Soft Cell confirm final album ‘Danceteria’: “A fitting farewell to Dave Ball”
Synth-pop pioneers Soft Cell have confirmed details of their final studio album, Danceteria.
The upcoming record, which is set for release on September 25th via Republic of Music, was completed shortly before the sad passing of Dave Ball, who died at his home in London on October 23rd, 2025, aged 66.
Due to Ball’s death, Danceteria will mark the end of Soft Cell’s journey, with Marc Almond vowing not to go on without his right-hand man.
At the time of Ball’s passing, Almond mournfully shared, “He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago. It’s so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work.”
Now, many months later, Danceteria has been officially confirmed, which will be released in memory of Ball.
Almond said in a new statement, “There can be no more recordings of Soft Cell without Dave, it would not be possible. The sad reality is that Dave Ball was half of Soft Cell, and live work aside, I can’t write Soft Cell songs without him.”
Danceteria is a full-circle moment for Soft Cell, too. It’s set in the Manhattan club that they would party at while making their 1981 debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, almost 50 years ago.
Almond reflected, “Danceteria is a love letter to New York in the early 80s. The time we spent in New York – where we recorded our first 3 albums – shaped us both as artists and people. To celebrate this period is a fitting farewell to Dave Ball and the final Soft Cell studio album.”
He also touched on the band’s “strong connection with New York”, remembering how it “was a particularly creative place for me” in the 1980s, which “shaped Soft Cell”.
The vocalist added, “It was dirty, dark and dangerous – a real Wild West – but it was also deeply inspiring and exciting.”
In addition to releasing Danceteria, the title track of which is out today (June 9th), Soft Cell are currently opening for The Human League and Alison Moyet across North America.
Then, later this summer, Almond will be appearing across various festivals in the UK, including appearing alongside Gary Numan and Ladytron at the Crystal Palace Bowl in London on August 6th.
See the full tracklist for Danceteria below.
Soft Cell – Danceteria tracklist:
- ‘Elusive’
- ‘Danceteria’
- ‘The Space Inside (Vinyl Edit)’
- ‘Times Square (Vinyl Edit)’
- ‘Two Of A Kind’
- ‘The Rainbow Room (Vinyl Edit)’
- ‘In Heaven (When I Dance With You)’
- ‘Decadence Is Hard Work’
- ‘Losing Yourself’
- ‘After Hours’
- ‘Wave To America’
- ‘Out Come The Freaks’
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