14. Soft Cell - Torch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvNUJ8SQUh8 Soft Cell were best known for Tainted love, and were the classic 80s two piece, predating the Pet Shop Boys, with a flamboyant intellect on vocals and a Kraftwerkesque mannequin on keyboards. But Tainted love wasnt their landmark moment by any means. To start with it was written by someone else and the songs they wrote themselves were much more wonderful, their greatest moment was a straight fight between Bedsitter, Say hello, wave goodbye and the eventual winner, the marvel that is Torch. Torch takes the title because with it they embraced the power of the 12 inch and extended play that the extra vinyl grooves offered, go and seek the nine minute version that has perhaps an unintentionally hilarious spoken section of attempted seduction and drugspeak between Marc Almond and Cindy Ecstasy; who was named after the drug she supplied to the stars. And it did a million other things too, here they mixed Northern Soul, synth pop and Motown and told the story of a new drug that would inform the language and music that would suddenly hit the music scene; ecstasy was about to be the drug of its generation. Tragically denied the number one slot it deserved, Torch was a tale of heartbreak, devotion, oblivion and longing, and the conversational style of the words reminds one of a kitchen sink drama from the 60s. Bringing in a guest vocalist was a masterstroke, which would be borrowed by 80s luminaries as mighty as The Smiths and The Pet Shop Boys, albeit with 60s female icons. Finally, lets not forget the poetry of the words I hear the saxophone and it tears my soul, and we're feeling old, feeling so cold, she is the torch and she is the theme, she could be a dream but oh boy, is she real?... She her eyes they are bright tonight. The language and the drug experience of the 90s was born right here, wide eyed, romantic and forlorn.
Ed Nash
Contributor
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash
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