Soft Cell’s long-awaited debut Australian tour touched down in Sydney this week, bringing four decades of synth-pop history to the Enmore Theatre. It may be hard to believe, but this is the first time the English duo – Marc Almond and David Ball – have performed down under. The room is packed, and anticipation is high for a band whose legacy has loomed large since the early 1980s.
Marc Almond opens the night with a solo set that serves as a reminder of just how much ground he’s covered outside of Soft Cell. His voice is strong and resonant, and he carries the room with confidence. Tracks from his back catalogue sit alongside carefully chosen covers, including Val Doonican’s Elusive Butterfly, which is warmly received by the crowd. Almond dedicates What Makes a Man a Man to the LGBTQI community, and there’s an emotional weight to the performance that doesn’t go unnoticed.
There’s also humour woven through the set – Almond references a covers album of personal favourites that he released last year and jokes about its reception by his record label – but it’s Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart that really lands. The audience is on their feet, singing along, unified in a moment that speaks to the staying power of both song and singer.
After a short break, the stage is transformed. Lighting becomes more elaborate, and when Almond reappears alongside Ball for the full Soft Cell performance, the energy shifts. Rocking black Wayfarer Ray-Bans, Almond takes centre stage as the band launches into Tainted Love early in the set – a bold move that works. The song remains as magnetic as ever, still able to stir something in a crowd that has clearly waited decades to hear it live.
What follows is a set that leans heavily on the classics but nothing feels stuck in time. The performance has a measured intensity, and the songs, though born of another era, still connect. Soft Cell’s music, always a little off-centre and emotionally charged, stands apart from typical nostalgia fare. This is a band still fully in command of their sound and presence. This isn’t just a trip down memory lane – it’s proof that Soft Cell’s legacy holds firm. They’re not just icons of the past; tonight confirms they still are. And if you get the chance to see them, don’t miss it.
The tour moves to Brisbane and Melbourne next. Tickets HERE.
Images Deb Pelser
