"Torch"
Single by Soft Cell
B-side"Insecure Me"
Released7 May 1982 (1982-05-07)
GenreSynth-pop, new wave
Length4:08
LabelSome Bizzare
Songwriter(s)Marc Almond, David Ball
Producer(s)Mike Thorne
Soft Cell singles chronology
"Say Hello, Wave Goodbye"
(1982) 		"Torch"
(1982) 		"What!"
(1982)

"Torch" is a song by English synthpop duo Soft Cell. It was released as a single in 1982, and in mid-June peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart,[1] ranking 45 for the year. It also reached number 31 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart,[2] number 12 in the Netherlands[3] and number 6 in the Flemish Ultratop 50[4]

Singer Marc Almond duets towards the end of the song with Cindy Ecstasy, an American clubgoer the band had met at the after-hours bar Club Berlin in New York the year previously.[5]

The single was originally intended to be double A-sided, coupled with the eventual B-side song "Insecure Me"; as such, both songs were included in the band's 2018 singles compilation Keychains & Snowstorms: The Singles.[6]

"Torch" ranked 49 in the New Musical Express critics' list of the year's 50 best singles.[7]

Charts

Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 68
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 6
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 7
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 2
West Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 75

References

  1. ^ "Soft Cell | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  2. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p14314/charts-awards/billboard-singles
  3. ^ "Discografie Soft Cell - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl.
  4. ^ "Soft Cell - Torch". ultratop.be.
  5. ^ Almond, Marc (1 October 2000). Tainted Life: The Autobiography. New York City: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0330372015.
  6. ^ "Soft Cell - The Singles: Keychains & Snowstorms - (CD Album)". www.lexermusic.com.
  7. ^ "Rocklist.net...NME End Of Year Lists 1982..." www.rocklistmusic.co.uk.
  8. ^ "Australian Top 100 Singles - 06 September 1982". RateYourMusic.
  9. ^ "Soft Cell – Torch" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  10. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Torch". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  11. ^ "Soft Cell – Torch" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soft Cell – Torch" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
Categories