Soft Cell - Tainted Love on Pure 80’s

Yes, I'm 99% sure the video plays the exact version you're asking about, but if you want me to pull my promo and double check, I'm happy to do so. I don't believe there are any other edits; it simply removes the "Tainted Love" part of the medley.

Edited by aaronk

Hi Jason,

Pardon my confusion. Unlike Aaron, I was unaware of this
4:16 "Where Did Our Love Go" only track.

For the record, I’ve never heard any radio station air “Where Did Our Love Go” without “Tainted Love”.

It appears that the first US 45 release had a catalog number of Sire SRE 49855 and a matrix number of ZAA 1312S. (No RE-1 in the matrix number, no Some Bizarre logo on the label.) Discogs lists a stereo/mono promo 45 with this catalog/matrix number, with a printed time of 2:38. I think, but can't confirm, that it's the common 45 version, which was the same as the UK 45. Discogs doesn't show any commercial 45s released with this catalog/matrix number; they may exist, but they're not currently listed.

Later (and more common) releases had a catalog number of Sire SRE 49855 and a matrix number of ZAA 1312S RE-1, and featured an additional Some Bizarre logo on the Sire label. Discogs shows a stereo/mono promo 45 and a commercial 45 for this catalog/matrix number. The RE-1 also has a printed time of 2:38. I can confirm that the RE-1 is the common 45 version. I don't really know what warranted the RE-1 designation. Unless the original pressing used a different mix, the only difference I can see is the addition of a new logo on the Sire label.

Does anyone have a non-RE-1 45 on Sire?

Edited by crapfromthepast

Bellenger1981 wrote: No problem, John. I was browsing through 1982 and noticed that the archive was missing this promo edit of "Where Did Our Love Go", so I was curious exactly what it was! Now I wonder if anyone heard this edit of "Where Did Our Love Go" on the radio.

The only time I have EVER heard "Where Did Our Love Go" sans Tainted Love was the LP version included on "Non Stop Erotic Dancing". That was a different mix than the 12" and US edit of the medley.

At the risk of being redundant with one of my earlier posts (from 13 years ago!), here's some mastering info.

45 version

This version runs 2:38. The "snare drum" fill starts at 0:06. The vocals start at 0:13.

It's on the UK 45 (Some Bizzare BZS 2). The B-side is a 3:14 version of "Where Did Our Love Go".

It's on the US 45 (Sire SRE 49855). The B-side is "Memorabilia". There were stereo/mono promo 45s of "Tainted Love" released with the same catalog number. Most of the releases with this catalog number have "RE-1" listed in the matrix number just below the catalog number. There was a non-"RE-1" version of the stereo/mono promo 45, but it's not clear if there was ever a commercial non-"RE-1" version of the 45.

The 45 version appeared on CD on Rhino's Just Can't Get Enough Vol. 4 (1994), where it runs 2:40. It sounds great here - nice dynamic range, nice EQ, no evidence of added noise reduction on the fade, and good source tapes. It runs about 144.8 BPM here. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Rhino's 2-CD Entertainment Weekly Presents 80's Explosion (1994) - digitally exactly 0.8 dB quieter
• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 5 1982 (1994) - differently EQ'd digital clone
• Rhino's Millennium Eighties New Wave Party (1999) - differently EQ'd digital clone, with small amount of compression/limiting added
• Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 5 Dance (1999) - differently EQ'd digital clone
• Rhino's 7-CD Like Omigod (2002) - not a digital clone
• Time-Life's 2-CD Rhythm + Grooves Groove Is In The Heart (2002) - differently EQ'd digital clone
• Time-Life's Superstars Of The 80s One Hit Wonders (2005) - differently EQ'd digital clone

There's a different analog transfer on Razor & Tie's 2-CD Awesome '80s, which has a slightly shorter tail to the fade (about 4 beats shorter) and runs 2:39. It sounds OK here, but I prefer the Rhino mastering. It runs about 145.3 BPM here. I think the same analog transfer was used on a 2-CD coompilation from Iceland called PottÞétt 80's 2 (2001).

I found one more analog transfer on a European low-budget 4-CD set called Disco Fever from 1993. It sounds much better on the Rhino set.

