Science Fiction Stories

Origin
“Science Fiction Stories” was written by David Ball during his early time in Leeds Polytechnic. It was the first song he wrote on the synthesizer, as well originally singing until forming Soft Cell with Marc Almond.

Record and release
“Science Fiction Stories” is one of many early demo tracks recorded between 1978 and 1980. It first become widely known in 1987, appearing on a bootleg compilation of the same name. Another unofficial record of unknown origin contained an instrumental mix of the same demo, with only Almond's vocals singing the chorus with vocoder effect and, supposedly, additional sound effects.

The demo was officially released in 2005 on compilation of early tracks The Bedsit Tapes. In 2018 it was remastered and included in Keychains And Snowstorms box set.

Other versions
In 2018 the song was re-recorded with proper studio treatment for Magick Mutants EP, released in 2019. Unlike in original demo, vocoder effects weren't applied to Almond's new vocals, and it also lacks additional sound effects. An instrumental version of the track exists within promo CD of the EP.

Personnel

 * Original demo version
 * Vocals – Marc Almond
 * Written-By, instruments – David Ball
 * Production – Soft Cell
 * Studio version
 * Production – Soft Cell
 * Engineering (vocals) – Jonny Solway, Rob McFarlane
 * Engineering, programming – Jon Savage
 * Mixing – Philip Larsen

Availability
“Science Fiction Stories” appears on following records.

Original demo version is also available on streaming platforms.

Listen

 * Official uploads on YouTube

Trivia

 * The demo originally starts with a countdown and flight noise samples from the opening of 60s TV series Thunderbirds; it is how it appears on first bootleg release.
 * It also can be heard on “instrumental demo tape” version of the track.
 * In The Bedsit Tapes version only the noise sample was left.
 * In Keychains And Snowstorms remaster all samples were removed (see Listen).
 * On song list flyer for duo's first gig at Leeds Polytechnic, designed by Ball, “Science Fiction Stories” has an image of flying saucer and Earth in space.