"Spit on the purists. They're there to be trodden on..."

Ooh, what have I here? Welcome to the dark underbelly of my musical life. This is the video for one of my favourite songs.

Quick back-story time. It's 1982, and Soft Cell are on their way to becoming the most successful act in Britain in terms of singles chart weeks. What does a sane person do? Make the most of your main project. On the other hand, what does Marc Almond do? Form another band. Crackers, I know, but the result is gold dust.

Marc & The Mambas were formed around the nucleus of Marc Almond and Annie Hogan (keys) and had an ever-changing band roster that included variously David Ball, Matt "The The" Johnson, Peter Ashworth (as in the photographer immortalised in Mari Wilson's kitsch classic Just What I Always Wanted, and Zeke Manyika from Orange Juice.

Sleaze was originally a Cellmates-only single and it electrified this young lad from Lincolnshire. So much so that I'd never be out of mascara by the end of the year. So much so that I ripped off (sorry, paid homage to) the minor to major electric piano riff in one of my songs.

Don't let the fact that Sleaze was recorded in Heckmondwike (Heck-mond-wike? Uh?) put you off.