Bringing music back, on Allie Is Wired.My first string of posts will be on VH1's -100 Greatest One Hit Wonders, presenting only the Top 20 Countdown.Eh... it'll be fun,... just check back daily and enjoy.2. - "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell (1982)sourceSoft Cell were an English synthesizer duo during the early 1980s (currently re-formed). They consisted of Marc Almond (vocals) and David Ball (synthesizers). Their lyrics often focused on love and romance as well as the darker side of life, with subjects such as kinky sex, transvestism, drugs and murder. They had a huge world-wide hit in 1981 with a cover version of "Tainted Love". They became the prototypical synth duo and were initially associated with other New Wave scenesters dubbed "New Romantics" by the British Press. Other bands associated with this scene included Visage, Duran Duran, and Spandau Ballet, but the darker nature of their music also made Soft Cell darlings of the emerging Goth scene.Both Marc Almond and David Ball grew up in seaside towns (Southport and Blackpool respectively), and later met while students at the Leeds Polytechnic Fine Arts University (now Leeds Metropolitan University). Almond, a performance artist, collaborated with Ball on a few avant-garde multi-media performances at the university. Although Ball's musical background consisted of guitar, he had access to the university studio and was experimenting with the nascent synthesizer technology at the time.Showing impatience, Soft Cell's record label permitted them to release one final single in an attempt to score a chart hit. The band opted to record a radically reworked cover version of "Tainted Love", a 1964 northern soul classic originally sung by Gloria Jones (the wife of Marc Bolan) penned by Ed Cobb of The Four Preps. Released in 1981, "Tainted Love" was a number-one hit in seventeen countries, including the United Kingdom, as well as a number eight single in the United States during 1982, and went on to set a then-Guinness World Record for the longest consecutive stay on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart (43 weeks). The 12 inch single of the song featured "Tainted Love" joined in a medley with the classic Motown hit "Where Did Our Love Go?" by The Supremes. At the peak of its popularity many radio stations opted to play the full medley, utilizing their own edits to bring the track's original extended running time to a more radio-friendly length while still showcasing both songs.According to Marc Almond's book, "Tainted Life," Soft Cell had left the "Tainted Love" recording sessions with only modest expectations that the track might dent the UK Top 50. Further, Almond wrote that his only significant contribution to the song's instrumentation (besides the vocals) was the suggestion that the song begin with a characteristic "bink bink" sound which would repeat periodically throughout. While "Tainted Love" was Soft Cell's only major hit in the United States, the band had a string of hits in the UK, including "Bedsitter," "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye," "Torch," and "What," each of which broke the UK Top 5.
