Soft Cell - "It's A Mugs Game"

[dreybones]

I have been looking for this song for ten years!! I remember driving from west los angeles late 3am to Encino, cranking this tune on the 405 north.. till my speakers blew..then i went to heaven..Love Soft Cell!!

[buonnome]

i adore it just brilliant

[dutchbaron1]

Have been trying for 30 years to find this song.Just blown away,speechless,thanx so much for posting,where`s my MDA ! :)

[bungybingy]

they used to play this on KROQ in the 80's

[TimothyClotworthy]

I bought this 12inch in 1984 and forgot all about it until now! Wow so true to today!

[mrbug825]

KICK ASS BASS RIFF! MAKES ME WANT TO DO DAMAGE!!!!

[TheSuendenfall]

most of the people know only "tainted love".but they had a lot of very good tracks.like this one!

[GhostCave]

great song



[flomac59]

THE SHIT MAN... KROQ!!! THOSE DAYS WERE THE BEST!!!

[NFLed]

Great song. A lost classic.

[bellyqx]

Thanks for the memories! Great Song!  KROQ!

[zane5153]

My favorite Soft Cell Track! Thanks!

[emilyoshiro]

gdmfsob!!! this used2 me LIQUIFACTION anthem!!! the dub version! yo, DAVE BALL!!!

[QuincyPostman]

this is their best song

[31makimba]

This is a new wave masterpiece, PERIOD! It's really a testament to how great a band is when their very worst song is still great! And yes, I'm speaking of Tainted Love. "What" is my 2nd favorite. The lyrics and the emotion in his voice kills me every time. It's one of the greatest new wave love songs for sure...It's up there with So Long by Fischer Z, The Promise by When in Rome, If You Leave by OMD, Take On Me by A-ha. Well, you guys get the picture...and let's not forget Sex Dwarf!!!!

[LALizzie]

Shadoe Stevens - If you're out there - Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for KROQ and introducing us to so many incredible bands at such a wonderous time.

[2323chicubs]

KROQ in the 80's was the absolute best breaking the norm and playing the greatest band ever

[LALizzie]

Man, I can't find my 45rpm version of that I bought on Melrose around 84.' I can't remember the name of the record store, just that it was near Ardvarks... Jeeze. Florentine Garden's, the Anti-Club, break dancing in East LA. Damn I wish I could build a friken time machine.

[darkridr25]

@LALizzie Hmm...Melrose....I think you're talking about Vinyl Fetish. Great record store back in the day! Got a lot of my imports from that locale....

[gregs76]

@darkridr25

Bleeker Bob's was the one near Ardvarks. Vinyl Fetish was the one across the street from Retail Slut and all of that. VF was a great place to get all of the industrial and death rock/goth records back then. Yes, this song has so many great memories of back in the day when KROQ was a good station, and Video One was still on tv, even before it became Request Video...

[zane5153]

@LALizzie Wasn't that record store called Prime Cuts? I used to love that place when I'd visit LA back in the day.

[seechazgo]

@zane5153 That place was AWESOME!!...KROQ also used to have the "Roq-n-swap"...You could find some CRAZY versions of music. 12 inch singles and some REALLY hard to find stuff.

[paquele63]

JOLIN Q EL TEMA ENTRA EN EL ESCALAFON D LO GRANDE

[72cguzman]

After years of searching for this song, I've finally found it. Man, this song brings back great memories.

[winterbear68]

Wow does this bring back memories. Love it!!!!

[Faolgnik]

Love this more than tainted love. just saying.

[futuristfood]

@Faolgnik completely. i like most everything better than tainted love,.

[crustyeyegoop]

I'm not big on soft cell but this song started playing in my head and I don't even have another disease. 

[bbussey1967]

"The Doctor Told That Chili Was Bad For Your Blood."

[jrquist404]

Thank you KROQ for introducing L.A. new wave loving kids like me to the wonderful Soft Cell! I haven't heard this song in 20 years, but I haven't forgotten a single word! "And her chewing gum is getting stuck in your hair!"

[bongo4unme]

@jrquist404 Hahaha! Everytime someone says "I don't care..". I always say "and you got chewing gum stuck in your hair?!".....of course they never know what I am talking about.... 

