Tainted Love
"Tainted Love" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of American group the Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964.
It attained worldwide fame after being covered and reworked by English synth-pop duo Soft Cell in 1981 and has since been covered by numerous groups and artists. Buoyed by the then-dominant synth-pop new wave sound of the time and a memorable performance on the BBC's Top of the Pops, "Tainted Love" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, and was the best-selling single of 1981 in the UK. A major hit in the US during the Second British Invasion, the song spent a then-record 43 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number eight.
Gloria Jones version (1964; released 1965)
American artist Gloria Jones recorded the original version of "Tainted Love" in 1964; the song was written and produced by Ed Cobb and arranged by Lincoln Mayorga. It was the B-side of her 1965 single "My Bad Boy's Comin' Home", which was a commercial flop, failing to chart in either the US or the UK. According to Nick Talevski, before Jones recorded the song, Cobb had offered it to the Standells, whom he managed and produced, but they rejected it. The Standells say that the song was never offered to them, and that they were not signed to Cobb's company Greengrass Productions until 1966, some two years after Jones's recording.In 1973, British club DJ Richard Searling purchased a copy of the almost decade-old single while on a trip to the United States. The track's Motown-influenced sound fit in perfectly with the music favoured by those involved in the UK's Northern Soul club scene of the early 1970s, and Searling popularised the song at the Northern Soul club Va Va's in Bolton, and later, at Wigan Casino.
Owing to the new-found underground popularity of the song, Jones re-recorded "Tainted Love" in 1976 and released it as a single, but it also failed to chart. This version was released on her album Vixen and was produced by her boyfriend Marc Bolan.
In 2014, NME ranked it number 305 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Soft Cell version (1981)
English vocal-and-synth duo Soft Cell became aware of the song through its status as a UK "Northern soul" hit. In 2010, DJ Ian "Frank" Dewhirst recalled he put "Tainted Love" on when Marc Almond, the duo's singer who worked as a cloakroom guy, came to ask if it was Jones' recording, before asking to tape it. Some time after, Soft Cell began performing the song in their live setlist, choosing it instead of Frankie Valli's "The Night". Eventually, a Phonogram Records A&R manager Roger Ames opted the band to record the single at a London-based Advision Studios, with producer Mike Thorne. There, Soft Cell's version was recorded in a day and a half with Almond's first vocal take being used on the record. Thorne commented that he was surprised by the choice as he had not been impressed by the 1976 version on hearing it, but was impressed by the new arrangement and Almond's sinister vocal: "You could smell the coke on that second, Northern Soul version, it was really so over-ramped and so frantic. It was good for the dance floor, but I didn't like the record...when Soft Cell performed the song I heard a very novel sound and a very nice voice, so off we went."The Soft Cell recording featured a slower tempo than Jones' version, and was in the key of G rather than the original C to match Marc Almond's lower voice. Synthesizers and rhythm machines replaced the original's guitars, bass, drums, and horns.
Phonogram Records chose to release "Tainted Love" on July 7, 1981 as Soft Cell's second single. The label's representatives implied that this single would be Soft Cell's final release on Some Bizzare if it did not sell. The 12" single version was a medley, transitioning to a cover of the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go" halfway through the song. Buoyed by the then-dominant synthpop sound of the time and a memorable performance on Top of the Pops, "Tainted Love" rapidly reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the best-selling single of 1981 in the UK and has sold 1.35 million copies as of August 2017.
On the US chart dated January 16, 1982, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 90. It appeared to peak at number 64 and fell to number 100 on February 27. After spending a second week at number 100, it started climbing again. It took 19 weeks to crack the US Top 40. The song reached number 8 during the summer of 1982 and spent a then record-breaking 43 weeks on the Hot 100.
A video was recorded specially for Soft Cell's video album Non-Stop Exotic Video Show featuring band members David Ball as a cricketer meeting Marc Almond in a toga on what seems to be Mount Olympus.
A rerecorded version of the song was issued in 1991, seven years after Soft Cell's dissolution in 1984. The video for the version, directed by Peter Christopherson, features a man pacing at night and dancing with starry apparitions, while Almond sings amongst the stars. Christopherson's band Coil had covered "Tainted Love" in 1985, with a music video that included a cameo appearance by Almond.
Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love" ranked number 5 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 1980s. It was also heavily sampled on Rihanna's 2006 single "SOS" and the Veronicas's 2007 single "Hook Me Up". In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's fourth favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart | Peak position |
| Australia | 1 |
| Chart | Peak position |
| UK | 43 |
| Chart | Peak position |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 24 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 6 |
Year-end charts
| Chart | Rank |
| Australian Singles | 3 |
| Canadian Singles | 7 |
| New Zealand Singles | 14 |
| South Africa | 5 |
| US Year-End Hot 100 Singles | 11 |
Certifications
Marilyn Manson version (2001)
American band Marilyn Manson covered "Tainted Love" with an arrangement based on Soft Cell's version. It was released in 2001 as a single from the Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack. The accompanying music video featured cast members Chyler Leigh, Mia Kirshner, Chris Evans and Jaime Pressly. It was later included as a bonus track on international editions of the band's following album, The Golden Age of Grotesque. The eponymous vocalist said that he was not "really thinking about '80s nostalgia" during the recording, while recognizing it as a main concept behind the soundtrack.Released in the United Kingdom on March 23, 2002, the song became their biggest hit in that country, entering the UK Singles Chart at its peak of number 5, spending a total of 11 weeks in the Top 75. The song also became a top five hit throughout Europe, and topped the Portuguese chart. It was nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single in 2002, and won the Kerrang! Award for Best Video. It was also nominated for Best Video at the 2002 Q Awards.