10 Famous Pop Songs You Didn't Realise Were Covers
4. Tainted Love - Soft Cell
Soft Cell’s new-wave hit became the biggest selling single of 1981 in the UK and spent a then-record-breaking 42 weeks on the Billboard Top 100 charts, catapulting the duo into the mainstream consciousness.
However, Tainted Love was first released in 1965 as a B-side for American singer Gloria Jones’ single, My Bad Boy's Comin' Home. This single was a commercial failure in both the UK and US.
It did receive minor success in 1973, after British DJ Richard Searling purchased a copy during a trip to the US and began to play the song during his sets. This made it very popular in underground British clubs.
Despite this newfound popularity, Jones’ 1976 re-release still failed to chart and the following year, after a car crash killed her then-boyfriend, T-Rex’s frontman Marc Bolan, she virtually disappeared from the music industry.