[1ROCKSHARK]

love it !brings back memory's ...high school =}...thanks

[iknowicaniknowican]

great memories listening to this again

[Useless2112]

I'm a kroqodile and I like to eat young buffalo.

[USAFORMERUSMC]

My Brother and I were in the Marines from 79 to 83. We use to come home on the weekends, and go to the KROQ party's Friday nights. My Brother has been dead for 2years now. These songs remind me of him.

[USAFORMERUSMC]

I wonder if Richard Blade is still alive?

[ssballs]

@USAFORMERUSMC Ofcourse he is.Always will be too with that hair!

[kuhnigget]

@USAFORMERUSMC

He's a DJ for Sirius Satellite radio. Playing all the old KROQ hits.

[guybiz411]

luv all the comments about kroq; i was a young guy fresh out of buffalo when i moved to la in 1983 and was amazed by all the great music on kroq with richard blade and the gang; what memories!

[guybiz411]

another disease and you just got rid of the last haha; bought this single in a london record store while on a visit there in 1984 from california; still love it!!

[o0BartSimson0o]

One M0:00R TIME!

[joebstarsurfer]

London town can create this!.

[Kicksmeintheshowers]

Great tune!!!

[SuperBadgurl9]

luv this band I remember what alot of you are talking about remember the freeze disease from KROQ he was my fav back in those days...thx for uploading this song you made my night...

[playgirlc]

just brilliant

[sam123tom]

Still love this song, brings back so many memories...........its an ode to my sordid misspent youth !

[twomorefish]

hey nikita why so presumptious! The horns r great on dis!

[twomorefish]

hey man, the horn istrument r fucking great cuz I fucked to them. So piss off fag for talkin' shit bitch!

[rogersachs9]

This is BRILLIANT! Marc's voice is really superb here. Marc is a poet and a performer and a half: he didn't major in performance art for nothing, and that's apparent here.

[talmilan]

@rogersachs9

True that,genious number!

[princeofdaftness]

12 inch versions were always the best soft cell records, i love this one, anyone remember what party fours were? do they still make them ?

[princeofdaftness]

love it love it love it..any one remember what party fours were ? lol

[talmilan]

Fucking BRILLIANT song plus Marc's voice is perfact for a song like this

Tnx 4posting!!

[bozzutoman]

This one Soft Cell song has more wrist-slashing angst than the entirety of the Smiths' depressitivity... I love it.

[bettydaw1970]

fuck TL this is their best song!!!!

[BlackSkyThunder]

This man is an authentic poet!! Can anyone reflect better different situations in the UK life? The melody is so paranoid and depth, cannot match better the lyrics; Soft Cell, always great!!

[ourmanflint1]

321 Club was on Santa Monica Blvd. They let 18 year olds in and when I was in college it had a reputation as a place where if you weren't careful you'd wind up with a minor...We called it The 3, 2, Young club. the name stuck..

[murfdasurfer]

@ourmanflint1 Totally remember the 321 Club. Came back from being oversees in the Coast Guard and my sister and her friends brought me there. If I remember correctly there were three different rooms. But the New Wave room was the best. Now clubs suck ass everywhere. Not like they used to be...

[jakclutch]

Backcrack............those were some cool dance clubs back in the day. All those places were like my home away from home:)

[jakclutch]

I bought this version as soon as it came out. I prefer it over the regular version:)

[orlando0999]

great song, just thinking about all kroq djs, jed the fish, richard blade, the swedish eagle, rodney on the rock, frances... man to get theam all together for a 80"s review and show the world whata real dance party was like, no guns, no bullshit, none of that beef crap, with the exception of "black flag kills adam ant or captain sensible vs adam, does anyone remember that one? love it, keep it close to your hearts...loves!

[icezebra2002]

@orlando0999 Hey Orlando, how could you forget the ever so lovely April Whitney? I won tickets on KROQ to see The Sparks at what was then known as the "Pacific Amphitheater" with April. Man... What a HOT babe!!!!!! It was a blast!

[lilpoindexter]

ROQ of the 80's ...k-roq

[CHO65]

this song always did it for me. i remember thinking to myself (about my own life) "just wait til i'm 21 & i tell them all to shut up!" what a fabulous song!

[NeedleHitsTheGroove]

@CHO65 just so you know, the phrase used is "...tell them all to sod off!"

