Soft Cell singer Marc Almond, who suffered head injuries in a life-threatening motorcycle accident in London on Sunday afternoon, is currently in stable condition. The forty-seven-year-old Almond was the passenger on a motorcycle that collided with a car at an intersection. He was rushed to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel for emergency surgery, where he was listed as critical until late Monday.

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 massive hit in 1981 with their provocative cover of "Tainted Love," and their debut album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, went on to become a big success. 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.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES The 10 Best Zombie Movie Scenes
• 
  TV The Most WTF? Moments of 'Mad Men'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories