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aaronk
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| Posted: 18 August 2006 at 12:16pm | IP Logged
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Although the database says Pure 80's has the 45 version of "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, I believe it is incorrect. Does anyone know where the version on this CD comes from?
Rather than starting with the beat from the beginning, it has the opening sound effects with no beat. The drums don't start until the bassline and other instruments kick in.
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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 18 August 2006 at 11:21pm | IP Logged
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Good question, Aaron. I know I've heard the intro you describe on the radio. Perhaps this is some sort of DJ version? Can anyone confirm this?
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jimct
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| Posted: 19 August 2006 at 3:42am | IP Logged
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Aaron/Todd: I will check my short promo over the weekend to answer the question you raise. But the ONLY reason this song EVER hit the Top 10 in the first place was the second promo CD single we got in for it, a medley with "Where Did Our Love Go" added to the end of "Tainted Love." I believe it ran in the 3:40-4:05 range - I have copies, and will soon provide details for this version as well. The 2:00+ plus initial version, in its early weeks, peaked only midway up the charts, but was hanging on the chart for an unusually long time; around 15-17 weeks, as I recall. Huge in a few markets, we were aware of it. Looked like it was close, but no cigar. In fact, it dropped all the way down to #100 on the Hot 100, and was about to finally fall off entirely. Then the "medley remix" came in, and caused an immediate sensation. We quickly added this new version, and it was the only version we EVER played on the radio. It didn't drop off Billboard after all - instead, it started shooting back up the Hot 100 again, eventually reaching #8. That's the reason for its eventual, 10-month, 43 week chart run - two different "climbs" and "drops." Sire didn't put this version out as a 7" stock 45 in '82, but instead went with a 12" single containing a longer version of the "hit" medley. I have since found a re-issue 45 with the DJ 45 version we played. Shocking that the "definitive" radio version only shows up on one CD, that Hard Rock Cafe V/A release. Maybe some small stations who didn't get copies of the remix played the short 45 version at this time, but that remix was everywhere, guys, just FYI.
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edtop40
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| Posted: 19 August 2006 at 6:48am | IP Logged
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jim, as always, great info.....how do you remember all the details.....keep em comin!!!
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torcan
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| Posted: 19 August 2006 at 8:29am | IP Logged
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On its year-end chart for 1982, Billboard listed it as "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go". I have the re-issue 45 which contains the medley. I've also seen the promo 45 with the medley in a local record store that still carries vinyl.
At the time I was amazed to see this song's run on the charts. 43 weeks was unheard of at the time - I believe it was only the second song to spend 40 or more weeks on the Hot 100. Its last several weeks were all spent in the lower 90s. I always wondered how Billboard figured out its charts - it must have still been getting enough sales and/or airplay to stay on - but did you notice that for many years nothing ever debuted at the very bottom? Same thing on the Cashbox charts. They must have all used similar methodologies - but I could never figure out why they didn't want songs debuting at the bottom.
As any followers of the charts know, the 43-week record was tied in 1989 when a re-issue of Moving Pictures "What About Me" hit the mark. In the '90s new records were set and 40 weeks on the chart isn't that uncommon now.
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Pat Downey
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| Posted: 19 August 2006 at 11:41am | IP Logged
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Aaron, you are correct in that the "Pure 80's" cd does not contain what I am calling the 45 version of Tainted Love. I have two dj vinyl 45's of this song, one is Sire 49855 which runs (2:38), does not contain "Where Did Our Love Go" and is the version listed in Billboard magazine as the hit version. The other version is the medley, Sire PRO-1028 which runs (3:58) and from what I can tell is a promo only release.
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jimct
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| Posted: 19 August 2006 at 8:31pm | IP Logged
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Given Billboard's chart requirements of the day, and with no commercial 7" release on the hit medley, I don't see how Billboard could've listed it any other way, but to show/chart the 2:00+ release - they HAD to list a commercially available 7" version on their chart. I'm just stating the actual facts and the actual reasons for its ultimate success. No matter what Billboard/Whitburn had to list then, or states, either then or now, the medley was the coast-to-coast airplay hit. I imagine many who bought the short 45 in stores were very disappointed it wasn't what they heard on the radio - ultimately, I suppose Sire is to blame for the confusion.
