Tainted Love
Encyclopedia
"Tainted Love" is a song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 composed by Ed Cobb
Ed Cobb
Ed Cobb was a musician, songwriter and record producer, most notably during the 1950s and 1960s.-Career:...

, formerly of The Four Preps
The Four Preps
The Four Preps are an American popular music male quartet. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the group amassed eight gold singles and three gold albums...

, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones
Gloria Jones
Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She recorded the 1964 northern soul song, "Tainted Love", later a hit for the British synth-pop duo, Soft Cell. She was the girlfriend of glam rock artist Marc Bolan of the band T...

 in 1965. It attained worldwide fame after being covered by Soft Cell
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo is most widely known for their 1981 worldwide hit version of "Tainted Love" and platinum debut Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret...

 in 1981, reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

, 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.

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
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...

 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
Wigan Casino
The Wigan Casino was a nightclub in Wigan, Lancashire, England. Operating between 1973 and 1981, it was known as a primary venue for northern soul music. It carried forward the legacy created by clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester and the Golden Torch in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent...

.

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
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo is most widely known for their 1981 worldwide hit version of "Tainted Love" and platinum debut Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret...

 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 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 singer Marc 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
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...

' "Where Did Our Love Go
Where Did Our Love Go
"Where Did Our Love Go" is a 1964 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Where Did Our Love Go" was the first single by the Supremes to go to the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart...

" half-way through the song. Buoyed by the then-dominant Synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

 sound of the time and a memorable performance on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...

, "Tainted Love" rapidly reached number one 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
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 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 band members Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...

 and David Ball in togas on Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...

.

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
Peter Christopherson
Peter Martin Christopherson, a.k.a. Sleazy was a musician, video director and designer, and former member of the influential British design agency Hipgnosis....

 of Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis was a British art design group that specialized in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands, most notably Pink Floyd, T.Rex, The Pretty Things, UFO, 10cc, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, Yes, The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, ELO and XTC...

.

In 2001, "Tainted Love" provided both the title and the theme song for a 13-week vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...

-based story arc on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 daytime soap opera Port Charles
Port Charles
Port Charles was a daytime soap opera which aired on ABC from June 2, 1997 to October 3, 2003. It is a spin-off of the serial General Hospital, which has been running since 1963 and takes place in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York...

.

In 2006, Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love" was sampled on "SOS
SOS (Rihanna song)
"SOS" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her second studio album, A Girl like Me. The song was produced by J. R. Rotem and written by Rotem and Evan "Kidd" Bogart. It was released as the lead single from the album...

", a song by Barbadian
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

 R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

 singer Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

, which hit number 1 in the US and number 2 in the UK.

Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love" ranked #2 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders
The Greatest (TV series)
The Greatest is a VH1 series. Each episode counts down either songs, albums, music videos, moments, musicians, or celebrities of a particular category.-Episodes:-References:...

and #5 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s
The Greatest (TV series)
The Greatest is a VH1 series. Each episode counts down either songs, albums, music videos, moments, musicians, or celebrities of a particular category.-Episodes:-References:...

.

Marilyn Manson cover (2001)

Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...

 covered "Tainted Love" and released it as a single from the Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack. It was released in 2001. It was later included on his following album The Golden Age of Grotesque
The Golden Age of Grotesque
Initial critical response to The Golden Age of Grotesque was mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 60, indicating mixed or average reviews, based on 12 publications...

as a bonus track.

Released in the UK in May 2002, it is Manson's biggest hit to date in that country, reaching a position of #5 in the UK Top 75 charts.

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
Not Another Teen Movie
Not Another Teen Movie is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Joel Gallen, released on December 14, 2001 by Columbia Pictures. It is a parody of teen movies which have accumulated in Hollywood over the last few decades...

. It also features Joey Jordison
Joey Jordison
Joey Jordison , is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work as the drummer for the nu metal band Slipknot. He grew up in Waukee, Iowa with his parents and two sisters, and was given his first drum kit at the age of 8...

, the drummer from Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...

, and Tim Skold
Tim Skold
Tim Sköld is a multi-instrumentalist who, in addition to producing solo work, has also collaborated with multiple musical groups including Shotgun Messiah, KMFDM and Marilyn Manson.-Early life:...

, who was not a member of the band at the time.

Selective list of recorded versions

  • 1965: Gloria Jones
    Gloria Jones
    Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She recorded the 1964 northern soul song, "Tainted Love", later a hit for the British synth-pop duo, Soft Cell. She was the girlfriend of glam rock artist Marc Bolan of the band T...

