.

Almond Expects to Recover

Soft Cell singer on the mend after motorcycle crash

November 4, 2004 12:00 AM ET
Soft Cell frontman Marc Almond, who suffered life-threatening head injuries in an October 17th motorcycle accident in London, now believes he will make a full recovery.

"Marc has asked us to pass on his thanks for all the good wishes he has received from his fans," reads a statement posted on his official site. "He is overwhelmed by the amount of support shown and says it has been a big help. He is recovering slowly in hospital but is confident he will get back to full health eventually."

British synth-pop pioneers Soft Cell formed in 1980 in Leeds, England, by art students Almond and Dave Ball, who had previously collaborated on music for theatrical productions. They scored a Top Ten U.S. hit in 1981 with their provocative cover of the Sixties soul song "Tainted Love" (originally recorded by Gloria Jones). By 1984, however, the short-lived duo had broken up, with Almond immediately plunging into solo work with various electronica projects.

As a solo artist, Almond has embraced genres from disco to goth, drawing from influences as diverse and avant-garde as radical theorist Georges Bataille, the French cabaret of Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel, and street-wise rock of Lou Reed. (Almond recorded a 1988 duet with Nico.) Soft Cell reunited in 2002, touring to back their greatest-hits compilation, The Very Best of Soft Cell.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

prev
Music Main Next

blog comments powered by Disqus
Daily Newsletter

Get the latest RS news in your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Rolling Stone newsletter and special offers from RS and its
marketing partners.

X

We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.

Song Stories

“Jimbrowski”

Jungle Brothers | 1988

Jungle Brothers sampled, among other things, jazz, James Brown and house music. The New York crew's lyrics were equally diverse but never short on clever wordplay or a playful sense of humor, as exemplified by this song from 1988's Straight Out the Jungle. "The idea for that came at the end of a studio session, with Mike, me, Red Alert and a woman Red was dating at the time," says the group’s Afrika Baby Bam. "Red was flirting with her and kept saying 'Jimbrowski' the whole night. Mike and I wrote the rhymes on the way back from the subway."

More Song Stories entries »