Soft Cell
Soft Cell

amazing live videos of Soft Cell, The Chameleons, Blood Orange & more to watch while every show is cancelled

Basically no shows are happening due to the coronavirus outbreak (though some artists are doing livestreams instead), but if you’re already jonesing to see a show, or just need a brief distraction from the insanity of the world right now, thankfully there’s YouTube which has an amazing array of live footage from throughout the history of pop music, from clips from concert films, TV performances and other pro-shot footage, to tons of fan-shot video from shows. If you’re looking for a place to start, we’ve been picking some of our favorites. Here are five more:

Soft Cell – Live In Milan 2002

It’s unfortunately not easy to find full-concert footage of synthpop greats Soft Cell from their initial early ’80s run, but they reunited in the early 2000s during which time they filmed this live DVD, and it may have been 20 years after their prime but they were still on fire at this show and it sounded just like the old days. They filled the set with classics like “Memorabilia,” “Heat,” “Youth,” “The Art of Falling Apart,” “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye,” “Martin,” “Sex Dwarf,” and of course “Tainted Love,” and Marc Almond looked and sounded as magnetic as he ever has. Soft Cell broke up again not long after this show, but then they regrouped 14 years later to play what they said would be their final show. However, since then Marc Almond played Soft Cell songs on a rare solo tour, and David Ball said the duo were working on a new album and to “never say never” for another live show (“but don’t hold your breath”), so who knows, will Soft Cell return once again? If they do, and it’s anything like this great show, it’ll be a massive treat. [Andrew Sacher]

The Sound @ TVE Studios in Madrid, Spain – 10/2/1984

The great Adrian Borland sadly took his own life in 1999, but he left behind a ton of work for us to remember him by, including material by his ’70s punk band The Outsiders, his ’80s post-punk band The Sound, and his solo career. He’s a cult legend in some circles and severely underrated in others, and it’s easy to see why so many people still latch onto his music to this day. He’s a great songwriter, and like many of the best punk/post-punk singers, he’s got a nervous energy in his voice, a subtle knack for melody, and the ability to really soar when the time is right. As this excellent video of The Sound from 1984 proves, that came across live just as well as it did in the studio. [Andrew Sacher]

The Chameleons @ Camden Palace, London 9/11/1984

Contemporaries to The Sound and compatriots in style, The Chameleons shoulda been as big as U2 with their anthemic post-punk sound fueled by effects-laden guitars (the dueling Dave Fielding and Reg Smithies), John Lever’s pounding drums and charismatic frontman/bassist Mark Burgess. It didn’t turn out that way but The Chameleons’ three ’80s albums are all fantastic. They were great live, too, even more blistering than on record, as this 1984 performances proves. [Bill Pearis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JObmVzVLD-U

Blood Orange @ Camp Flog Gnaw, 11/10/2019

Dev Hynes’ brief 2020 tour got cut off by coronavirus part of the way through, so instead we’re revisiting his last show of 2019, at Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw. Dancing, throwing flowers into the crowd, and joined, at points, by Tei Shi, Ian Isiah, and Empress Of, Dev is all charisma onstage at the Los Angeles festival, playing an excellent mix of songs from his law few albums as Blood Orange. [Amanda Hatfield]

Kate Tempest @ Rivoli Ballroom, London, 9/20/2016

Kate Tempest’s 2016 album Let Them Eat Chaos is a stunning work, a concept album of interconnected stories about the only seven people awake at 4:18 AM one rainy night on a particular London block. As good as the record is, it pales in comparison to seeing Kate perform it live, which you can do here with this show taped for the BBC. The highlight of the show, without a doubt, is the fiery “Europe is Lost” that sums up a lot of the world’s problems and hypocrisies in one eight-minute tour-de-force, asking “What’re we gonna do to wake up?” — a question and mantra that’s repeated throughout the performance. [Bill Pearis]

Check out photos of when Marc Almond performed Soft Cell material at the Sex Cells party in Brooklyn last fall:

For more of our favorite live videos, head here.