Cabaret Voltaire share the 7-inch version of ‘Don’t Argue’ from the ‘CODE’ reissue
Cabaret Voltaire released the 7-inch version of “Don’t Argue” from the remastered “CODE” reissue, out 9 October on Mute, ahead of their final 2026 tour.
Cabaret Voltaire have released the 7-inch version of “Don’t Argue”, the second track lifted from the remastered reissue of their 1987 album “CODE”, out 9 October on Mute. The Sheffield electronic duo’s original recording was produced by Cabaret Voltaire with Adrian Sherwood and built around vocal samples from Frank Capra’s 1945 short film “Your Job In Germany”. It reached the UK Singles Chart on its original release.
The track follows the John Robie dub mix of “Thank You America”, shared in July when Mute announced the remastered “CODE” reissue. Out of print for years, the album returns on limited edition “CODIFIED” marble vinyl and as a triple CD set, the latter adding two discs of remastered period remixes plus unreleased mixes found in the archive. Both editions carry new sleeve notes on the album’s production and its afterlife. The 7-inch version of “Don’t Argue” sits on disc two, alongside the Hate and Destroy Mix and the single mix of the same track.
“CODE” was recorded at the band’s Western Works studio in Sheffield, with Sherwood joining for pre-production before sessions moved to Red Bus in London for mixing. Guest players include saxophonist Simeon Lister, bassist Mark Brydon of Chakk and Bill Nelson of Be-Bop Deluxe. Denis Blackman handled the remaster; work on the reissue began in 2019 with Richard H. Kirk and was completed after his death using his notes, in consultation with Stephen Mallinder and Kirk’s estate.
Cabaret Voltaire tour dates in 2026
Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson close the run they began in 2025 for the 50th anniversary of the band’s first performance. I Speak Machine supports the North American leg, Gazelle Twin most of the UK dates and Fader the two Welsh and south-west English shows.
- 11 September – Dallas, TX (US), Granada Theater, with I Speak Machine
- 15 September – Chicago, IL (US), Metro, with I Speak Machine
- 16 September – Chicago, IL (US), Metro, with I Speak Machine
- 18 September – Toronto, ON (Canada), Phoenix Concert Theatre, with I Speak Machine
- 19 September – Montreal, QC (Canada), SAT, with I Speak Machine
- 21 September – Boston, MA (US), The Wilbur, with I Speak Machine
- 25 September – New York, NY (US), Knockdown Center, with I Speak Machine
- 26 September – Philadelphia, PA (US), Underground Arts, with I Speak Machine
- 7 October – Dublin (Ireland), The Academy
- 8 October – Belfast (UK), Limelight
- 10 October – Birmingham (UK), Town Hall, with Gazelle Twin
- 11 October – Liverpool (UK), Arts Club, with Gazelle Twin
- 13 October – Nottingham (UK), The Palais, with Gazelle Twin
- 14 October – Cardiff (UK), The Globe, with Fader
- 15 October – Bath (UK), Forum, with Fader
- 17 October – Newcastle (UK), Boiler Shop, with Gazelle Twin
- 18 October – Glasgow (UK), Barrowland, with Gazelle Twin
- 19 October – Manchester (UK), Albert Hall, with Gazelle Twin
- 21 October – Brighton (UK), Chalk, with Gazelle Twin
- 22 October – London (UK), Roundhouse, with Gazelle Twin
- 25 October – Sheffield (UK), Octagon, with Gazelle Twin – sold out
About Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire formed in Sheffield in 1973 around Richard H. Kirk, Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson, working with tape manipulation, electronics and found sound well before the equipment caught up with the idea. Watson left in 1981. Kirk and Mallinder continued as a duo, signing to EMI in the mid-1980s and issuing “CODE” in 1987, the album that produced their two UK chart singles, “Don’t Argue” and “Here To Go”. The pair wound the project down in 1994.
Kirk later carried the name alone, performing at Berlin’s Atonal festival in 2014 and issuing the connected run of “Shadow of Fear”, “BN9Drone” and “Dekadrone” across 2020 and 2021. He died in autumn 2021.
Mallinder and Watson returned to the stage in 2025 to mark 50 years since the band’s first performance, a run that included a Roundhouse booking for 2026 and continued into this year around the live album “But What Time Is It Really?”, from which the pair also shared a live “Yashar”. The “CODE” reissue lands three weeks into that final tour.
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