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 21 August 2006 at 3:10pm | IP Logged
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jimct wrote:
I'm just stating the actual facts and the
actual reasons for its ultimate success. No matter what
Billboard/Whitburn had to list then, or states, either
then or now, the medley was the coast-to-coast airplay
hit. |
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I always knew that the reason for "Tainted Love"'s
longevity on the "Hot 100" was because it had made two
trips up the chart, but thanks for filling in all of the
additional details, jimct. (It had fallen off just a few
months before I first started buying "Billboard" weekly
in May of '83.) If Paul Haney is reading, it certainly
sounds to me like this info about the two different runs
is worth adding to the song's footnote in the next
edition of Whitburn's "Top Pop Singles", if not the new
soon-to-be-published 7th edition of the "Pop Annual" as
well, where they list only the shorter "2:38" timing.
(I'm thinking something like, "First xx weeks song
charted by itself, peaking at #xx on xx/xx/82, last xx
weeks when re-serviced to radio as a medley w/ 'Where Did
Our Love Go,'" even if it wasn't PUBLISHED as a medley on
the chart by "Billboard" at the
time.)
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Paul Haney
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| Posted: 22 August 2006 at 1:03pm | IP Logged
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jimct wrote:
| No matter what Billboard/Whitburn had to list then, or states, either then or now, the medley was the coast-to-coast airplay hit. I imagine many who bought the short 45 in stores were very disappointed it wasn't what they heard on the radio - ultimately, I suppose Sire is to blame for the confusion. |
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With all due respect to Jim, we DO have to look at what the trades listed back then and ALL of them that I looked at listed just "Tainted Love" (except Billboard's year-end list). Even the Gavin Report column by Dave Sholin (which was radio-only) never mentioned the medley when the song was at it's peak popularity (and he did mention "Tainted Love" quite a bit). My local Top 40 station (KDWB in Minneapolis-hardly a small station) played ONLY the short version until around September, when the medley got more airplay. Sales of the 45 were also a factor in the song's Hot 100 success. My local record stores were almost always sold out on that title.
Hopefully we can agree to disagree, but I still consider the shorter version the "hit" version. Too bad we didn't have BDS technology back then to sort it all out:)
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jimct
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| Posted: 22 August 2006 at 2:52pm | IP Logged
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Paul: I very much appreciate your feedback here. I respect your opinion very much, and your reasoning is based on firm logic and solid thinking (which I regrettably don't always find to be the case for "hot-button" issues on this Board.) I was the MD at the station by '83, and was the #2 man in '82, when "Tainted Love" hit. Dave Sholin is certainly someone I know of and respect. I was neck-deep in dissecting trades in '82, and although we did receive and report to Gavin at the time, I recall us giving FAR more creedence to R&R, Hitmakers and Kal Rudman's FMQB at that time, as to "buzz" and version situations. Remember that radio isn't always extremely "anxious" to publicize/divulge which versions of hit songs they play - even to the point of being "secretive." If our local competitors played the short version, we thought that was to OUR benefit - that they were "missing the boat." Radio is ALWAYS looking for a local "competitive advantage" here. Us telling Dave Sholin about playing the medley could endanger that - if he asked us about it, point blank, we'd probably try to change the subject! After all, our local competitors subscribe to Gavin, too! And, certain trade mags are much more "in bed" with certain labels - so we looked at 8-10 of them weekly, developed a "higher credibility" for some, based on our past experience, and drew a consensus. Citing any single trade mag, as to ANY record, was something we considered "dangerous" back then, and probably still would be today, even with Gavin being, as you say, "Airplay-only". Paul, that was the NORM back then. 90%+ of the "industry trades" we used back then were "Airplay-only." We didn't look to them for sales info - we'd do our own call-out for local sales; and the local label reps would often, and LOUDLY recite their sales figures to us, if they thought it would help their record's case for airplay. I duly acknowledge that KDWB was a huge station, Paul. Perhaps they "dayparted." During AM/PM drive, they'd play the short version, and switch over to the longer one after 6PM, when there were less commercials and younger listeners. Depending on when you were listening, maybe this got past you, even bring the big music fan you are. I'm not sure - just a thought. Almost all Top 40 stations did that, ALL the time. We even had THREE different version lengths for some songs, and we were only a P2 ("medium") market, here in CT. I imagine KDWB was even MORE dayparted, being a P1 ("large") market. Paul, I can only conclude that by having Billboard SPECIFICALLY list the medley on the year-end Top 100, it was finally "admitting" what the "real truth" was here, when it was all said and done for "Tainted Love", without the "shackles" of weekly Hot 100 commercial availability parameters. I only know of TWO 80's songs NOT released as a "current" commercial 45, but had its "definitive" version, almost immediately, put out as an "oldies, reprint" 45. They were "Into The Groove" and "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go." Sire, those troublemakers! :) If Sire agreed with you, Paul, why did they opt for this rather "unusual" step? Because the court of public opinion had spoken, IMHO. I concur -let's "agree to disagree." I can only say that I was "in radio, and in the trenches" at the time. For example, if you REALLY wanna know what Vietnam was like, there's nothing like asking someone who personally fought there, no? Thanks again for your respected take here, Paul.
