullander Shere by Cornershop. Both highly recommended.

Dave also frequently worked with Psychic TV, not least on the legendary 'acid house' albums Jack The Tab and Tekno Acid Beat in 1988. The latter opens with the single Joy by DJ Doktor Megatrip (aka Genesis P-Orridge) and featuring Luv Bass (aka Dave Ball). Genesis previously performed on two songs from Dave's 1983 solo album, In Strict Tempo, which even now sounds way ahead of its time.

Love Street, also from 1988, was another supergroup of sorts, comprising Dave (Soft Cell), Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire), Robert Gordon (Fon Force, Forgemaster, later co-founder of Warp Records), Ruth Joy (Krush) and Jake Harries (Chakk). 

At the tail end of the 2000s, The B-52's back catalogue was revisited and remixed for a series of limited edition EPs. They were a bit hit-and-miss, to be honest, but no so with The Grid's remake of Private Idaho. I love the original version, and this one respects the source whilst reforming it for the dancefloor. 

The Grid were not averse to being remixed themselves, Floatation being a go-to for many artists. Whilst none will ever quite surpass the glorious Weatherall collaborations, some come pretty close. Prins Thomas for one, whose 2011 take adds a compelling bass line and more organic, live-in-the-studio feel. 

Bloody hell, Dave, you know your way around a song.

More tomorrow.

1) Metro Mrx: Soft Cell (1980)

2) Duggie Dohl Caffrey Stretch Out (Remix By Dave Ball & Ingo Vauk): Black Star Liner (1996)

3) Joy (12" Version): DJ Doktor Megatrip ft. Luv Bass (1988)

4) Right Beside You (The Grid 7" Mix By Dave Ball & Richard Norris): Sophie B. Hawkins (1994)

5) Torch (Single Version By Mike Thorne): Soft Cell ft. Cindy Ecstasy (1982)

6) Come On Down To Love Street (On A Rocket Mix): Love Street ft. Jake Harries & Ruth Joy (1988)

7) Private Idaho (The Grid Remix By Dave Ball & Richard Norris): The B-52's (2007)

8) Sex Dwarf (Album Version By Mike Thorne) (Clean Intro): Soft Cell (1981)

9) If? (Kill Wagner Mix By The Grid aka Dave Ball & Richard Norris): If? (1991)

10) Northern Lights (Single Version): Soft Cell (2018)

11) Useless Man (The Grid Edited Mix By Dave Ball & Richard Norris): Minty (1994)

12) Floatation (Prins Thomas Miks By Thomas Hermansen): The Grid (2011)

1980: Mutant Moments EP: 1

1982: Torch EP: 5

1988: Galaxy EP: 6

1988: Joy EP: 3

1991: If? EP: 9

1994: Don't Don't Tell Me No EP: 4

1994: Useless Man EP: 11

1996: Haláal Rock EP: 2

2007: Wild Planet 2007 Remix EP: 7

2011: Floatation EP: 12

2016: Trials Of Eyeliner: Anthology 1979-2016: 8

2018: Northern Lights / Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) EP: 10

Northern Synth Soul Weekender (Saturday) (1:03:57) (GD) (M)

Just Smile And Say Hello

Celebrating Dave Ball, 3rd May 1959 to 22nd October 2025.

I left work on Thursday night and a text popped up from my friend Mike. 

"Have you heard....?"

I hadn't, and I still can't quite believe it's true, even though Dave had been seriously ill for the past few years.

A proper tribute will follow this weekend, when I've had time to gather my thoughts. In the meantime, here are a few (of many, many) fine moments from Dave's partnership with Marc Almond as Soft Cell and Richard Norris as The Grid.

Bless you, Dave.

1) Entertain Me: Soft Cell (1981)

2) A Beat Called Love: The Grid ft. Sacha Souter (1990)

3) Figure Of Eight: The Grid (1992)

4) Texas Cowboys: The Grid (1994)

5) Martin (Dave Ball's Hallowe'en Dub Of Doom): Soft Cell (2025)

6) Say Hello, Wave Goodbye: Soft Cell (1982)

In lieu of a new Dubhed selection, I've refreshed the link to a 55-minute collection of The Grid that I did back in March 2022, which you can find here.

 

 

 

 

 

We Can Offer You Everything

My relationship with the music of The Cult is mercurial, to say the least.

She Sells Sanctuary was my entry point, though I subsequently preferred previous album Dreamtime to the 'hit' follow up, Love. 

My curiosity was piqued by the Rick Rubin reboot with Electric, enough to see The Cult live at the Colston Hall in Bristol in 1987. 

After that, my interest waned and I've only occasionally dipped in and out of their catalogue.

Those early Goth/alternative stylings that resonated with teen me (including their previous incarnations as Southern Death Cult, then Death Cult) didn't mask the fact that what frontman Ian Astbury really wanted to do was R.O.C.K. 

Paired with the incredible guitar skills of Billy Duffy, it was no surprise that the step from Love to Electric and then 1989's Sonic Temple completed that transition. Unfortunately, for this listener at least, The Cult were leaning too much into Bon Jovi and Guns 'n' Roses territory, at a time when I was heading in the opposite direction.

Decades later, I can look back and hear these songs more favourably. As much as Astbury didn't shy away from his Jim Morrison aspirations (he even fronted The Doors for a while twenty years ago), neither did he have any qualms about embracing other rock 'n' roll tropes.

Ian's copy of Rock's Lyrical Cliches is more well thumbed than Penry The Janitor's Hong Kong Book of Kung Fu, songs littered with references to one horse towns, filthy dirty little boogie children, and doing time for someone else's crime.

For all that, in the right mood, The Cult hit the spot and this 45-minute selection collects 10 of my favourites, starting with the B-side of She Sells Sanctuary, the first single (12", naturally) of theirs that I bought, and ending with another B-side, the last single (CD in a bargain bin) that I acquired in the 1990s.

The Manor Sessions were songs recorded in 1986 with producer Steve Brown for the follow up to Love. A year later, switching to Rick Rubin resulted in the Electric album, though the two songs included here ended up as single B-sides. 

North was an outtake from the sessions for 1994's self-titled album. Never intended for inclusion on the finished record, North was instead a chance for childhood friends Billy Duffy and Johnny Marr to get together in the studio. 

Ressurection Joe (sic) and Go West were both singles in 1984, although I bought them on 12" vinyl in the wake of She Sells Sanctuary. I was a little miffed that I had to quietly remove my Go West badge from my school bag when Peter Cox and Richard Drummie had the nerve to pilfer the name for their pop pap shortly after.

Enjoy the ride, embrace the cliches and, more importantly, play LOUD!

1) No. 13 (Single Version) (1985)

2) Ressurection Joe (Long Version) (1984)

3) North (ft. Johnny Marr) (1994)

4) Heart Of Soul (Acoustic) (1992)

5) Lil' Devil (Album Version) (1987)

6) Groove Co. (Manor Session) (1986)

7) Rider In The Snow (Album Version) (1984)

8) Zap City (Manor Session) (1986)

9) Go West (Crazy Spinning Circles) (Original Mix) (1984)

10) The Witch (Full Version) (1994)

1984: Dreamtime: 7

1984: Ressurection Joe EP: 2

1985: She Sells Sanctuary EP: 1

1987: Electric: 5

1987: Lil' Devil EP: 8

1987: Love Removal Machine EP: 6

1992: Heart Of Soul EP: 4

1994: Star EP: 10

2000: Rare Cult: 3

2000: The Best Of Rare Cult: 9

We Can Offer You Everything (45:48) (GD) (M)