Tainted Love

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Biography

" Tainted Love " is a song composed by Ed Cobb , formerly of The Four Preps , which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1965. It attained worldwide fame after being cover version|covered by Soft Cell in 1981, reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart , and has since been covered by numerous groups and artists.

Gloria Jones version (1965)

Gloria Jones recorded the original version of "Tainted Love", which was written and produced by Ed Cobb. It was the B-side to the 1965 single "My Bad Boy's Comin' Home", which was a commercial flop, failing to chart in either the US or the UK. Before Jones recorded the song, Cobb had offered it to The Standells , which he managed and produced, but they rejected it.

However, 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 (featuring a fast tempo, horns, electric rhythm guitar and female backing vocals) 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 .Haslam, Dave, Manchester, England , chapter six, p172

Due to the newfound underground popularity of the song, Jones re-recorded "Tainted Love" in 1976 and released it as a single, but this version also failed to chart.

Soft Cell version (1981)

The vocal-and-synth duo Soft Cell became aware of the song through its status as a UK "Northern Soul" hit, and recorded a drastically different arrangement in 1981. Produced by Mike Thorne, the Soft Cell track 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. Soft Cell's version was recorded in a day and a half with Almond's first vocal take being used on the record.

The band's record label chose to release "Tainted Love" on July 7, 1981 as Soft Cell's second single (their first was "Memorabilia", which did not chart). The label implied that this single would be Soft Cell's final release if the single did not sell. The 12" single version (extended dance version) was a medley, transitioning to a cover of The Supremes ' " Where Did Our Love Go " half-way 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 #1 on the UK singles chart, eventually repeating the feat in 17 territories. "Tainted Love" was the best-selling single in the UK for 1981.

On the US chart dated January 16, 1982, the song entered the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100 at #90. It appeared to peak at #64 and fell to #100 on Feb. 27. After spending a second week at #100, it started climbing again. It took 19 weeks to crack the US Top 40. The song reached #8 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 and features a cricketer meeting band members Marc Almond and David Ball (musician)|David Ball in togas on Mount Olympus .

Soft Cell issued a remixed version of the song in 1991. Another video was made for this release. It features a man pacing at night, dancing with starry apparitions, while Almond sings amongst the stars. This version of the music video was directed by Peter Christopherson of Hipgnosis .

In 2001, "Tainted Love" provided both the title and the theme song for a 13-week vampire -based story arc on the American Broadcasting Company|ABC daytime soap opera Port Charles .

In 2006, Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love" was sampled on " SOS (Rihanna song)|SOS ", a song by Barbados|Bajan R& B singer Rihanna , which hit #1 in the US for three weeks , along with Europe, Canada, and Australia; and #2 in the UK, along with Germany, Hungary, and Belgium. The single was registered in 24 charts, reaching the top 15 in every single chart bar Slovakia, a top 10 in 20 charts, and a top 5 in 16 charts.

Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love" ranked #2 on VH1's The Greatest (TV series)|100 Greatest One Hit Wonders and #5 on VH1's The Greatest (TV series)|100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s .

Marilyn Manson cover (2001)

Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson covered "Tainted Love" and released it as a single from the Not Another Teen Movie#Soundtrack listing| Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack . It was released in 2001. It was later included on his following album The Golden Age of Grotesque as a bonus track.

Released in the UK on March 23, 2002, it is Manson's biggest hit to date in that country. The song entered the UK singles chart at #6 the week before its official release date, as a result of substantial import sales. The song reached its peak position of #5 the following week, and spent a total of twenty-two weeks in the Top 75. It was nominated for the Kerrang& #33; Award for Best Single .

The video for Manson's cover shows Manson bringing several goth friends to a high school party. It features several characters from the film Not Another Teen Movie . It also features Joey Jordison , the drummer from Slipknot (band)|Slipknot , and Tim Skold , who was not a member of the band at the time.

Selective list of recorded versions

1965: Gloria Jones , original version

1976: Gloria Jones , on the album Vixen (Gloria Jones album)|Vixen (produced by Marc Bolan )

1981: Soft Cell , on the album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

1982: Dave Phillips & the Hot Rod Gang, on the single "Tainted Love / Wild Youth"

1985: Coil (band)|Coil , on the 12" single Panic/Tainted Love

1992: The Flying Pickets , on the album The Warning

1992: Inspiral Carpets , on the album Ruby Trax

1994: David Benoit (musician)|David Benoit , on the album Lost and Found

1995: Shades Apart , on the album Save It

1997: Atrocity (band)|Atrocity , on the album Werk 80

1997: The Hi-Fives , on the album And a Whole Lotta You!

1998: Country Teasers , on the album Back to the Future, or Brideshead Revisited Revisited

1998: The Living End , as a B-side to the single " All Torn Down "

1999: My Ruin , on the album Speak and Destroy (My Ruin album)|Speak and Destroy

2000: Wild Strawberries (band)|Wild Strawberries , on the album Twist as an unnumbered track

2001: Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson , on the album Not Another Teen Movie Soundtrack

2001: Max Raabe , on the album Superhits Nummer 2

2002: Prozac+ , on the album Miodio

2002: Night Shift (band)|Night Shift , on the album Undercovers (Night Shift album)|Undercovers

2005: The Pussycat Dolls , on the album PCD (album)|PCD

2006: Milk Inc. on the album Dance

2006: Rihanna sampled Soft Cell's version for her third single " SOS (Rihanna song)|SOS "

2006: Milk Inc. , on the album Supersized

2008: The Lost Fingers , on the album Lost in the 80s

2009: My Brightest Diamond , on the album Guilt by Association Vol. 2

2009: The Pigeon Detectives , as a one-off single for the charity "Cash for Kids"

2009: Blackmailers , on the album Contrafact

2010: Imelda May on the album Mayhem (Imelda May album)|Mayhem

2011: Scorpions (band)|Scorpions , on the album Comeblack

In popular culture

In the 1993 movie Coneheads (film)|Coneheads , Beldar Conehead ( Dan Ackroyd ) sings the song to gather up his courage while facing the Garthok in the great arena on Remulak.

Copyright Citations

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1. Milk Incorporated 2. Shivaree 3. Tim Skold 4. The Living End 5. One 6. My Ruin 7. Flying Pickets 8. Kwan 9. Lee Harding 10. Limahl 11. Milk Inc. 12. Miranda Murphy 13. Nakashima Mika 14. Shades Apart 15. Sharam 16. The Four Preps

Undetermined Music Artists