Marc Almond

Marc Almond born 9 July 1957

Marc Almond (born Peter Mark Sinclair Almond in Southport, Lancashire) is a popular English singer, songwriter and recording artist, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell.

Almond has recorded albums solo, as well as with his band Marc Almond and the Willing Sinners, and as a member of Marc and the Mambas alongside The The's Matt Johnson, and Annie Hogan, with whom Almond would later collaborate on his solo records. In addition, he has also collaborated with a wide range of artists including Antony and the Johnsons, Jools Holland, Kelli Ali of the Sneaker Pimps, Neal X (on the albums Fantastic Star and Open All Night), Marie France, Agnes Bernelle, P J Proby, Nico, Lydia Lunch, Nick Cave, Gene Pitney on the #1 UK single Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart, Siouxsie Sioux, Foetus (aka. J G Thirlwell), Jimmy Somerville, Psychic TV, Coil, Sally Timms of the Mekons, King Roc, John Cale and David Johansen of The New York Dolls and German band Rosenstolz.

Almond initially shot to fame in the early 80s as one half of synth duo Soft Cell, whose combination of drama and peep show sleaze set to an electronic beat gave them hits such as the legendary Tainted Love (UK #1), Bedsitter (UK #3), Torch (UK #2), Say Hello Wave Goodbye (UK #3), Soul Inside (UK # 16), What? (UK #3) and the club hit Memorabilia.

Although Soft Cell disbanded in 1984 just before the release of their third album, This Last Night In Sodom, the duo reunited in 2001 for live shows and in 2002 released a new album entitled Cruelty Without Beauty, from which the single The Night (UK #39) was taken.

His solo singles have enjoyed mixed chart success. The biggest hits have been cover versions: the aforementioned 1989 #1 duet with Gene Pitney and another near chart-topper in 1991 with David McWilliams' The Days of Pearly Spencer, which peaked at #4 in the UK. In 1985, he duetted with Jimmy Somerville and Bronski Beat on a cover of Donna Summer's I Feel Love (Medley) and it hit #3. The highest UK positions his self-penned singles have reached so far have been Stories of Johnny (#23 in 1985), Tears Run Rings (#28 in 1988) and Adored and Explored (#25 in 1995).

His work runs the gamut from electronica and dance music to French chanson, traditional piano ballads, and Russian romance songs, as exhibited on his 2003 album Heart on Snow. Influences include David Bowie, a childhood hero of his, as well as early 60s Northern Soul and disco. Other major influences have been Scott Walker from the Walker Brothers and Jacques Brel, 12 of whose songs Almond reworked in English for his 1989 album Jacques.

Almond's own lyrics are a creative expression of what he sees and are not to be confused with his own life. He also operates a record label, Blue Star Music, on which he has released many of his solo and collaborative records in the UK. In 1999, he received attention and accolades for his autobiography, entitled Tainted Life, which confronts details of his early life, creative ventures, his sexuality, and drug addiction, for which he was hospitalised in 1994. Almond wrote the autobiography without a ghost writer, and his publishers subsequently commissioned him to write a travel book, In Search of the Pleasure Palace: Disreputable Travels, whose publication in 2004 was accompanied by a book-signing tour.

On 17 October 2004, Almond was critically injured in a motorcycle accident in which he was a pillion passenger in London. Although the initial prognosis was considered poor, he was discharged from Royal London Hospital in November 2004 and was said to be making a "remarkable" recovery.

In 2005, he continued his recovery, did some DJ gigs all over Europe and guested at the Meltdown Festival in London in June 2005, hosted by Patti Smith. Almond contributed two songs to this night of Brecht music, Bilbao Song and What Keeps a Man Alive. In October, November and December 2005, Almond went on tour with Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, singing two songs during the shows, Say Hello Wave Goodbye and Tainted Love, which had a new arrangement done by Holland. 2006 saw Almond concentrate on recording, making few public appearances, though he did headline the Manchester Gay Pride Festival in August of that year.

In 2007 Almond released a new album of cover songs, Stardom Road. The album also includes one new self-penned song, Redeem Me (Beauty Will Redeem the World), his first composition since the near-fatal motorbike accident. Marc also appears on the 2006 album Black Ships Ate the Sky by experimental band Current 93. He is also working on a DVD compilation of all his promotional video clips as well as his 'last ever' self-penned album, tentatively titled Dining with Panthers, which is due to be completed in 2008.

Almond made his return to the London stage for a three-night run at the historic Wilton's Music Hall from May 4-6 2007. These were his first full-length UK shows since his accident. He had been warming up with shows in Barcelona, Athens and Moscow. He performed further live dates in the UK in 2007, including a Radio special broadcast on BBC Radio 2, and a 50th birthday concert at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on July 9th 2007.

Almond currently lives in the Bermondsey area of South East London. In his autobiography he describes previously living in Earls Court, in a converted church in Chelsea and most memorably in Soho's Berwick Street, where he lived in a flat overlooking the Raymond Revue Bar.

In June 2010, Almond released Varieté, his first studio album of self-penned songs in almost a decade. Almond has stated this will be his last fully self-penned album. He also announced a new concert tour to celebrate his 30 years in music.