The True Story of ‘Tainted Love’
Lost Notes: Groupies
KCRW
4.7 • 721 Ratings
🗓️ 13 March 2024
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Long before “Tainted Love” was an ‘80s anthem, it was a 1965 B-side by LA’s Gloria Jones. We trace the song’s journey from a warehouse floor to the annals of pop history.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, Michael. |
| 0:01.2 | Yes, Nopina. |
| 0:02.3 | Do you know what time it is? |
| 0:04.0 | I believe it's time for lost notes from KCRW. |
| 0:06.7 | That's right. |
| 0:07.7 | And I've got the time machine set to September of 1981. |
| 0:13.5 | Buckle up. |
| 0:19.2 | Boy, it is awfully foggy in here. |
| 0:21.6 | Are we in England? |
| 0:22.8 | Yes, indeed. |
| 0:24.3 | And all these young folks are on the dance floor twirling to the country's latest number one. |
| 0:30.3 | Sometimes I feel I've got to run away I've got to. Twirling and clapping along. |
| 0:39.8 | This song must have been brand new at that time. |
| 0:42.9 | Wouldn't even come out as a single in the U.S. for a couple more months. |
| 0:45.6 | And it took even longer for it to become a hit. |
| 0:48.1 | That didn't happen until the following summer. |
| 0:55.0 | Tainted love. Tainted love. |
| 0:57.5 | Tainted love had a long rise to the top. |
| 1:00.5 | But we're just talking about the version by Soft Cell. |
| 1:03.2 | The actual story of the song goes back a lot further. |
| 1:06.1 | So much further. |
| 1:07.4 | A lot of folks still don't know that tainted love was actually a cover. The original |
... |
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