Yes, they had one hit in the United States. And yes, it seems like it was on the radio for ages.
And then it disappeared. You rarely hear it on oldies stations the same way you would hear classic songs from their contemporaries.
But all it takes it that one riff … and it will bring you back to 1982.
Yep. The duo of Marc Almond and David Ball, who took a chilly synthesizer riff and created an iconic 1980’s hit, “Tainted Love.”
Crazy thing is … “Tainted Love” has its own legacy. Let me explain.
The track was originally a B-side from soul singer Gloria Jones, and it was a club hit in its own right – especially in the “Northern Soul” British dance clubs where the most obscure songs became floor-packing stompers.
And the version that became Soft Cell’s hit – was also a B-side, it wasn’t supposed to be a hit. The record company had actually pushed a different composition, “Memorabilia,” to hopefully break the group in the United States.
But what happened? Radio stations flipped the promotional 45 over, discovered “Tainted Love,” and the song became a halfway-decent hit in its initial run.
Then the song was extended as part of a dance medley with another cover song, so “Tainted Love” now blended into a Soft Cell version of the Supremes’ “Where Did Our Love Go.”
Next thing you know, radio stations are playing BOTH versions – the unedited “Tainted Love” and the two-song medley. At the time, that made Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” a Top 10 hit – and gave it a 43-week uninterrupted run on the Billboard charts, an unequaled achievement at the time.
So what does Soft Cell do for follow-ups? Well, they went back to the Northern Soul scene for another dance track, “What!” –
“What!” didn’t really light up the US charts … in fact, it never even charted in America, despite going Top 10 in the UK. And while Soft Cell continued having hits in England, the only time you could hear new Soft Cell tracks were on progressive college radio stations and the occasional dance club.
Case in point – until you read this blog, you probably didn’t know Soft Cell had UK hits with songs like “Torch” –
And you would really have to scour the record bins to find the track “It’s A Mug’s Game.”
Marc Almond is still touring today, while David Ball passed away last year at the age of 66.
There are still plenty of fans who enjoy Soft Cell’s take on Northern Soul classics and synth-pop evolution.
And they will still be remembered, if for nothing else, for that one classic freeze-dried riff from 1982. 😀
