Marc Almond

It was actually a flop.

The reason why Mark Almond knows about this track is because there's this movement in the early '70s in England called Northern Soul-

Love Northern Soul

... where a small group of DJs picked up these obscure American mid-'60s R&B-

Would've been the case.

Yeah.

So it turns out that Mark Almond, by the way, different Mark with the same spelling with a C, is a coat check boy at one of these Northern Soul nights in England-

Wow

Paralysed in the purple zone

So Purple Zone there, and before we had Madonna and Kylie, we had Neil and Mark and Chris and Dave, which sounds a little bit Rita Sue and Bob Too actually now I've just said it out loud.

But actually, with that pub and Domino's and the ice cream van and all that, it does feel quite, quite northern this film.

Quite, um...

Mm.

Now this, from 2022, I obviously had joked about Madonna and Kylie because that does seem to be one of the biggest collaborations of pop stars in the history of pop music, but this was a real moment.

Soft Cell and Pet Shop Boys, I believe Mark Almond said it himself that two of the most successful and iconic synth-pop duos are, of all time, but certainly formed in the '80...

That were formed in the '80s, collaborating was not...

Colder, stranger and unmistakable.

I mentioned Gloria did the original, but it was a damn good cover by Mark Almond and David Ball.

Here is Tainted Love.

Sometimes I feel I've got to run away I've got to get away From the pain you drive into the heart of me The love we share seems to go nowhere And I've lost my light For I toss and turn, I can't sleep at night Once I ran to you Now I run from you This tainted love you've given I give you all a boy could give you Take my tears and that's not nearly all Tainted love Tainted love Run away, I've got to get away You don't really want any more from me to make things right You need someone to hold you tight And you think love is to pray But I'm sorry I don't pray that way Once I ran to you, now I run This tainted love you've given, I give you all Take my tears and that's not nearly all Tainted love Tainted love Don't touch me please I cannot stand the way you tease I love you though you hurt me so Now I'm gonna pack my things and go Tainted love Tainted love Tainted love Tainted love Touch me baby Tainted love Touch me baby Tainted love Tainted love Tainted love Tainted love

But with Neil and Iggy and Matt from the...

Mark Almond.

I wrote to them all and said, you know, would you mind? And they were all so trusting and so sweet and all gave me amazing blurbs.

Iggy described me, which I was so chuffed by this.

They've remixed for the likes of The Shaman, Erasure, Betty Boo again.

David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Mark Almond as well.

So, you know, really very prominent, particularly through the 80s into the 90s and even a bit of

the noughties as well.

That's just the rule of making films.

So I just told endless lies, got into the room with Marc Almond.

I claimed I'd made this video and that video, completely lied through my teeth, and pitched the idea.

Bed sitter was about the sort of 1980s sort of club world and how alien the world can become.

So I came up with the concept of Marc Almond wearing matching shirts to the wallpaper, and very, very simple idea, but I think quite effective.

Let's turn to the band I suppose you're most associated with to this very day, which is The Cure, and your introduction to them, I guess, a lot of people's introduction to them, uh, listening to A Forest, wasn't it?

I went to, by coincidence, went to a 21st birthday party above a kebab shop in Harringay, which is where I first heard the band that I would mostly get known for, which is The Cure, and with whom I still work to this day.