Two legendary British synth-pop duos, Soft Cell and Pet Shop Boys, have teamed up for a new collaborative single called “Purple Zone” that’s available now as a digital single.
The track also will appear on Soft Cell’s upcoming studio album, *Happiness Not Included, the duo’s first collection of new songs in 20 years, which is due out on May 6.
Pet Shop Boys initially planned to just create a remix of “Purple Zone” for Soft Cell after seeing the latter act perform the song at a 2021 concert, but as they worked on the track it wound up becoming a full-on collaboration.
In addition to releasing “Purple Zone” digitally today, a music video for the tune has premiered at Soft Cell’s official YouTube channel.
Soft Cell frontman Marc Almond says of the collaboration, “Working with the Pet Shop Boys was a pleasure, and this track is the perfect combination of us and them,” while his band mate, Dave Ball, notes, “‘Purple Zone’ is probably our finest pop moment since the early 1980s.”
Pet Shop Boys add, “We are thrilled to collaborate with such an inspirational duo as Soft Cell on this gorgeous song.”
“Purple Zone” also is available for pre-order as a CD single and a 12-inch vinyl single at Soft Cell’s online store and at LexerMusic.com, with each version featuring bonus tracks.
The “Purple Zone” CD features the single version of the track, an extended mix by Pet Shop Boys, a remix created by Manhattan Clique and a cover of the 1978 X-Ray Spex tune “The Day the World Turned Day-Glo.” The vinyl disc also features the single version and Pet Shop Boys’ extended mix, along with remix and remix dub version by Pet Shop Boys.
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