LP version

The LP version has a lot more reverb than the 45 mix. The intro is shorter than the 45 so that the "snare drum" fill starts at 0:02 and the vocals start at 0:10. The ending is also different from the 45. On the LP, it fades into a little synth riff/drum fill that ends the song cold.   It runs about 2:33 or 2:34.

The LP version is relatively uncommon on CD. I have it on:

• Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret (Polygram Special Markets PEG006, no release date but this is the version with 18 tracks)
• Columbia Germany's 2-CD Pop & Wave Vol. 1 (1992)

The sound is brighter on the Polygram release.

Medley with "Where Did Our Love Go"

"Tainted Love" and "Where Did Our Love Go" first appeared as a medley on the 12 inch single, running about 8:55. I found it first on CD on Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites Vol. 3 (1993). In recent years, the full 12 inch version has appeared on a few European compilations.

When the 2:38 version failed to make the US top 40, someone at Sire Records decided to shorten the medley down to a reasonable length and re-service the song to US radio as a new promo 45 (Sire PRO-S-1028).

The A-side of the new promo 45 has a designation of "Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go (Edit)", with a printed time of 3:58 and an actual time of 4:01. This 4-minute medley version became the hit at radio (in some markets), and gave the song a boost on the charts. The song eventually went on to hit the top 10 and set a longevity record on the Hot 100.

The B-side of the new promo 45 is "Where Did Our Love Go (Edit)", which starts jarringly at the transition between the two songs in the medley. Printed 4:10, actual about 4:16.

The Sire "Back To Back Hits" reissue 45 from 1987 (GSRE 0435) includes the medley. It also has a designation of "Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go (Edit)", with a printed time of 3:58, but an actual run time of 4:11. The reissue 45 runs 10 seconds longer than the promo 45. The reissue 45 edit and length (4:11) appear on Rhino's Hard Rock Cafe New Wave (1997).

The edited medley was notoriously hard to find for many, many years after the song was a hit. It did turn up on a rare promo 5-CD set called Best Of CMJ 1979-1989 (1989, running about 4:11) and an ever more rare promo 50-CD called The A List Disc 11 (1994; taken from vinyl; likely based on TM Century mastering). 34 years after the medley was a hit, it finally appeared on a commercially available CD, Eric's Hard To Find 45s On CD Vol. 16 More '80s Essentials And Beyond (2016, running about 4:03).

A 1991 version

The 1991 best-of album Memorabilia - The Singles (on Mercury) wrought havoc on the Soft Cell catalog. The Discogs listing says: "Note: The Soft Cell recordings here are not the original recordings but remixes and reworkings from 1991, except for "Torch" & "Soul Inside". The UK/Europe & US versions have slightly different art & tracklistings. "Tainted Love" is known as "Tainted Love '91" on the US releases. Some of the Marc Almond songs are remixes as well (see notes)."

"Tainted Love '91" appears on Memorabilia and runs about 2:58. There's no mistaking it for the original.

To promote Memorabilia in 1991, Mercury released some singles in the UK (not the US) as by "Soft Cell / Marc Almond", some of which have a designation of "Tainted Love (Original)" or "Tainted Love (Original 7")", and a time of 2:38. This version starts with two single-note synth hits, then a little silence, then a snare drum-like fill, then the rest of the instrumentation comes in on the downbeat at 0:04. There's no reverb on anything.

This incorrectly-named "Original" version from 1991 appears on CD singles from 1991, as well as:

• Priority's Rock Of The '80s Vol. 2 (1992)
• Time-Life Europe's 2-CD The 80's Collection Vol. 2 1981 (1993)
• Rhino's promotional Just Can't Get Enough Sampler (PRCD 7055, released 1994)
• EMI UK's 2-CD Now The Millennium Series 1981 (1999)
• Universal's Pure '80s (1999)

All of the above run at about 143.3 BPM. All sound fine. I would think that they all trace their masterings back to the CD singles, but I don't have any of those to compare.

My recommendations

For the 45 version (just "Tainted Love"), may as well go for Rhino's Just Can't Get Enough Vol. 4 (1994), but the digital clones also sound just fine.

For the LP version, grab whatever you can find. It's not common on CD.

For the promo 45 version (medley edit), go for Rhino's Hard Rock Cafe New Wave (1997) for the reissue 45 length, or Eric's Hard To Find 45s On CD Vol. 16 More '80s Essentials And Beyond (2016) for the promo 45 length.