Soft Cell Unveil 'Out Come the Freaks' with Nona Hendryx Ahead of 'Danceteria' LP

Soft Cell stars Dave Ball and Marc Almond finished work on what will be the band’s final studio album, Danceteria, shortly before Ball’s sad passing. The first taste of the upcoming album from the synth-pop duo is Out Come The Freaks, featuring special guest star Nona Hendryx.

The track is a cover of Was (Not Was)’s 1981 track Out Come The Freaks and features Almond and Hendryx’s vocals atop bouncing, synth-driven production. The number celebrates the glorious mystique of the outsider. Nona Hendryx, now 81, is best known as a star of Labelle, followed by an impressive solo career. This marks a rare collaboration for Soft Cell, who delivered their first with Pet Shop Boys on Purple Zone from the 2022 album Happiness Not Included.

Marc Almond shared: “I have loved working on this album. Dave’s music has once again inspired me to write a set of lyrics that this time reflect a time in my life in New York in the early 80s, at a particular creative and pivotal time of changes in my personal life and the city itself. Some of the songs are very personal. Soft Cell have always had a strong connection to New York, recording our first three albums there and taking inspiration from its underground culture; my Soft Cell lyrics have often looked at America through British eyes.”

Before his death, Ball shared: “I’m very excited about the new Soft Cell album, the first thing to be created in my new studio in London. With Marc’s vocals recorded across the river in Soho, it’s inspired by, and tells the tales of, our London and New York experiences in the early 80s.”

While the album’s release is described as a tentative spring date, the duo will also release the album’s title track, Danceteria, as a special Record Store Day release on 18 April.

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