Purple Zone (song)

Origin
The song was initially inspired by the phenomenon of synesthesia, where, according to Marc Almond, one reaches “an aesthetic zone called the purple zone.” Then he saw the term coming up in other fields, such as religion, politics, and news. He saw ‘purple zone’ as “no man’s wasteland” where people are on at the time, “a period of dark flux.”

Record and release
Like the rest of the songs on *Happiness Not Included, “Purple Zone” was recorded during 2020 quarantine lockdowns, with Marc Almond and Dave Ball working separately and remotely on vocals and music. Production is credited to Soft Cell and Philip Larsen.

Almond initially didn't want to include the track on the album, as he thought it was missing something, despite being content with lyrics and music. However the rest of the team greenlit the song and Almond agreed.

The song first became public with a music video published on Marc Almond's official web site. But when Pet Shop Boys got involved, the new version became the definitive one, and more preferable by Almond. Vinyl edition of the album was long in production by that time, meaning that LP copies stayed with original version, while the rest formats got updated, and so will future vinyl repressings. Album was released on May 6th, 2022.

Later in June original “Purple Zone” was announced to appear on third single release of *Happiness Not Included − Nostalgia Machine, but as alternative versions (see bellow).

Pet Shop Boys version
The song was first performed live on Soft Cell's Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret 40th Anniversary tour. It is after the last show which Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe attended to, they were proposed to make a remix for Soft Cell, with Lowe stating that he liked “Purple Zone”. Tennant recorded his own vocals, while Lowe remixed the music. This recording became the definitive version of the song, replacing original on the album, and thus affecting its release date, and receiving a single release.

Remixes
Alternative versions of “Purple Zone” were announced as part of Nostalgia Machine single releases a radio edit on CD and extended dub version on vinyl.

Personnel

 * Written-By (lyrics), vocals – Marc Almond
 * Written-By (music) – David Ball, Riccardo Mulhall
 * Synthesizer – David Ball
 * Production – David Ball, Marc Almond, Philip Larsen

Music video
The video for “Purple Zone” was filmed on 18th August 2021, in Tate Britain Museum, London, UK. The set of the video is blue lit part of installation Rupture No.1: Blowtorching The Bitten Peach by artist Heather Phillipson. The director and producer are unknown.

Finished video appeared on Almond's official web site, on November 6th 2021.

Availability
“Purple Zone” appears on following records.

* Only on first pressings of vinyl version of the album.

Trivia

 * Marc Almond's official web site remains to be the only place where original “Purple Zone” can be heard online, with its music video in Tate Britain Museum.
 * *Happiness Not Included was leaked on streaming platforms on its initial release date, February 25, containing original version. This release was quickly taken down.