Tainted Love: The Song That Flopped Twice Before Soft Cell Made It a Record Breaker
In 1965, “Tainted Love” was the B-side of a single that missed the charts. In 1976, Marc Bolan produced a remake, and it flopped again. Then a DJ from Bolton found the original in Philadelphia, Wigan Casino made it an anthem, and a cloakroom attendant in Leeds heard it at exactly the right moment. This is the story of Gloria Jones, Marc Bolan, Soft Cell, and the song that refused to stay buried.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 It Flopped. Twice.
01:27 Gloria Jones and a B-Side Nobody Played
03:55 A Record from Philadelphia and the Wigan Casino All-Nighters
06:00 Marc Bolan’s Remake and the Night in Barnes
08:28 A Cloakroom in Leeds and a Last Chance
11:10 One Run-Through, a Borrowed Drum Machine, and a £120,000 Synth
14:25 No. 1 in Britain, No. 100 in America
16:53 The Song That Kept Coming Back
REFERENCES & CLIPS
How We Made Soft Cell’s Tainted Love (The Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/20/how-we-made-tainted-love-mark-almond-dave-ball-interview
Soft Cell “Tainted Love” Top of the Pops 1981: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CppOyay3UsM
KCRW Lost Notes, “The True Story of ‘Tainted Love'”: https://kcrw.com/culture/shows/lost-notes/tainted-love-gloria-jones-soft-cell
Wigan Casino Northern Soul (1977) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kes0y1p4rs0
T Rex “Get It On” (Top of the Pops, Dec 12, 1971) https://youtu.be/ggcmeXlfBGM?si=4IaaiL5QLeMiphHI
Sound on Sound, “Classic Tracks: Soft Cell ‘Tainted Love'” (Richard Buskin, April 2012): https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-soft-cell-tainted-love
Classic Tracks: Tainted Love (Mix, 2026): https://www.mixonline.com/recording/classic-tracks/classic-tracks-tainted-love
#newwave #softcell #musichistory #gloriajones #marcalmond #vinylcommunity #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #andyfenstermaker #vinylchannel #poeticwax #musicessay #musicstory #albumstory #albumhistory #musicdocumentary
Comments
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@Michel-r6m
November 10, 2026 at 9:18 am
Dave Ball In Strict Tempo is a nice album as well (with Gavin Friday of Virgin Prunes).
@chrisconklin873
November 10, 2026 at 9:18 am
Laser Guided Melodies is a masterpiece
@starrywizdom
November 10, 2026 at 9:18 am
No worries, Gloria. Tainted Love never sounded like anything smutty to me — more like when things get twisted, when good love goes bad, when the relationship turns toxic. Amusing that both Marc Bolan (born Mark Feldman) & Marc Almond turned their K's to C's.
@Durmomo0
November 10, 2026 at 9:18 am
Iconic song and I also cant hear it without hearing the "where did our love go" part after.
@AmirSeraj-d3r
November 10, 2026 at 9:18 am
I love this stuff, especially British music history. American music history is fascinating too, but I think the Brits took it to another level, largely because of their history of tribalism and the distinct youth subcultures that emerged from it. Americans certainly had youth cultures, but outside of the Black music community, they didn't really develop the same kind of musical identity and intensity until punk emerged in the late '70s. The Brits were already decades ahead, going back to the Teddy Boys in the 1950s. I think when music becomes more than entertainment, when it becomes an obsession, an identity, and a way of life. it opens the door to far more interesting musical movements and experimentation.
@RottenBanana-YT
November 10, 2026 at 9:18 am
sin clav eee air
@jazztheglass6139
November 10, 2026 at 9:18 am
They made a great debut album, but they were a terrible live band in 1982. They played the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool, one of the few concerts I've walked out of. Yazoo played Liverpool University the same year that was a great concert. Marc Almond wasn't a good front man, a gig in a nightclub would have been a better venue
@borzoidaddy
November 10, 2026 at 9:18 am
Soft Cell besides Tainted Love is so underrated