    , original version
  • 1976: Gloria Jones
    Gloria Jones
    Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She recorded the 1964 northern soul song, "Tainted Love", later a hit for the British synth-pop duo, Soft Cell. She was the girlfriend of glam rock artist Marc Bolan of the band T...

    , on the album Vixen
    Vixen (Gloria Jones album)
    Vixen is a studio album released by Gloria Jones in 1976. This album features songs written by Marc Bolan, as well as the only two confirmed Bolan and Jones co-writes, "High", and "Cry Baby"...

    (produced by Marc Bolan
    Marc Bolan
    Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...

    )
  • 1981: Soft Cell
    Soft Cell
    Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo is most widely known for their 1981 worldwide hit version of "Tainted Love" and platinum debut Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret...

    , on the album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
    Non-stop Erotic Cabaret
    Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is the debut album by English synthpop duo Soft Cell, released in the United Kingdom on 23 November 1981 by Some Bizzare Records...

  • 1982: Dave Phillips
    Dave Phillips
    David Robert Phillips is a retired umpire, first with the American League from 1971-1999, then with both leagues from 2000-2002...

     & the Hot Rod Gang, on the single "Tainted Love / Wild Youth"
  • 1985: Coil
    Coil (band)
    Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...

    , on the 12" single Panic/Tainted Love
    Panic/Tainted Love
    Panic/Tainted Love is a 12" released in 1985 - and later on in 1990, a CD - single by Coil.The Tainted Love section of the album includes a cover of the song "Tainted Love", originally performed by Gloria Jones and then to become popular again around 1981 after a synthpop cover-version was...

  • 1992: The Flying Pickets
    The Flying Pickets
    The Flying Pickets are a British a cappella vocal group, who had a Christmas number one hit in 1983 in the UK Singles Chart with their cover of Yazoo's track "Only You".-History:...

    , on the album The Warning
  • 1992: Inspiral Carpets
    Inspiral Carpets
    Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...

    , on the album Ruby Trax
  • 1994: David Benoit, on the album Lost and Found
  • 1995: Shades Apart
    Shades Apart
    Shades Apart were an American alternative rock musical group from Bridgewater, New Jersey. They are best known for their US radio hit "Valentine" and their cover of the hit song "Tainted Love."-History:...

    , on the album Save It
  • 1997: Atrocity
    Atrocity (band)
    Atrocity is a German Heavy Metal band formed in Ludwigsburg.-History:First started in 1985 as Instigators and playing grindcore, Atrocity arose as a death metal band with their debut EP, Blue Blood, in 1989, followed soon by Hallucinations, a concept album about drug use...

    , on the album Werk 80
    Werk 80
    Werk 80 is the fifth full-length album by German industrial gothic metal band Atrocity and was released in 1997. It's the bands first full length album with cover versions of popular 1980s songs. Atrocity released a sequel, Werk 80 II, in 2008.-CD:...

  • 1997: The Hi-Fives, on the album And a Whole Lotta You!
  • 1998: Country Teasers
    Country Teasers
    Country Teasers is a Scottish art punk band formed in 1993.Early Country Teasers albums were characterised by illiterate, scathingly satirical lyrics and discordant, repetitive sound – like William S...

    , on the album Back to the Future, or Brideshead Revisited Revisited
    Back to the Future, or Brideshead Revisited Revisited
    Back to the Future, or Brideshead Revisitted Revisitted is a 1998 CD which compiles studio out-takes and live recordings by Country Teasers.- Track listing :#"Let's Have a Shambles"#"Good Pair of Hands"#"Kill!"#"No Limits" #"I Get Hard"...

  • 1998: The Living End
    The Living End
    The Living End are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed in 1994. The current lineup consists of Chris Cheney , Scott Owen and Andy Strachan...

    , as a B-side to the single "All Torn Down
    All Torn Down
    "All Torn Down" is the third single off The Living End's debut self-titled album. It reached number 12 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The song title and lyrics refer to the rapid development of Melbourne in the late 1990s, with major projects such as CityLink and Melbourne Docklands in progress and...

    "
  • 1999: My Ruin
    My Ruin
    My Ruin are a Los Angeles-based hard rock/stoner metal band fronted by Tairrie B , they have been going through various line-up changes since 1999. They have a dedicated fanbase, most notably in the UK...

