Soft Cell announce two expanded versions of ‘*Happiness Not Included’

Soft Cell have announced a pair of expanded versions of their 2022 chart-topping album ‘*Happiness Not Included’.

‘*Happiness Now Extended’ will feature longer versions of all 12 tracks from the original version, while ‘*Happiness Now Completed’ will feature 10 previously unreleased songs from the same recording sessions, penned by members Marc Almond and Dave Ball. The latter also houses covers of songs by Giorgio Moroder, X-Ray Spex and Fad Gadget.

The two expanded versions are set for release on July 28 via BMG. You can pre-order them here.

“Marc and I were really keen to use all the music we made during the *Happiness sessions,” said Ball. “Our original plan had been to make a 16-song album, but that turned out to be over an hour long, so we whittled it down to 12, and decided to save the other songs for a rainy day.”

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He added: “It’s now time to release them. We’re already discussing the prospect of another Soft Cell album, so it’s important to get these songs out now so we can start from scratch on more material.”

Soft Cell also shared that they almost shared an album title with a well known pop star. “The original working title for ‘*Happiness Not Included’ had been ‘Future Nostalgia’, but Dua Lipa annoyingly came up with the same idea before our album was ready, so that was off the table,” revealed Almond.

The announcement of the two extended albums comes ahead of the new wave icon’s festival tours. They will be playing a handful of festivals around the EU and UK. Check out the full tour dates below and visit here for tickets.

Soft Cell’s 2023 live dates are: 

JULY 
7 – Kent, Rochester Castle 
8 – Let’s Rock Southampton 
15 – Let’s Rock Shrewsbury
23 – Barcelona, Spain, Alma Festival Jardins Pedralbes

AUGUST 2023
11 – Heritage Live at Audley End House and Gardens 

SEPTEMBER 2023
9 – Steyning (near Worthing, Sussex), Wiston Estate Park
16 – Leicester, BBC Radio 2 In The Park

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