[backcrackattacka]

321 in Santa Monica, Marilyn's Backstreet in Pasadena, and Seven Seas in Hollywood with Freddie Snakeskin, Jed the fish and Richard Blade was the shiznit to hit the packed dancefloor each and every week in the 80's...yeaaaaaaah!!!

[pedheadz]

Wow... I actually just got the art of falling apart yesterday. This song makes me nostalgic and sad at the same time :(

[sopmac07]

This song toally kicks ass!!! Most excellent trumpet and keyboards. I so miss the freakin 80's.Innocence lost,lust, love, oh making out with hot chicks at dance clubs and Down on the Balboa strip. Oh to be a teenager in the 80's in So. Cal was the Shit. Listening to KROQ was the Best when I think about it. Richard Blade , Jed The Fish. Oh yeah oh yeah.Makes me wanna have sex in the back of a car agian. hahaha

[franz0092001]

Me too ghoulfiend! This is a superclassic. This is the soundtrack to my sophomore year at Berkeley, (and the chili is still for my blood).

[Ned665]

Simply the best

[buckwild]

80's all the way.takes me back.lol

[leenov271]

classic!!!

[REOGURU]

This reminds me of when I was teenager and I'd sneak out of the house to go to the Odyssey1.

[JasonHillTV]

This song KILLS! Haa haa....

[turntapzap]

Pure.

[roaringon]

live in America & earn more money there. 2010 what a joke!

[SweetSweetWaldo]

@roaringon BUT you can still get away with murder...especially if you're a millionaire or a politician.

[chiquidracula83]

This song takes me way back to my teenage years in the 80's. Thank you for posting this song I remember driving from San Diego to Rosarito Beach smoking some bud and listening to this song. Ah memories.

[ilike2much]

Thank you i check for this here 4 times a year....finally

[vanillaorchid]

Oh happy days! This song is me when I was seventeen.

[MishuTaste]

The lyrics are hilarious!

[HDKMusic]

just great times in this era

[HDKMusic]

reminds me of the 321 club in westwood or jimmys in La Mirada on tues nights those were great days

[Fitzhugh1975]

Remind me of clubbing a very long time ago.. We really loved these Soft Cell songs.

[hackman55able]

YAAAAAAh, love this song. Thank you for posting. Totally reminds me of a great summer when I was a young punk surfer.

[HatManAtLarge]

just another brilliant tune! genius!

[yoelevenbro]

Thanks!! Sends me back back to Mr Jays Tuesday nights. South El Monte.

[prototism]

reminds me of summer

[prototism]

great song. such a unique and strange melody.

[sincityscorpion]

i used to listen to kroq all the time from the lbc one of the best songs from the 80s

[unyanbunyan]

So long since I heard this.Sometime in the mid eighties my brother and I used to dance around our bedrooms singing the lyrics to this at the tops of our voices.The best b side ive ever heard!

[Scottydont66]

Ahh the 80s listening to this on KROQ 106.7fm

trying to record it whenever it came on

[headforthetropics]

wow - didn't know marc almond could belt it out like that. impressive! love the deep purple line - great sense of humour.

[ssballs]

he's a hoot."O lord it's another disease and i just got rid of the last".To have that played on the radio was JUST dead wrong.And i still love this song 30 years later!

[Michaeldair]

@headforthetropics This was Marc's last gasp of greatness. After this he just got crude and unoriginal. Sad

[ssballs]

O,lord......KROQ in a tizz w/aids.L.A. 1982.This is the best.

[MishuTaste]

This is a wonderful song w/ hilarious lyrics! Thanks for posting the extended version. This song totally reminds me of my carefree 80s youth.

[MrSGUTIERR]

This is cool music but, LED ZEP IS STILL

THE S**T ..STEVE G

[djbethell]

This and Memorabilia were my all-time favourite SC 12" mixes.

I eventually played the grooves out my whole SC collection. Thank god for MP3s I say.

[2007nikita]

One of my favorite Soft Cell Songs...'and the bartender says...Tough Shit, Drink Up and Leave!"

Bluesy trumpet throughout...hilarious.

[Orbidog]

"Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple...oh you hate the as well!"

[murfdasurfer]

CLASSIC SONG, man this brings me back. Love it Love it Love it.

[KizzyDog01]

Superb!