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Paul Haney
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| Posted: 23 August 2006 at 7:06am | IP Logged
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Jim, I appreciate your thoughtful and detailed response.
I was a huge radio junkie back in 1982 and "Tainted Love" was my favorite song of that summer. KDWB played the regular version day and night, so there was no dayparting of that particular song. It was quite a shock when they switched to the medley version that fall. I guess it all comes down to what station one was listening to at the time.
BTW, I worked in radio from 1984-91. I was a PD from 1988-91, so I did serve some time in the trenches and am quite aware of the politics involved in the industry.
Thanks again for your insights on this one.
Edited by Paul Haney on 23 August 2006 at 7:48am
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edtop40
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| Posted: 23 August 2006 at 8:10am | IP Logged
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paul and jim......absolutely fascinating info......i didn't realize the radio biz was so complex......i thought you guys just played what the labels and the callers wanted you to......keep up the great work....
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torcan
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| Posted: 27 August 2006 at 7:20pm | IP Logged
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Not sure if this helps or hurts...but while the song was hanging in the mid-40s after 17 weeks on the Hot 100, Billboard published an article about the song and had mentioned that the medley was just released. It was after this the song regained its bullet (or star, as Billboard used at the time) and started climbing quite quickly. On the radio station I usually listen to (which comes from Buffalo), they added the medley and that's the only version of the song they ever played. For me, the hit version was the medley. I never bought the 45 originally, but got the "oldies series" single instead. (I later found the picture sleeve for the song and have coupled them up in my collection).
Oddly enough, it was a hit on the Toronto radio stations at the end of '81, and I don't believe they ever played the medley version.
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 26 May 2008 at 4:06pm | IP Logged
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You probably know that the promo 45 medley can be extracted from the 12" version. Here are instructions for doing just that. (Yay!)
The 12" version is found on Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites Volume 3 (Oglio/Sony Music Special Products A 24353, 1993 - printed 8:55, actual 8:55) I actually recommend this CD and the others in the series - they're mastered quite well, with very few instances of clipping.
Based on the timings from the above CD, do this:
Remove the first 21-1/2 beats, from 0:00.0-0:09.1.
Edit at the first chord-like synth sound before the downbeat at the 9.3 second mark.
Keep the 344 beats (?) from 0:09.1-2:31.7.
After the second repetition of the line "touch me baby tainted love", edit one-half a beat after the downbeat. In other words, if you consider the repeating synth "dum dum"s throughout "Tainted Love", leave one "dum" before the edit at 2:31.7, and cut the other "dum". (Eloquent, eh?)
Remove the 312 beats from 2:31.7-4:40.4.
Edit one beat after the downbeat where the drum sounds change to the "snappy" sound used in "Where Did Our Love Go". In other words, the edit should go on the first "snap" sound at 4:40.4.
Keep the 239 beats from 4:40.4-6:19.1.
There's a true downbeat at 6:19.1.
Put a 48-beat sinusoidal fade from 5:59.3-6:19.1.
Your mixdown will run 4:01.3, with edits at 0:00.0 and 2:22.6, with a 48-beat fade from 3:41.5 to 4:01.3.
There's an insignificant difference in pitch/tempo between the 45 and the version on CD. The 45 runs 145.0 to 145.4 BPM (beginning-to-end of song), and the Richard Blade CD runs 145.2 to 145.5 BPM. Not significant in the least.
I'm going to play with my new scanner to try and post some pictures of the 45 labels, and I'll see if I can somehow post a short audio clip of just the edit from the 2:22 mark...
Edited by crapfromthepast on 27 May 2008 at 6:52am
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crapfromthepast
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(Deleted images that no longer work. Same info is included later in the thread.)
Edited by crapfromthepast on 15 July 2022 at 11:48am
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Todd Ireland
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Getting back to Aaron's initial inquiry that began this thread, does anyone know where the version of "Tainted Love" containing the opening sound effects with no underlying beat comes from? As I commented earlier, I've heard this version on the radio. Could this be a U.K. 45 version?
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Jody Thornton
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Todd Ireland wrote:
| Getting back to Aaron's initial inquiry that began this thread, does anyone know where the version of "Tainted Love" containing the opening sound effects with no underlying beat comes from? As I commented earlier, I've heard this version on the radio. Could this be a U.K. 45 version? |
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Before I attempt an answer I want ensure I am really clear on the version. It is not a medley, but ONLY "Tainted Love". It also has a cold ending where Marc Almonds vocals and the harmonic keyboard sounds fade into the backbeat, and it ends as ch-ch-ch-cha. The backbeat and some of the downbeat keys have a lot of reverb on them. And Marc Almond's vocals sound a bit distant from the 12'/7"/Medley? Have I got that more or less right?
