UP
ALMOND HAPPY
TO KEEP IT SEEDY
Marc Almond has changed his tune
regarding Soft Cell’s infamous Sex Dwarf
video. The Tim Pope promo featuring
brothel workers, raw meat, maggots and,
of course, a dwarf decked out in a fetish
outfi t, remains banned from TV. And,
despite telling Classic Pop that Sex Dwarf
was an embarrassment that had “caused
us a lot of pain”, Soft Cell surprised fans
by performing the song live during last
year’s farewell concert.
Now Almond has told Yahoo he’s
rather proud of its impact: “The
video for Sex Dwarf was ahead of
its time, in the way we were using
transgender people, or we would
use people who were prostitutes that
we found around Soho, people that
were working in clubs. And then
here was the dwarf himself, which
really went against what you were
supposed to do!”
Almond hopes the video
remains forbidden fruit:
“I’ve never wanted to release
it publicly, offi cially, because it
became such a legendary thing.
We like the fact some people have
seen it and created this urban myth
about it. We like that it’s bootlegged
and slightly seedy.”
Meanwhile, Almond will host an exclusive
cabaret dining experience, The Apollo Nights
Summer Series concerts alongside Burt Bacharach
and burlesque dancer Immodesty Blaize in
Hammersmith on 16 and 17 July.
Elton John readies
“no-holds-barred”
autobiography
2019 looks like it’s going to be
Elton John’s year. As well as
the Taron Egerton-headlining
biopic coming this May, a
new autobiography is on
its way, promising a “no-
holds-barred” account of the
fl amboyant singer’s wild life.
The man born Reginald Kenneth
Dwight originally let slip that
an autobiography was in the
offi ng three years ago, but has
now revealed that the book
will be released later this year.
“My life has been one helluva
rollercoaster ride and I’m now
ready to tell you my story, in
my own words,” John tweeted
on 8 March. “My fi rst and only
offi cial autobiography will be
released in October.”
It’s doubtful that someone
like Elton John will pull any
punches, so expect the as-yet-
untitled autobiography to be
one of the most talked about
books of 2019. We can’t wait.UPUP
was an embarrassment that had “caused
OMD are in celebratory mode
O
MD are continuing their 40th anniversary
celebrations with a UK and European tour. The fi ve-
month global jaunt – which includes 21 UK dates- begins in Portugal this October and fi nishes in
February 2020 with a show at La Cigale, Paris. The
headline tour follows a string of US dates where the synth-pop icons
will play alongside The B-52’s and Tom Tom Club. The announcement
is the latest instalment in the band’s anniversary celebrations, which
has seen the reissue of their fi rst four classic albums on 180g vinyl,
mastered at half speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road and housed
in their original die cut sleeves designed by Peter Saville.
Fans may also be able to catch the band at retro festivals this
year after OMD changed their stance on the nostalgia circuit.
Frontman Andy McCluskey explained: “We always said no to
nostalgia gigs because we wanted to be a standalone, relevant
contemporary band.”
However, over the past fi ve years, friends of the band prompted
a rethink. ”We were like, maybe we should start doing these things.
It turns out that they‘re great,” McCluskey added. ”People come to
see the whole festival and then they discover us and say, ‘You were
brilliant on stage, we’re going to go to your own gigs’ – so it works
really well for everyone.”