    , on the album Speak and Destroy
  • 2000: Wild Strawberries
    Wild Strawberries (band)
    Wild Strawberries is a Canadian pop band made up of married couple Roberta Carter-Harrison and Ken Harrison, who are also, respectively, a physiotherapist and a doctor by trade...

    , on the album Twist as an unnumbered track
  • 2001: Marilyn Manson
    Marilyn Manson (band)
    Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...

    , on the album Not Another Teen Movie Soundtrack
  • 2001: Max Raabe
    Max Raabe
    Max Raabe is a German singer. He is particularly noted as the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester....

    , on the album Superhits Nummer 2
  • 2002: Prozac+
    Prozac+
    Prozac+ is an Italian punk band, founded in Pordenone in 1995. As with the Canadian band Prozzäk, they are named for the brand name of the antidepressant fluoxetine, manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company.-History:...

    , on the album Miodio
  • 2002: Night Shift
    Night Shift (band)
    - Underground years :The band was formed in 1991, by the Šćepanović brothers, Milan and Danijel , with their friend Marko Dacić . The official date of the band formation was chosen to be January 11, 1991, when the trio had their first live performance...

    , on the album Undercovers
    Undercovers (Night Shift album)
    - Night Shift :* Milan Šćepanović * Danijel Šćepanović * Marko Dacić - Additional personnel :* Mirko Vukomanović * Ivana Pavlović * Dejan Cukić - References :...

  • 2005: The Pussycat Dolls, on the album PCD
    PCD (album)
    PCD is the debut album by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls, released on September 13, 2005 in the United States, by A&M Records. After recruiting Melody Thornton and Nicole Scherzinger and releasing two singles, they released this album...

  • 2006: Milk Inc.
    Milk Inc.
    Milk Inc. is a Euro House band that formed in the commercial house-scene in Belgium in 1996. The Discography of the band includes a total of six studio albums and thirty-four singles In 2006, to celebrate their 10th anniversary, Milk Inc...

     on the album Dance
    Dance
    Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

  • 2006: Rihanna
    Rihanna
    Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

     sampled Soft Cell's version for her third single "SOS
    SOS (Rihanna song)
    "SOS" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her second studio album, A Girl like Me. The song was produced by J. R. Rotem and written by Rotem and Evan "Kidd" Bogart. It was released as the lead single from the album...

    "
  • 2006: Milk Inc.
    Milk Inc.
    Milk Inc. is a Euro House band that formed in the commercial house-scene in Belgium in 1996. The Discography of the band includes a total of six studio albums and thirty-four singles In 2006, to celebrate their 10th anniversary, Milk Inc...

    , on the album Supersized
  • 2008: The Lost Fingers
    The Lost Fingers
    The Lost Fingers is a Canadian gypsy jazz music group based in Quebec City. Its members are Alex Morissette , Dr. Christian Roberge , and Byron "Maiden" Mikaloff ....

    , on the album Lost in the 80s
  • 2009: My Brightest Diamond
    My Brightest Diamond
    My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer–songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Worden. The band has released two studio albums, 2006's Bring Me the Workhorse and 2008's A Thousand Shark's Teeth, along with a remix album Tear It Down and a download-only release through iTunes...

    , on the album Guilt by Association Vol. 2
    Guilt by Association Vol. 2
    Guilt by Association Vol. 2 is a compilation album released November 18, 2008 by Engine Room Recordings. Like its predecessor, Guilt by Association Vol. 1, it features indie rock artists covering well-known pop and R&B songs.-Overview:...

  • 2009: The Pigeon Detectives
    The Pigeon Detectives
    The Pigeon Detectives are an English indie rock band from Rothwell, West Yorkshire, who formed in 2004. They have been championed by such well known DJs as Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley, and performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2006, where they were tagged "the band most likely to leap to...

    , as a one-off single for the charity "Cash for Kids"
  • 2009: Blackmailers
    Blackmailers
    Blackmailers Rekord Orkestr — the wedding and funeral orchestra.-History:The band was created in 1997 by Aleksey Baryshev, a well-known Russian guitar player. At first it was a classical “guitar hero” blues band with an undiluted blues-rock repertoire...

    , on the album Contrafact
  • 2010: Imelda May
    Imelda May
    Imelda Mary Higham, Clabby , known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 15 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar...

     on the album Mayhem
    Mayhem (Imelda May album)
    Mayhem is the third studio album by Irish rockabilly singer Imelda May, released on 3 September 2010 in Ireland and on 4 October 2010 in the United Kingdom.-Background:...

  • 2011: Scorpions, on the album "Comeblack"


External links

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