[bluebrief12]

Brilliant-lots and lots of memories-My 1st ever 12" single(Where the Heart is)-Brought from HMV record shop,Broad Marsh Centre,Nottingham-......dress in black and hate your parents time. 1982./1983.Vintage Soft Cell.

[hair65]

great song , nice one

[BodyVard]

oh god!

great song

[fimballs]

And though you're nearly broke you end up paying for all the drinks

And you tell them 'Oh its nothing

[fimballs]

loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee this song thank you so much brings back so many unforgetable mems thanks again!

[ferpastorino]

In Strict Tempo, Dave Ball!!!!

[fitboyslob]

Soft Cell, one of the most underated bands. Clever, intuitive thought provoking, original pop music.

[natesot]

Who the hell would diss Dave Ball he was the sound of Soft Cell so much musical experiments he was not simply a keyboard player there would of been no sSoft Cell or Marc Almond with out dave i love him. So talented he did an album with Genis P after Soft Cell that was amazing very not like Soft Cell hes a true artist.

[copperpotbaby]

He probably spent 12 hours a day composing and mixing these tracks, inventing a reality for the rest of us! Some amateur. I think his name is God!

[copperpotbaby]

Who the fuck dares to call dave Ball an amateur! He understands the way we feel, empathises, then gives solutions, and still manages to translate all this into music! I wish I was such a useless cunt! The cream always rises to the top!

[riddleninja]

Stiil Freaking Awesome!! Reminds me of my Goth Daze...lol

Oh Rum and Fishnets.

[vdvsoldat]

Awesome classic. That synth horn, drums and bass are priceless.

[edwin60506]

I knew this was soft cell , had a tape of from the 80s but never found the name til now ,Thanks !

[ssballs]

CLASSIC!Forever!And today....Thanks for the trumpets.

[trumpetchump]

This song is from THE good ol days....'member the 80's ??

[metalfacemartinez]

I have this still as a 12 inch. :) The synth basslines and horns is telling me this needs a remix, though I don't think Marc Almond's vocals can be topped. :)

[copperpotbaby]

Always loved this one: other side of where the heart is and piy they didn't release this as an A side.

[turntapzap]

Heavy duty.

[ecmatic]

nice! i haven't heard this song since I lived in Los Angeles County back in the late 80s on KROQ!

[McLarenMercedes]

7:04 "....and play your records so loud, all the ones that he especially hates, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, well EVEN YOU hate those."

LOL, best line ever

[plimsoul222]

I'll wait 'til I'm 21 and then tell them all to shut up!

[plimsoul222]

"Its a choice between the cat fed at home and a packet of cigarettes so you choose and the money sticks in the machine, the manager says tough shit drink up and leave." LOL!

This song is one of the best kept secrets. just pefect.

[BlondeFrank]

Cab fare home not cat fed at home. I hope you don't mind the correction

[JeanSeeberg]

@plimsoul222 i always thought it was "a cab fare home" ;)

[Amy91320]

I always think of the day OJ was declared not guilty and KROQ (Los Angeles) played It's a Mugs Game just for the line "and you can get away with murder". Great stuff!

[MishuTaste]

This song reminds me of KROQ. Richard Blade. The Poorman.

[uncasvirachi]

soft cell ahhhhh esa discoteca barraca de los años 80. apoteosica.

[googleboyny]

how could you not love this song. the lyrics alone are priceless.

[rhondavous1981]

YES this was played at all the clubs and I can still smell Odyssey with the "anal nytrate" pops. Watching the DJ with the hat swing like an animal in his booth. They don't make clubs like that anymore, great memories thanks to bands like Soft Cell

[revosuicide86]

thank you much for posting this!! would never have heard it otherwise.. SC were genius at what they did back then!!!!

[jaybird321]

Great post. I love the lyrics and horns in this song

[JeanSeeberg]

i used to have a bootleg tape from sum soft cell gig where this song was the opener and that cassette was basically stuck in my tape deck, which also doubled as an alarm clock. so i've been waking up to the mugs game during almost all of my student years can you believe it LOL - "and you can get away, with murder, yeaaaah" - thx for the memories

[ssballs]

L.A.,KROQ 1983 !And dance,bitches!Aids just started to rock my world."Oooo Lord it's another disease...and you just got rid of the last"seemed like a very interesting subject for a dance song.Their/his best song!Now,play it loud and Dance!