That would sound to me like the actual LP version included on "Non Stop Erotic Cabaret". The only other different sounding mix was that Tainted Love '91 junk (sorry I hated it...lol)
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Jody Thornton
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| Posted: 27 May 2008 at 6:03am | IP Logged
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torcan wrote:
| Oddly enough, it was a hit on the Toronto radio stations at the end of '81, and I don't believe they ever played the medley version. |
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The first add for Soft Cell here in Ontario was indeed in November 1981 by CKOC in Hamilton. The first hit version (the commercial 45-rpm and promo were identical), was on Attic records (which was a Canadian label), though I'm sure some Sire pressings followed. It was simply the "Tainted Love" portion of the 12" mix faded off at the end of his vocals, "Tainted Love...Tainted Love". Though CFTR in Toronto played this single much less than CKOC, I still think they carted up the same record.
CHUM-FM, which was an AOR transitioning to new wave at the time was playing the 12" in it's entirety. But they would play the LP version during the Top 30 albums countdown. The LP was a different mix entirely.
Then again we bring up Stereo Rock as carried by Rock 102 in Buffalo. They carried five months later, what you folks are referring to as the "medley", which abruptly kicks in to "Where Did Our..." right after "touch me baby, Tainted Love". I think most American stations carried that, though AT 40 carried the fade version that I first heard six months before. I had never heard a Canuck station play the medley in fact.
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aaronk
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| Posted: 27 May 2008 at 2:57pm | IP Logged
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Jody Thornton wrote:
Before I attempt an answer I want ensure I am really clear on the version. It is not a medley, but ONLY "Tainted Love". It also has a cold ending where Marc Almonds vocals and the harmonic keyboard sounds fade into the backbeat, and it ends as ch-ch-ch-cha. The backbeat and some of the downbeat keys have a lot of reverb on them. And Marc Almond's vocals sound a bit distant from the 12'/7"/Medley? Have I got that more or less right?
That would sound to me like the actual LP version included on "Non Stop Erotic Cabaret". The only other different sounding mix was that Tainted Love '91 junk (sorry I hated it...lol)
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Yes, that is precisely the version I was referring to. So, this is an LP version! The database will need to be updated to reflect this info, if it hasn't been already.
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MCT1
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crapfromthepast wrote:
| The A-side of the commercial 45. (Note the "RE-1" - is there an earlier release?) |
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My commercial 45 also has the "RE-1" on it.
crapfromthepast wrote:
| I have another pressing of the rerelease 45 with a slightly different font, the "Sire" under the logo instead of off to the right side, and no ridges between the label and the groove. Same version, though. |
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The one with "Sire" under the logo and no ridges between the label and the groove is a later pressing. These also probably came from two different pressing plants, but one is definitely later than the other. The logo change was made sometime around 1985 or 1986. The ridges are a telltale sign that the 45 was pressed by Capitol/EMI, which handled most of Warner Bros.' pressing work in the late '70s and early '80s (they appear on 45s pressed by Capitol/EMI from roughly 1970 to 1985). After that, Warner Bros. began shifting its pressing work to the two formerly independent plants that Warner Music had bought a few years earlier, Specialty and Allied. The copy without the ridges is likely an in-house Warner Music pressing from one of those two plants. Ironically, Capitol/EMI began phasing out vinyl production at its plants around 1985, and began contracting with Warner Music to press some of its records, the exact opposite of what the situation had been just a few years earlier.
My original commercial 45 of "Tainted Love" was pressed by Capitol. It has the ridges, as well as markings in the trail-off vinyl indicating that it came from Capitol's "East Coast" plant in Winchester, VA. It looks identical to the label scan upthread except for one small detail: the rim print on my copy does not contain Warner Bros.' address. I have to admit that I'm not sure what this might indicate.
The only other Soft Cell 45 that I have is "Loving You, Hating Me", which I believe was the follow-up to "Tained Love". I have two copies, both of which are mono/stereo promos (which ties in with the recent comments in another thread that some record companies, Warner Music included, continued to make mono/stereo promo 45s into the early eighties). Neither copy has the ridges; both appear to be Warner Music pressings, probably from the "West Coast" plant, Allied Records in Los Angeles. Both have Warner Bros.' address in the rim print.
Edited by MCT1 on 27 May 2008 at 8:36pm
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Topic: Soft Cell - Tainted Love on Pure 80’s
