Keychains & Snowstorms: The Soft Cell Story, a career-spanning 10 disc CD and DVD Box Set, is due for release by UMC on 7 September 2018. 

Keychains & Snowstorms: The Soft Cell Story Box Set release

Seminal electronic duo Soft Cell (Marc Almond, Dave Ball) celebrate their 40th year in 2018 with the release of their anthology through UMC on 7 September. Entitled Keychains & Snowstorms: The Soft Cell Story, this ten-disc Box Set features nine CDs and a DVD, encompassing both phases of their illustrious career from 1978 to 1984, and the 2001-3 reunion. It’s the story of 21 million records sold worldwide, 13 UK chart singles (five of them Top 10 hits), two gold-selling albums and one that reached platinum status.

This extensive, handsomely presented product has been a full two years in the making. Under the watchful eye of executive producers Ball and Almond, the Box Set reveals over 130 tracks – over 12 hours of music! Alongside newly-remastered full 12” versions of all the Soft Cell singles and B sides, a large proportion of the audio content is previously unreleased, available only on bootlegs, or created especially for the anthology. Keychains & Snowstorms is a genuine treasure-trove of art-school experimentation, memorable pop hits, ground-breaking club tracks and astute introspection from one of electronic music’s most thrilling and influential acts.

The Box Set includes both the hits and b-sides from the Phonogram era (1981-84), new extended and reworked mixes (including an hour-long continuous dance mix), rare and alternative versions (including demos such as the Loving Me, Hating You US remix), the early years of Soft Cell (1978-81), live sessions and reunions, a full live recording of their 1983 Los Angeles show, a DVD and much more.

Dave Ball describes the Box Set as “like a modular synthesizer of our collective influences and experiences, all patched into a dangerously overloaded plugboard.”

Soft Cell play their final live concert at London’s O2 on 30 September 2018. The last remaining tickets are available from Ticketmaster and Axs.com.

You can pre-order the Box Set and see the full track listing here.