On Monday’s (June 28) Kellyoke, Kelly Clarkson went old school, delving all the way back to 1981 for a spirited rendition of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love.” The popular song by Marc Almond and David Ball, a British synthpop duo, was given the full band treatment, with Clarkson taking centre stage to belt out the lovelorn lyrics.
Kelly, as always, gave it her own spin with a touch of Southern soul — and a switch of gender pronouns — perhaps introducing a whole new generation to Soft Cell’s platinum debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which went to No. 1 worldwide and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 list.
T-Rex singer Marc Bolan’s lover and “Queen of Northern Soul” Gloria Jones recorded the song in 1964, and Soft Cell’s version was a cover of it. The synthpop duo’s rendition reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1982 and stayed on the chart for a total of 43 weeks.
