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Ramblings of a retiree in France
I’m kicking off 2023 with a series of my favourite cover songs. It’s quite interesting how many artists cover one another’s songs. Soft Cell’s version of Tainted Love – who knew it was a cover? – is an 80s Classic.
The song was originally a minor hit for T. Rex member and lead singer Marc Bolan’s girlfriend, Gloria Jones. But in Soft Cell’s version, the minimal synth backing and Marc Almond’s obsessive vocals make it both more disturbing and far sexier!
The song was written by Ed Cobb, formerly of American group the Four Preps and released as the B-side to their single “My Bad Boy’s Comin’ Home” in 1965, but it wasn’t until the early seventies that the song caught on when a UK DJ gave it some love because it fit with the Northern Soul thing happening there.
Jones rerecorded “Tainted Love” in 1976 with her boyfriend, Marc Bolan producing. However, it only attained worldwide fame after being covered and reworked by British synthpop duo Soft Cell in 1981 and has since been covered by numerous artists, the best of which is quite possibly this version by Inspiral Carpets.
View from the Back 
I never knew tainted love was a cover!
That is a classic song indeed!
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Me neither!
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Great choice!!!
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Thanks Marie
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Thanks for the memory Sheree! Loved that song. I danced professionally in S.F. in a dance comedy Group and tainted love was one of our great songs we danced to.
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A professional dancer? How fabulous Cindy
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I saw a play with my FIL in S.F. that his dance teacher was in and I LOVED it and upped classes and studied for 8 months and then auditioned with several top dancers and got the part. The show was great fun and we covered the gam-met from the 40’s through the 80’s with modern, dance, new age, the jitterbug etc. It was great fun and short lived. It was a great blast from the bast. Our show finally closed and I went on to open my studio. Thanks for the memory.
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My pleasure Cindy
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❤️
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Good song with covers. I hadn’t heard the original I thought until I played it. The Inspiral Carpet version is quite good 🙂
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Thanks
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Thanks for sharing this. Anita
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My pleasure Anita
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I had no idea it was a cover either, great song!
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😎
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