"Tainted Love
" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of The Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones. It attained worldwide fame after being covered by Soft Cell in 1981, reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart, [1] and has since been covered by numerous other groups and artists. There are even covers in other languages, including the Spanish version called "Falso Amor" performed by La Unión.
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TAINTED LOVE TICKETS
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Soft Cell version
Soft Cell's record label chose to release "Tainted Love" on July 7, 1981 as the band'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. Produced by
Mike Thorne, the track was recorded in a day and a half with the first vocal take being ultimately used on the record. Buoyed by the then-dominant
Synthpop sound of the time and a memorable performance on
Top of the Pops it rapidly reached number one on the UK singles chart, eventually repeating the feat in 17 territories.
The following year it charted in the
US. Although it took a record-breaking 19 weeks to crack the US Top 40, the song eventually reached #8 and spent a then-record breaking 43 weeks on the
Billboard
Hot 100.
A video for the track was recorded specially for their video album 'Non Stop Exotic Video' and features band members
Marc Almond and
David Ball in togas on
Mount Olympus; another was made to promote the 1991 remixed re-release and involves a male pacing at night and dancing with starry apparitions while Almond sings amongst the stars.
In
2006, Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love" was sampled on "
SOS", a song by
Rihanna, which hit number 1 in 2006.
Soft Cell's version ranked #2 on VH1's
100 Greatest One Hit Wonders
and #5 on VH1's
100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s
.
My Ruin cover
The female-fronted metal band
My Ruin released a version that was celebrated at the time for sounding more like the original than most of the versions based on the Soft Cell version.
[2]
Living End Cover
"Tainted Love", a live cover , was released as a radio-only single on Triple J by Australia's Rockabilly outfit, The Living End on their "Second Solution" / "Prisoner of Society" EP as a Bonus in 1997
Marilyn Manson cover
Marilyn Manson covered "Tainted Love" and released it as a single from the
Not Another Teen Movie
soundtrack
. It was released in 2001. It was later re-released on his following album
The Golden Age Of Grotesque 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 gothic 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.
Track listing
#"Tainted Love"
#"
I Melt with You" (
Mest)
#"
Suicide Is Painless"
#"
Bizarre Love Triangle" (
New Order)
Selective list of recorded versions
- 1964: Gloria Jones, original version
- 1976: Gloria Jones with Marc Bolan, on the album Vixen
- 1981: Soft Cell, on the album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
- 1985: 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
- 1995: Shades Apart, on the album Save It
- 1997: Atrocity, on the album Werk 80
- 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
- 2000: Wild Strawberries, on the album Twist as an unnumbered track
- 2000: La Unión, spanish cover named "Falso Amor", on the album Grandes Exítos
- 2001: Marilyn Manson, on the album Not Another Teen Movie Soundtrack
- 2002: Prozac+, on the album Miodio
- 2005: The Pussycat Dolls, on the album ''PCD
- 2006: Rihanna, as the single SOS
- 2007: Killwhitneydead, on the album Nothing Less Nothing More
- 2008: Danny Noriega performed the song on American Idol
- 2009: My Brightest Diamond, on the album Guilt by Association Vol. 2
References
- The Greatest Songs Ever: Soft Cell, "Tainted Love"
- Speak & Destroy Album