Soft Cell

The Rainbow Room

A ballad from the top of the RCA Building. The Rainbow Room, the second taste of Danceteria after The Space Inside, is Marc Almond remembering a birthday – his 21st or 22nd – in the supper club on the 65th floor of Rockefeller Center in the early eighties: the view, the thought of falling, and the Twin Towers on the skyline, named in the song because of what the future held for them. Five minutes forty of love, loss and friendship over Dave Ball’s synths; the album followed on September 25.

Written by Marc Almond and Dave Ball. Marc Almond: vocals. Dave Ball: music and production. From Danceteria, Republic of Music, 2026. Photograph: Samuel H. Gottscho, New York City views. Rockefeller Center and RCA Building from 515 Madison Ave., December 5, 1933. Gottscho-Schleisner Collection, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.