Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

"Entertain Me" redirects here. For the Blur song, see The Great Escape (Blur album).
Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
Studio album by Soft Cell
Released 27 November 1981
Recorded 1981 at Camden Cell Studio and Advision Studios, London
Genre Synthpop, new wave
Length 40:32
Label Some Bizzare
Sire
Vertigo (original release)
Mercury (various reissues)
Producer Dave Ball, Daniel Miller, Mike Thorne
Soft Cell chronology
Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
(1981)		 Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing
(1982)
Singles from Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
  1. "Tainted Love" b/w "Where Did Our Love Go?"
    Released: July 1981
  2. "Bedsitter" b/w "Facility Girls"
    Released: November 1981
  3. "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" b/w "Fun City"
    Released: January 1982

Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is the debut album by English synthpop duo Soft Cell, released in the United Kingdom on 27 November 1981[1][2] by Some Bizzare Records. The album's critical and commercial success was bolstered by the worldwide success of its single "Tainted Love", a cover version of a soul song by Gloria Jones, which topped charts worldwide and became the best-selling British single of 1981 in the United States—as a result of the single's success the album had reported advance orders of more than 200,000 copies.[2] The album produced two more top five singles in the UK with "Bedsitter" and "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye".

Recording

The album was created on a very low budget; it was supposedly recorded almost entirely with a ReVox tape recorder, a borrowed Roland drum machine belonging to Kit Hain, a small, preset Roland bass synthesizer, and an NED Synclavier, belonging to producer Mike Thorne. The group caused some controversy in the UK over the song "Sex Dwarf", the music video of which was banned for explicit, S&M-related content.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
Rolling Stone Russia[7]
Select4/5[8]
The Village VoiceB+[9]

Reviews for the album were mixed. Melody Maker said, "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret... confronts clubland with its patchy past, rubs perspective in its pretty painted face and acts like it means nothing... Aggressively embarrassing, Cabaret is the brashest, most brilliant and least-caring indictment of pop music's bankruptcy I've ever heard. No compassion, no sorrow, no joy, it just faces facts and moves to the motions... Like traditional cabaret, the whole thing parodies true emotion and like the best subversive cabaret its shallowness makes those devalued emotions even more painful -the very real decadence of this album springs from its callous realisation of pop's impotency, and yet its bored resignation to the ritual."[10] However, NME found the album's premise was hollow, complaining that "the Soft Cell sex strategy should offer something spicy, rude and even a little wonderful... but Soft Cell are conceptualists who rely on too many preconceptions and play around with too many ideas to convince you of any personal energy or commitment... Soft Cell are very plain fare – unspectacular music and very drab and flat lyrics, wrapped in a hint of special promise which is never realised."[11]

Accolades

CMJ New Music Report included Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret on a list of The Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time.[12] American magazine Out placed the album at number sixty-six on their list of The 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums (of All Time).[13] It was also included in Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[14]

Track listing

All tracks written by Dave Ball and Marc Almond, except where noted. 

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Frustration"   4:12
2."Tainted Love"  Ed Cobb2:34
3."Seedy Films"   5:05
4."Youth"   3:15
5."Sex Dwarf"   5:15
6."Entertain Me"   3:35
7."Chips on My Shoulder"   4:05
8."Bedsitter"   3:36
9."Secret Life"   3:37
10."Say Hello, Wave Goodbye"   5:24

2008 deluxe edition

Personnel
  • Andy Hoggman – assistant engineer
  • Nicky Kalliongis – assistant engineer
  • Daniel Miller – producer
  • Vicious Pink Phenomena – backing vocals
  • Andrew Prewett – design
  • Jack Skinner – mastering
  • Mike Thorne – producer
  • David Tofani – saxophone, clarinet
  • Don Wershba – engineer

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1981/1982) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart[18] 2
New Zealand Albums Chart[19] 7
Swedish Albums Chart[20] 25
UK Albums Chart[21] 5
US Top LPs[22] 22
US Soul LPs[22] 55
Certifications
Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Platinum 300,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Harrigan, Brian (21 November 1981). "Soft Cell's Bizarre Eroticism". Melody Maker. London, England: IPC Media. p. 5.
  2. 1 2 NME. London, England: IPC Media. 28 November 1981. p. 43. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ Jim Irvin (2007). The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion. Canongate Books. p. 464. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  4. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret – Soft Cell". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 December 2005.
  5. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2009). "Soft Cell". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199726363.
  6. ↑ Fricke, David (13 May 1982). "Soft Cell: Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2007.
  7. ↑ Bukharin, Andrew (June 2009). "Soft Cell "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret"". Rolling Stone Russia (in Russian). Izdatelskiy Dom SPN. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  8. ↑ Scott, Danny (May 1992). "Soft Cell: Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret / Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing / The Art Of Falling Apart / Last Night In Sodom; Marc And The Mambas: Untitled / Torment And Toreros". Select (23): 85.
  9. ↑ Christgau, Robert (9 March 1982). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Sutherland, Steve (28 November 1981). "Review: Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". Melody Maker. London, England: IPC Media. p. 16.
  11. ↑ Martin, Gavin (28 November 1981). "Review: Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". NME. London, England: IPC Media. p. 37.
  12. ↑ "The Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time". CMJ New Music Report. CMJ Network, Inc. 74 (5): 12. 6 January 2003. ISSN 0890-0795. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  13. ↑ "Out's 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums (of All Time)". Out. Here Media Inc. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  14. ↑ "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Rocklist.net. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  15. ↑ "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret [UK Bonus Tracks] – Soft Cell". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  16. ↑ "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret [Bonus Tracks] – Soft Cell". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  17. 1 2 "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret [Deluxe Edition] – Soft Cell". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  18. ↑ "50 Albums". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 36 (2). 20 February 1982. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  19. ↑ "Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  20. ↑ "Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". Swedish Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  21. ↑ "Chart Stats – Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". The Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  22. 1 2 "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret – Soft Cell – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  23. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". Music Canada. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  24. ↑ "British album certifications – Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 July 2011. Enter Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
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