Soft Cell’s 1983 album The Art Of Falling Apart is getting a deluxe reissue.
Set to be made available in a 6xCD box set, as well as in other CD, vinyl and digital editions, the updated edition will take in the full remastered album, in addition to 35 bonus cuts covering remixes, live rarities and more.
Reflecting on the original album in a statement, Soft Cell’s Marc Almond said: “Our attitude at the time of The Art Of Falling Apart might have alienated some of our younger and more middle-of-the-road fans, but we were being honest with ourselves. Dave [Ball] was listening to lots of new music. He was revisiting his soundtrack influences and electronic roots.
“I’d been going to The Batcave, the club in Soho, and was hanging out with Nick Cave and Siouxsie Sioux. I’d sung on a Psychic TV album and performed live in the collaborative band The Immaculate Consumptive with Nick Cave, Lydia Lunch and Clint Ruin. I was an art-school punk who enjoyed experimentation and confrontation, and all of that came to the fore on this record.”
For a taster of the reissue, you can listen to ‘Ghost Rider’, Soft Cell’s cover of the song Suicide, below. The duo have recorded the cover in the studio for the first time with brand new vocals from Almond, as well as guest vocals from Jim Thirlwell from Foetus and saxophone from long-term Soft Cell collaborator Gary Barnacle. The cover had previously only existed as part of the duo’s live shows during the era surrounding The Art Of Falling Apart.
The record was Soft Cell’s second studio album, arriving a year on from debut Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing. It birthed the singles ‘Where The Heart Is’, ‘Loving You, Hating Me’, ‘Numbers’ and ‘Heat’.
Universal Music will release The Art Of Falling Apart on October 31, 2025.
