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.[2]

"Tainted Love"
Side B of official 1965 US single
Single by Gloria Jones
A-side"My Bad Boy's Comin' Home"
ReleasedMay 1965
Recorded1964
GenreNorthern soul[1]
LabelChampion (distributed by Vee-Jay)
Songwriter(s)Ed Cobb
Producer(s)Ed Cobb
Gloria Jones singles chronology
"My Bad Boy's Comin' Home" / "Tainted Love"
(1965)		 "Come Go with Me"
(1966)

It attained worldwide fame after being covered and reworked by British synth-pop duo Soft Cell in 1981 and has since been covered by numerous groups and artists.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

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",[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10]

In 2014, NME ranked it number 305 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[11]

Soft Cell version (1981)
"Tainted Love"
Artwork for original 1981 release
Single by Soft Cell
from the album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
A-side"Tainted Love" / "Where Did Our Love Go"
B-side"Memorabilia" / "Tainted Dub"
ReleasedJuly 17, 1981 (UK)[12]
January 16, 1982 (US)
RecordedDecember 1980
Genre
Length2:34 (album version)
2:41 (single version)
8:58 (extended dance version with "Where Did Our Love Go" cover)
4:11 (radio edit with "Where Did Our Love Go cover)
LabelSome Bizzare
Sire/Warner Bros. Records (US)
Songwriter(s)Ed Cobb
Producer(s)Mike Thorne
Soft Cell singles chronology
"Memorabilia"
(1981)		 "Tainted Love"
(1981)		 "Bedsitter"
(1981)

English vocal-and-synth duo Soft Cell became aware of the song through its status as a UK "Northern soul" hit.[15] 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".[16] 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.[17][18] 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."[19]

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 (their first was "Memorabilia", which did not chart).[19] The label's representatives implied that this single would be Soft Cell's final release on Some Bizzare if it did not sell.[19] The 12" single version (extended dance version) was a medley, transitioning to a cover of the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go" halfway through the song, which gives a progressive dimension to this version. 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.[4]

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.[5]

"Soft Cell, a tweezy synthesizer and singer duo whose fondest subject was sexual perversion, had a huge turntable hit in the clubs with "Tainted Love", which then crossed over to radio, enjoying the longest tenure, at forty-three weeks, of any single in Billboard history."

—Anglomania: The Second British Invasion, by Parke Puterbaugh for Rolling Stone, November 1983.[5]

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.[20]

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.[21] Christopherson's band Coil had covered "Tainted Love" in 1985, with a music video that included a cameo appearance by Almond.[22]

Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love" ranked number 5 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 1980s.[23] It was also heavily sampled on Rihanna's 2006 single "SOS" and the Veronicas's 2007 single "Hook Me Up".[24] In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's fourth favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[25]

Weekly charts

Marilyn Manson version (2001)
"Tainted Love"
Single by Marilyn Manson
from the album Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack and The Golden Age of Grotesque
ReleasedNovember 2001
GenreElectronic rock[53]
Length3:20
Label
Songwriter(s)Ed Cobb
Producer(s)
Marilyn Manson singles chronology
"The Nobodies"
(2001)		 "Tainted Love"
(2001)		 "Mobscene"
(2003)

American rock 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.[54] The accompanying music video featured cast members Chyler Leigh, Mia Kirshner, Chris Evans and Jaime Pressly.[55][56] It was later included as a bonus track on international editions of the band's following album, The Golden Age of Grotesque.[57] 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.[58]

"Tainted Love" topped the charts in Portugal and peaked within the top ten of the charts in the United Kingdom.[59] It also peaked within the top ten of the charts throughout the rest of Europe, including Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Norway.[60] It was nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single in 2002,[61] and won the Kerrang! Award for Best Video.[62] It was also nominated for Best Video at the 2002 Q Awards.[63]

Charts
Chart (2001–02) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[64] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[65] 11
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[66] 7
Denmark (Tracklisten)[67] 3
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[60] 3
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[68] 11
France (SNEP)[69] 25
Germany (Official German Charts)[70] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[31] 11
Italy (FIMI)[71] 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[72] 44
Norway (VG-lista)[73] 7
Poland (Polish Singles Chart)[74] 20
Portugal (Billboard)[60] 1
Scotland (OCC)[75] 4
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[76] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[77] 11
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[78] 2
UK (Official Charts Company)[59] 5
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[79] 30
US Billboard Alternative Airplay[79] 33

Year-end charts
Chart (2002) Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[80] 18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[81] 55
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[82] 17
Germany (Official German Charts)[83] 24
Italy (FIMI)[84] 16
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[85] 37
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[86] 19
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[87] 65

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[88] Gold 25,000*
Belgium (BEA)[89] Gold 25,000*
Germany (BVMI)[90] Gold 250,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[91] Silver 379,000[92]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
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Bibliography
  • Almond, Marc (2002). Порочная жизнь (автобиография) [Tainted Life] (in Russian). Translated in Russian by Katya Strelnitzki. Москва: Современная музыка. ISBN 5-93138-045-0.
  • Bielefeldt, Christian & Pendzich, Mark (2011). "Spot checks of pop history: The cover recordings of 'Stand By Me' and 'Tainted Love'". Lied und Populäre Kultur / Song and Popular Culture. 56: 97–111. JSTOR 23339032.
  • Davis, Sharon (2012). "September 1981. Soft Cell: Tainted Love". 80s Chart-Toppers: Every Chart-Topper Tells a Story. Random House. ISBN 978-1-7805-7411-0.
  • Haslam, Dave (1999). Manchester, England: The Story of the Pop Cult City. Fourth Estate. ISBN 978-1-8411-5145-8.
  • Miller, Chuck (2011). Tracy L. Schmidt (ed.). Warman's American Records. Krause Publications. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-4402-2821-6.
  • Talevski, Nick (2006). Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries. Omnibus Press. p. 90. ISBN 1-84609-091-1. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
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