Soft Cell

Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s, consisting of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo are principally known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" (#8 US) and 1981 debut album entitled Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.

In the United Kingdom, they had ten Top 40 hits including "Tainted Love" (#1 UK), "Torch" (#2 UK), "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" (#3 UK), "What!" (#3 UK), and "Bedsitter" (#4 UK), and also had four Top 20 albums between 1981 and 1984. In 1984, the duo split but reformed from 2001 to 2004 to tour and record new material, releasing their fifth studio album, Cruelty Without Beauty in 2002.

Soft Cell's songs have been covered by various artists including Nine Inch Nails, David Gray, Nouvelle Vague, Marilyn Manson, and A-ha. Their track, "Memorabilia", earned recognition for the band as pioneers of the synth-oriented techno genre. The duo have sold 10 million records worldwide.

History

Mutant Moments and "Memorabilia"

Tainted Love

"Tainted Love" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of American group The Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964. It attained worldwide fame after being covered by Soft Cell in 1981 and has since been covered by numerous groups and artists.

Gloria Jones version (1965)

American artist Gloria Jones recorded the original version of "Tainted Love", which was written and produced by Ed Cobb. It was the B-side to the 1965 single "My Bad Boy's Comin' Home", which was a commercial flop, failing to chart in either the US or the UK. Before Jones recorded the song, Cobb had offered it to The Standells, which he managed and produced, but they rejected it.

However, in 1973, British club DJ Richard Searling purchased a copy of the almost decade-old single while on a trip to the United States. The track's Motown-influenced sound (featuring a fast tempo, horns, electric rhythm guitar and female backing vocals) fit in perfectly with the music favoured by those involved in the UK's Northern Soul club scene of the early 1970s, and Searling popularised the song at the Northern Soul club Va Va’s in Bolton, and later, at Wigan Casino.

Soft

Soft or SOFT may refer to:

Books

Music

Acronyms

See also

Cell

Cell(s) may refer to:

Science and technology

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie in marketing campaigns that allow them to become more than just a song. Tie ins and merchandising could be used in toys are marketing campaigns for food and other products. Although the origins of music videos date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they came into prominence in the 1980s when MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these works were described by various terms including "illustrated song", "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional clip", "promotional video", "song video", "song clip" or "film clip". Since the creation and increased popularity of YouTube, mainstream artists now promote new music videos by releasing trailers of short promos on the site for their upcoming song and music video. Consequentially, YouTube has been converted into a social media platform for celebrities and artists to market themselves to their fans and audiences.