Book Review: Bedsit Land: The Strange Worlds of Soft Cell by Patrick Clarke (British Pop Archive No. 1, Manchester University Press)

1980s Book Review Music history retro

Bedsit Land is the first in the British Pop Archive series of short books about music, published by Manchester University Press. It is a great start: an in-depth exploration of both the band itself and the individuals within, and also crucially the environments that created both. Nobody who listens to Soft Cell could be in any doubt that their upbringings in Northern seaside towns, the art school years in Leeds, and then later on the shift to London and time in the then-deeply hedonistic New York, stamped an indelible mark on both the men and their music. This book explains exactly how and why that was, via witness testimony and well-known history.

Patrick Clarke freely admits that he’s too young to have been present to witness the scene the first time around. A certain Mr Almond doesn’t appear to have been especially involved in providing oral evidence for this book. Both of these facts positively enhance the book, bringing what feels like a different and fresh perspective to the tale of how one of the most unique duos to ever grace the stages of Top of the Pops and beyond got to do what they do.  The author weaves together a clear picture of how this underground band hit the mainstream overnight, and brought their libertine sensibilities into the spotlight, entrancing many an aimless teenager or bedsit dweller along the way.    

You can order via our Bopcap Books page at Bookshop.org via the following link (there’s free shipping if you spend £25 or more) and support our bookshop directly. https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/bedsit-land-the-strange-worlds-of-soft-cell-patrick-clarke/7657658?ean=9781526173560


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