[kram1221]

do you remember Odyssey?

[ssballs]

With a under 18 gauzed-section on La Cienega/Beverly?Or the Icehouse/Studio One /Circus Disco off Santa Monica/renamed place?Sure i do.I think i saw Sylvester there.

[gregg138]

Ah! Yes! 12" vinyl. I remember the days well.

They would play this song during after hours at dance clubs back in the day.

[fvank2]

Long Beach, Ca. Underground 1985.

[Adventurestud]

Oh, and thank you for posting this song. Love it!

[Adventurestud]

KITS Live 105 early '90s

One Step Beyond and The Vortex in the South Bay. Ah, good times!

[NickCave13]

Chili is actually quite healthy, if properly prepared. Chili peppers are good for the heart and lower high blood pressure. SO, WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF SHIT WERE YOU EATING MARC, YOU BLEEDIN' WANKER???!!! But this is a great song to dance to, especially this club mix.

[chicaaBeatt]

mucho ritmo lo mejor delos 80s en la electronica

[wkisgot]

this song taught me how to be a douche

[thezepplinman]

Excellent! Well done for uploading. Top tune... great horn! The lyrics: great fun. Does anyone actually know about people abusing DoDo's to get a hit? Thanks for uploading.

[Adventurestud]

What exactly are DoDo's?

[GT3RD]

Do-Dos A brand of cough sweets produced in the 1980s. Excessive consumption caused effects similar to those of speed.

And you're standing at the chemist in Boots

Coughing up your guts like you're at deaths door

All this for a packet of Do-Dos

[gergioawesome]

this song brings back soooo many memories of when i was 16.......1989 GOOD MEMORIES

[g00gleb0t]

Nice work sfsindee...

[kingstonandrews]

Soft cell is awesome

[ghoulfiend]

KROQ used to play this when I was a teenager and it's almost impossible to find!Thanks for posting this. Have been looking for it online for years.

[Kicksmeintheshowers]

I remember that! It's a great song. Nice.

[masokitten77]

i heard it too on KROQ in 1990-91. Stuck in my head ever since.

[orlando0999]

@ghoulfiend love it wild take back...

[whozituseit]

I've also got this on vinyl (and I know where it is!).  When people say "Oh yeah, Soft Cell....Tainted Love" I just shudder because their B Sides were better than the A sides.

[trinamccord]

I also have this 12" and the 45 as well.

[matelot95]

Spot on. I hate it that in the main Tainted Love is all that they are remembered for.

[kathyh3]

It's so hard to find this anywhere!

I can remember when local radio I-92 would play this song every night at 10pm. You could set your watch to it. Great memories. Thanks

[tetedepoulet]

I actually have this on vinyl (somewhere)

[mikewolfthegreat]

i feel like i just drunk a bottal of bleach

[dj45rpm]

One of their best!!!!! Give me fond flashbacks of Live 105 back when it was still good (or at least listenable).

[daalman]

Live 105 in SF? This song would have been before it's time. This was more like The Quake 98.9. Now that was a great radio station!

[dj45rpm]

The song was considered an "oldie" by then but they were playing it (along with other oldies like "Blue Monday", etc.).

And The Quake was a good station as well!

[EStierAZ]

They definitely played it on Live 105 in '87. I was a sophmore in college and my friend and I would play 3 rounds of concentration and listen to this song every day after lunch. I love the 80's!

[karakand]

Magical tune.

[HeatherY2605]

Loved this song for years - Great story of your youth

[Jacil5]

I love this song! It's better hearing when a 40 than 15!

[Coldbevies]

Indeed, and I still hate Hot Rocks.

Thanks, sfsindee.

[mrowepat]

Great channel sindee... I've got this too!!!

[oar37]

I was 11 yrs old when I heard my cousin playing this in her room 1982, when I got a bit older I purchased the 12" with the little boy on the cover.....I used play this really loud in my car on my way home after a night of clubbing ..I was fucked up but I could still sing the lyrics........Great Memories I LOVE SOFT CELLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chco27]

this song reminds me of high school.i like this song

[tetedepoulet]

Man these guys were brilliant. What a song!

[ghostalk71]

one of my favourites from Soft Cell stuff.

really great!