Mutant Moments
Encyclopedia
Mutant Moments is a short EP
, independently financed and produced by Soft Cell
, a synthpop
/new wave
duo who would later achieve fame with their groundbreaking hit cover of the Gloria Jones
song "Tainted Love
". Only 2000 copies were pressed, originally by Soft Cell, on Big Frock Records, then later by a Japanese fan club, making the record extremely rare and prized by collectors and fans alike. The duo, who attended Leeds Metropolitan University
, originally developed a cult following with their performances which routinely included bizarre sexual imagery and visuals representing sexual themes. Some examples include instances where singer Marc Almond
would smear his body with cat food, simulate sexual intercourse
with a full-length mirror, or appear onstage in drag
.
The band was signed to Some Bizzare Records
soon after its release, with "The Girl With The Patent Leather Face" being released on the Some Bizzare Album
and later a 7" single "A Man Can Get Lost" and 12" single "Memorabilia", both being released the following year.
The EP includes the song "Frustration," which also appears on their full-length studio album Non-stop Erotic Cabaret
, though the two versions sound very different. The other three songs from the EP also appear on the rarities/bootleg compilation The Bedsit Tapes
.
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, independently financed and produced by Soft Cell
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo is most widely known for their 1981 worldwide hit version of "Tainted Love" and platinum debut Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret...
, a synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
/new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
duo who would later achieve fame with their groundbreaking hit cover of the Gloria Jones
Gloria Jones
Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She recorded the 1964 northern soul song, "Tainted Love", later a hit for the British synth-pop duo, Soft Cell. She was the girlfriend of glam rock artist Marc Bolan of the band T...
song "Tainted Love
Tainted Love
"Tainted Love" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of The Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1965. It attained worldwide fame after being covered by Soft Cell in 1981, reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart, and has since been covered by numerous groups and...
". Only 2000 copies were pressed, originally by Soft Cell, on Big Frock Records, then later by a Japanese fan club, making the record extremely rare and prized by collectors and fans alike. The duo, who attended Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
, originally developed a cult following with their performances which routinely included bizarre sexual imagery and visuals representing sexual themes. Some examples include instances where singer Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
would smear his body with cat food, simulate sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with a full-length mirror, or appear onstage in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
.
The band was signed to Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records is a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of Some Bizzare Album, a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrikk and Blancmange.-1981-1989:One of the first bands that...
soon after its release, with "The Girl With The Patent Leather Face" being released on the Some Bizzare Album
Some Bizzare Album
Some Bizzare Album was the first album by Some Bizzare Records. It was released in 1981 as a sampler of the label's musical ethos. The acts were not actually signed exclusively to the label at the time.-Information:...
and later a 7" single "A Man Can Get Lost" and 12" single "Memorabilia", both being released the following year.
The EP includes the song "Frustration," which also appears on their full-length studio album Non-stop Erotic Cabaret
Non-stop Erotic Cabaret
Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is the debut album by English synthpop duo Soft Cell, released in the United Kingdom on 23 November 1981 by Some Bizzare Records...
, though the two versions sound very different. The other three songs from the EP also appear on the rarities/bootleg compilation The Bedsit Tapes
The Bedsit Tapes
The Bedsit Tapes is a compilation of songs recorded by the synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell before their record contract with Some Bizarre Records. The album, released 1 August 2005, collects various songs recorded in an amateur studio at Leeds Metropolitan University, then called Leeds Polytechnic,...
.