Soft Cell’s rendition of Tainted Love, originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964, is undoubtedly one of the most enduring classics of all time. Released in 1981, the song became an instant sensation, reaching the top spot in 17 countries worldwide. In the United States, it also set a Guinness World Record for the longest consecutive stay on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, holding its place for an impressive 43 weeks.
The success of Tainted Love can be attributed to a number of factors, including the band’s innovative take on the song, incorporating new wave and electronic elements that were emerging at the time. Marc Almond’s raw and emotive vocal performance recorded through a Neumann U87, also added a fresh layer of intensity to the track, capturing the hearts of listeners everywhere.
Mike Thorne (Producer) began the session with engineer Paul Hardiman by laying down the drums. The drum machine they had planned to use turned out to be faulty, so Thorne borrowed a Roland CR-78 unit from singer Kit Hain, with whom he was also working at the time.
“It was just a small box with a single output, and we recorded it onto two tracks, one for the kick and one for the snare,” he recalls. “Paul Hardiman EQ’d them so the kick carried more low end while the snare was pushed into the midrange. That way, when it came to mixing, we didn’t have to keep adjusting the EQ, we could simply move the fader.”
Interestingly, Almond reportedly laid down the vocal track in just one take, a testament to his natural talent and the band’s creative energy in the studio. As for the gear used on the recording, Soft Cell relied on some of the most cutting-edge technology of the era, including the EMT 250 digital reverb unit, DeltaLabs DL-4 digital delay, Lexicon PCM 41 digital delay, and the groundbreaking Eventide H910 Harmonizer.
Despite the resounding success of Tainted Love, Soft Cell struggled to replicate its triumph with subsequent releases. Nonetheless, their legacy lives on, and the band remains an important touchstone in the evolution of electronic music.