When British pop legend Marc Almond needed some post-Covid revitalisation he moved to the Portuguese countryside. He is now in the process of restoring a rundown farmhouse and releasing a new album inspired by the tranquillity of his surroundings!
Never far from the limelight since his days as one half of 80s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Marc Almond (OBE) has been in the media recently promoting his 27th solo album.
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Swapping Soho for a Portuguese bolthole
Portugal gains a new pop legend resident.
Marc has lived in Portugal since 2022 and says moving there provided him with the space and peacefulness for creating I’m Not Anyone, a collection of orchestral rock covers. Now aged 67, his Portuguese bolthole couldn’t be further from the home he bought at the start of his 45-year music career. When Soft Cell’s Tainted Love cover became an overnight success in 1981, rocketing to Number 1 in the UK and becoming a global hit, Marc bought a flat in the heady, black-leather filled depths of Soho (opposite the Raymond Revuebar, as it goes)…
Hailing from Southport in Merseyside, since then the avante-garde icon has always had a base in London, which today is a house in Bermondsey. Typically more of city person, after Soft Cell parted amicably in 1984 and Marc’s solo career blossomed into diverse genres and collaborations – including his 1989 hit Something’s Got A Hold of My Heart with Gene Pitney, he spent time in New York and several years in Moscow.
So what’s behind his move to a quiet corner of Portugal – it’s certainly not golf! Two things really – London was beginning to lose its shine for Marc and after catching Covid at the start of lockdown he needed somewhere new and energising to recuperate.
A tranquil location to recuperate
“When I came out of Covid, I felt so drained and exhausted,” Marc told Classic Pop magazine in the July/August issue. “I felt aged, and I just felt ill. Of course, so many people felt that way who have been through Covid, but it maybe didn’t hit me until later. I realised that I was mentally and physically exhausted. And I don’t love London like I used to… London needs to get its party dress on again. I needed an adventure. I’m getting older and I thought: ‘This can’t be it, can it?’”
Besides the lifestyle, scenery and everything else great about the country, Marc was attracted to Portugal due to a special type of visa available to him as a professional artist following Brexit. This residency route no longer exists so he timed his move perfectly. Another option at the time was Dubai. “I couldn’t think of anything worse than Dubai,” he told Classic Pop. “I don’t like the heat much. It’s hard enough in Portugal, but Dubai is literally a cultural desert, whereas Portugal interested me. I like Fado music, so that was a plus straight away.”
Relaxing and taking a break from his usual city lifestyle is easy at his Portuguese home. It’s an old farmhouse, which Marc has been restoring, that comes with a large plot of untouched land. Reportedly in the Portuguese Riviera area, if this is the case Marc has both the upmarket resort of Cascais and Cascais-Sintra natural park on his doorstep. Perhaps tellingly, the bright lights of Lisbon would also be an easy drive away, for when Marc needs an urban fix!
A new home, a new inspiration
“I wanted a project,” said the man with more than 38 million record sales to his name. “I can plant orange and lemon trees, then retreat there when the apocalypse comes. I love getting back to nature, and my new place is in the middle of nowhere, with solar panels!”
Marc is open about his interest in Druidry and has recounted how he’s been enjoying shopping for trees and planting them on his land in circles and groves. His time in the Portuguese sticks has also helped with his anxiety. “When I’m on stage I’m a different person but in real life I keep myself to myself,” he told The Daily Mirror recently.
Which links back to his new album and how his peaceful, rural surroundings influenced the songs he chose. “I’m looking for more elemental references, nature references and spiritual, gentler kind of songs,” he told Buzz magazine.
As things stand, the one-of-a-kind star who famously nearly died in a motorcycle accident in 2004 is happy based in a quieter, more natural environment than he’s ever been used to. But just like he hasn’t ruled out making a sixth Soft Cell album with co-member David Ball, deep down he expects to feel the urge to return to London or another city again more permanently. When and where that will happen, who knows. For now though, when he’s not performing or writing, he seems quite content planting trees at his Portuguese retreat and dipping into the London scene when it suits him!
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