Soft Cell announce two new expanded versions of *Happiness not included

*Happiness now extended is a limited-edition double vinyl album, featuring longer versions of all the twelve tracks from the original version, and including the single releases – "Purple Zone" featuring Pet Shop Boys, "Bruises On All My Illusions", and "Nostalgia Machine". It also sees the inclusion for the first time on vinyl of one of the album’s highlights "Nighthawks", with New York performance artist CHRISTEENE.

A CD version of the album, *Happiness not included is set to be released under the title, *Happiness now completed, is set to features ten brand new Marc Almond and Dave Ball tracks, plus unreleased mixes, remixes and single-only tracks.

*Happiness now completed also includes a newly re-recorded version of "Last Chance", with the addition of a full brass section, plus cover versions of Fad Gadget’s "Back To Nature" and X-Ray Spex’s "The Day The World Turned Day Glo". Lead track "First Hand Experience of Second Hand Love" was originally recorded by Giorgio Moroder – a huge influence on Soft Cell. Dave Ball created the backing track shortly before Marc Almond’s near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2003, and it was two decades before Almond's vocals were recorded.

1/2: Announcing 2 companion albums to accompany 2022's *Happiness not included, both coming on 28th July. *HAPPINESS NOW EXTENDED is a double-vinyl album featuring full length versions of the tracks from the original album + bonus track Nighthawks.
MORE: https://t.co/wPqH3MrRwz pic.twitter.com/RcVJVQ3X9p

— Soft Cell (@softcellhq) July 6, 2023

"Marc and I were really keen to use all the music we made during the *Happiness sessions," says Ball. "Our original plan had been to make a 16-song album, but that turned out to be over an hour long, so we whittled it down to 12, and decided to save the other songs for a rainy day. It’s now time to release them. We’re already discussing the prospect of another Soft Cell album, so it's important to get these songs out now so we can start from scratch on more material."

"I've always said that I'm up for new Soft Cell music if Dave has the tunes," adds Almond. "If you'd asked me, a few months before the O2 concert, whether Soft Cell had a future, I'd have said no. But everything seemed right again from that point. Once I got used to the idea of new music, I became really excited. The original working title for *Happiness not included had been Future Nostalgia but Dua Lipa annoyingly came up with the same idea before our album was ready, so that was off the table. As far as the studio goes, Dave and I work at a distance. He sends me ideas and tunes, and I write the lyrics and record my vocals. That's not a new thing, either. Soft Cell has always been that way. Things just happen… and sometimes they don't."

2/2: *HAPPINESS NOW COMPLETED is a CD album of bonus tracks, alternative mixes and project highlights featuring 19 tracks - 10 of which are brand new - designed to fit into the back flap of last year's *Happiness not included CD album.
MORE: https://t.co/wPqH3MrRwz pic.twitter.com/6IvvdSZ9v7

— Soft Cell (@softcellhq) July 6, 2023