{"id":15041,"date":"2026-09-11T12:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T10:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ponderosa.it\/?p=15041"},"modified":"2026-09-10T12:56:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T10:56:55","slug":"marc-almond-the-great-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ponderosa.it\/en\/marc-almond-the-great-comeback\/","title":{"rendered":"Marc Almond, the great comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Luca Testoni<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sixteen years<\/strong>. That’s how long it has been since the last Italian concert by the Soft Cell<\/strong> frontman, one of the most brilliant and unpredictable figures in British pop.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Putting an end to his long absence from Italian stages, Almond<\/strong>\u2014who in the post-Covid era decided to leave his country to live in Portugal<\/strong>\u2014will perform with a full band in tow at the Auditorium Paganini<\/strong> in Parma<\/strong> next September 27th<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A performance that, along with Diamanda Gal\u00e1s’s<\/strong>, will stylishly open the 20th-anniversary<\/strong> lineup of the ‘Il Rumore del Lutto Festival’<\/em>\u2014an event that favors artists who do anything but compromise their artistic freedom. Such is the case with Marc Almond<\/strong>, the creator of an extremely personal path: over a career spanning more than 45 years<\/strong>, he has crossed paths with synth-pop, pop, chanson, cabaret, folk, and musical theater.<\/p>\n

It will be one of Marc Almond<\/strong>‘s first performances following the passing last October<\/strong> of David Ball<\/strong>, the other half of Soft Cell<\/strong>\u2014the early-1980s<\/strong> duo that, taking cues from Kraftwerk<\/strong> and Suicide<\/strong> while blending a passion for northern soul with electronics, not only forged British synth-pop and club music, but also achieved massive international success with their original dance suites. Take, for instance, the timeless 1981<\/strong> classic hit ‘Tainted Love’<\/em>, a Gloria Jones<\/strong> cover.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, as reductive as it might seem, whenever it comes to interpreting other artists’ work, the eccentric Southport<\/strong> native\u2014possessing a voice that is pained yet melodious, much like an unconventional crooner\u2014has never held back. In fact, spanning from French chanson to Motown<\/strong> soul and beyond, he has always delivered his absolute best. It comes as no surprise that his latest solo album under his own name, 2024’s<\/strong> ‘I\u2019m Not Anyone’<\/em>, was once again a record made entirely of covers, featuring a repertoire ranging from Mahalia Jackson<\/strong> to Neil Diamond<\/strong> and King Crimson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Coinciding with the Parma concert, Soft Cell<\/strong>‘s sixth and final album of unreleased material, ‘Danceteria’<\/em>\u2014a sort of tribute to 1980s<\/strong> New York<\/strong>\u2014will be released, effectively bringing the duo’s story full circle. Even if Mr. Almond’s<\/strong> musical journey continues.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Info & Tickets http:\/\/ponderosa.it<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sixteen years have passed since the Soft Cell frontman’s last Italian concert\u2014one of the most brilliant and unpredictable figures in British pop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":15056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,91,26,231,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bighome-en","category-festivals-en","category-magazine-en","category-magazine-en-2","category-music-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMarc Almond, the great comeback - Ponderosa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Marc Almond, the great comeback\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ponderosa.it\/en\/marc-almond-the-great-comeback\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marc Almond, the great comeback - 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