Tainted Love

First recorded by Gloria Jones (1964).
Hit version by Soft Cell (US #8/UK #1 1981).

From the wiki: “‘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. It 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 fit in perfectly with the music favored 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. 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.

“English 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. Soft Cell’s version was recorded in a day and a half with Almond’s first vocal take being used on the record.

“Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’ rapidly reached #1 on the UK singles chart, and was the best-selling single in the UK for 1981. In the US, in January, 1982, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #90. It appeared to peak at #64 and fell to #100 on February 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.”

Soft Cell, “Tainted Love” (1982):