On October 8th, 1980, Legendary synth-pop Soft Cell released their debut recording in the format of the rare Mutant Moments EP.
Marc Almond and David Ball funded the recording of the four-track record with a loan of £2000 from Dave Ball’s mother. The EP was made at a small studio in the Pennines with a simple 2-track recorder.
Only 2,000 vinyl copies of the release were pressed via Soft Cell’s own label, Big Frock. This release was preceded by a slot at the second annual Futurama Festival on September 13th, 1980, one of Soft Cell’s earliest performances promoting the EP.
Following this release Stevo, owner of Some Bizarre Records, had the duo contribute “The Girl With The Patent Leather Face” to the infamous Some Bizzare Album which featured early track from The The, B-Movie, and even Depeche Mode’s debut track “Photographic”.
The four tracks on Mutant Moments were “Potential”, L.O.V.E., “Feeling”, Metro MRX, and Frustration, the latter of which would be reworked on Soft Cell’s full-length studio album Non-stop Erotic Cabaret.
The ‘Mutant Moments’ version of “Frustration” is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DomkgEpmKg