Soft Cell - O2 Academy 10/11/2021

A successful comeback gig for the 1980s outfit

In the height of the COP26 summit which was being held at the Scottish Exhibition Centre, where Sir David Attenborough gave an emotional speech and Joe Biden being seen to dose off during the conference, live music fans were given a treat in the south side of the city, where legendary 80s act Soft Cell were due to perform at the O2 Academy, the band were celebrating the 40th anniversary of their debut album Non Stop Erotic Cabaret and announced a 2022 UK tour to mark the occasion.

This was Soft Cells first tour in 15 years and their first concert since their so-called farewell performance at the O2 Arena in London on 2018, with lead singer Marc Almond doing solo performances since then. Everybody in attendance was looking forward to the bands comeback and there was lots of enthusiam among the crowd outside the venue.

Initially due to begin at 8:15pm, their gig was pushed forward to 7:45pm for unknown reasons, despite the announcement on social media, some of the people who were due to attend never got the memo as the venue was still half empty when the band began.

After a short DJ set from DJ Paul Cole, Soft Cell began their 2 hour set, starting off with "Torch", with live debuts for "Bruises on All My Illusions" and "Happy Happy Happy", Marc Almond was in fine form and the early-comers embraced the energy that was being shown, along with the early 1980s inspired backdrops behind the performers like retro home movies and even the Atari 2600 version of Space Invaders, these were obviously things that were relevant back when the band were at their prime.

O2 Academy was then starting to get busier, as the likes of "Heart Like Chernobyl", "Where the Heart Is", "The Art is Falling Apart" and "Martin" were all played.

The first act ended and a 30 minute interval occurred, allowing the audience to get refreshments before the second half of the 2 hour set was due to begin.

The band returned with "Frustration" being the first of the second act, and then the song that made the band, the cover of Gloria Joness "Tainted Love" was performed, the crowd were loving every bit and a large roar happened when the song finished, Marc Almond concluded "Glasgow, this is why I love coming here".

A memorable moment was when the band played "Sex Dwarf", with all of the relevant pictures of innuendo advertisements from the 1980s on display in the background, "forget the rest, ring the best" was one that springs to mind.

The last song of the set "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" was particularly emotional for Soft Cell, as they thought that their 2018 London gig would be their last ever, but here they were in Glasgow and more locations were to follow afterwards.

After an Encore, the band returned once more and finished off with "Purple Zone" and "Memorabilia", with the audience going home satisfied of what they have seen.

A great night all around and still sounding great after 40 years in existence, long may that continue.

A photo gallery from the gig can be viewed via the link below, review and photography by Stewart Fullerton.

http://glasgowmusic.co.uk/viewAlbum.php?albumId=72157720129422844

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