This Last Night in Sodom

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This Last Night in Sodom

Studio album by Soft Cell
Released	1984
Recorded	1983-84
Genre	Synthpop
Length	64:10
Label	Some Bizarre
Producer(s)	Soft Cell
All Music Guide link
Soft Cell chronology
The Art of Falling Apart (1982)	This Last Night in Sodom (1984)	Cruelty Without Beauty (2002)

This Last Night in Sodom is the name of a 1984 album released by seminal electro-synth pop duo Soft Cell for Polygram records. It was released about a month after its two members Marc Almond and David Ball announced their breakup in a letter to various music magazines, including Melody Maker and NME, in the UK. The album represents a shift in style from the delicate, erotic, dancefloor-friendly pop of their earlier records, best represented by their most famous single, "Tainted Love," which reached #1 in the UK and #8 in the US, where it was the biggest-selling British single of 1981.

In addition to the use of an electric guitar played by lead singer Marc Almond, a first for the group, the album is groundbreaking in its frequent use of digital samples, which, along with their 1982 album The Art Of Falling Apart, was one of the first records to do so, The album contains a more eclectic mix of styles as well, from the Spanish-influenced "L'Esqualita" (inspired by the drag bar in New York City of the same name) to the rockabilly-tinged "Down In The Subway." The thematic elements of the songs are also noticeably darker, even for Soft Cell, and center around self-destruction and the breakdown of innocence. "Meet Murder My Angel," according to Almond, is about the mind of a murderer before he slaughters his victim, while "Where Was Your Heart (When You Needed It Most)" centers on a girl who loses all self esteem after being raped while intoxicated.

The record was originally printed entirely in red & gold ink, down to the liner notes, lyrics, LP labels, and serial number. The album was largely a critical success, but ultimately received little commercial attention, and has since gone out of print. A remastered version with bonus tracks, which included a 12" single mix of "Soul Inside", a cover version of the theme from the James Bond film "You Only Live Twice,", and "Her Imagination," cut during a session at the BBC, was also released, although this, too, has since stopped circulation. Copies are quite rare and can fetch up to USD$60 on auction sites such as eBay and amazon.com.