Both Marc Almond and Dave Ball grew up in seaside towns (the former, Southport, and the latter, Blackpool), and later met while students at the Leeds Polytechnic Fine Arts University (now Leeds Metropolitan University). Almond, a performance artist, collaborated with Ball on a few avant-garde multi-media performances at the university. Although Ball's musical background consisted of guitar, he had access to the university studio and was experimenting with the nascent synthesizer technology at the time. The two students became the prototypical synth duo and were initially associated with other New Wave scenesters dubbed "New Romantics" by the British Press. Other bands associated with this scene included Visage, Duran Duran, and Spandau Ballet.
Marc Almond had a productive career as a solo artist later in the 80s and 90s and with Marc & the Mambas and other collaborations. Dave Ball has done a few solo productions with other British new wave acts in the early 80s. He also later was involved in the electronic dance act The Grid with Richard Norris.
Almond and Ball's reunion as Soft Cell became official with well-received initial concerts - they performed at the opening of the Ocean nightclub in London in March 2001 to strong reviews, and a mini tour followed later in the year. The track "God Shaped Hole" featured on the Some Bizzare compilation titled "I'd Rather Shout at a Returning Echo than Kid Someone's Listening", released in 2001. The album Cruelty Without Beauty was released in late 2002, followed by a European tour and a partial US tour in early 2003. The new album featured their first new songs together in almost twenty years. One of those songs was their 2003 single "The Night" (UK #39). Interestingly, Soft Cell had considered recording "The Night" in place of "Tainted Love" back in 1981 as their last-ditch attempt to score a chart hit. In a 2003 interview with BBC's Top of the Pops, keyboardist David Ball asserted, "I think history has kind of shown that we did make the right choice [in 1981]."
In August 2007, the band announced they were working on a remix album, "Heat - The Remixes". The remix album is expected to be released in May 2008 and will include classic Soft Cell tracks remixed by such acts as Manhattan Clique, Cicada, Richard X, Ladytron, MHC, Mark Moore, Kinky Roland, Spektrum, George Demure, Yer Man and many more.
Tainted Love
Soft Cell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Run away, I've got to
Get away
From the pain you drive into the heart of me
The love we share (whoa, oh, oh, oh)
Seems to go nowhere
And I've lost my light
For I toss and turn, I can't sleep at night
Once I ran to you (I ran)
Now I'll run from you
This tainted love you've given
I give you all a boy could give you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Tainted love (whoa, oh, oh, oh)
Tainted love
Now I know I've got to
Run away, I've got to
Get away
You don't really want any more from me
To make things right
You need someone to hold you tight
And you think love is to pray
But I'm sorry, I don't pray that way
Once I ran to you (I ran)
Now I'll run from you
This tainted love you've given
I give you all a boy could give you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Tainted love (whoa, oh, oh, oh)
Tainted love
Don't touch me please
I cannot stand the way you tease
I love you though you hurt me so
Now I'm gonna pack my things and go
Tainted love (whoa, oh, oh, oh)
Tainted love (whoa, oh, oh, oh)
Tainted love (whoa, oh, oh, oh)
Tainted love (whoa, oh, oh, oh)
Touch me, baby, tainted love
Touch me, baby, tainted love
Tainted love (whoa, oh, oh, oh)
Tainted love (whoa, oh, oh, oh)
Tainted love
"Tainted Love" is a song by Soft Cell that discusses the pain and suffering of being in a bad relationship. The lyrics talk about the feeling of being trapped, the urge to escape and the sadness that comes after realizing that the love you thought was true was really 'tainted'. The singer wants to run away from the pain that has been imposed on them and can no longer bear the suffocating feelings the relationship makes them experience. The expression "tainted love" refers to love that has lost its purity or is flawed.
The chorus repeats the phrase "tainted love" in a repetitious, catchy melody that has become iconic over time. The phrase is the song's central motif, and its repetition reinforces the idea of contamination and violation. The lyrics are written from the perspective of someone who has been hurt as they watch a relationship crumble beneath them, and they come to the realization that they cannot continue living in this toxic environment. In the end, they must break free and escape, leaving the poison behind.
There are a few theories about where the inspiration for "Tainted Love" came from. One story states that Soft Cell's frontman, Marc Almond, heard the song while performing in a northern English nightclub and immediately knew he wanted to perform it. The other theory is that the track was discovered by David Ball, the other half of Soft Cell, while he was flipping through records at a record store in Leeds. Regardless of the origin, "Tainted Love" has become one of the most iconic songs of the 1980s, and it has been covered and sampled by countless artists over the years.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometimes I feel I've got to
At times, I sense a need to
Run away, I've got to
Flee, I must
Get away
Escape the situation
From the pain you drive into the heart of me
Your actions are causing me great emotional distress
The love we share (whoa, oh, oh, oh)
The emotional bond between us (vocalization)
Seems to go nowhere
Our relationship is stagnant, not progressing
And I've lost my light
The joy and happiness within me have vanished
For I toss and turn, I can't sleep at night
The stress and anxiety you cause me prevent me from having peaceful nights
Once I ran to you (I ran)
In the past, I sought comfort from you by reaching out
Now I'll run from you
Currently, I'm running away to escape from you
This tainted love you've given
The love you've shown me has become corrupted and damaged
I give you all a boy could give you
I offered you everything a young man could give
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
You've caused me so much pain and suffering that giving you my tears is just a small part of it
Tainted love (whoa, oh, oh, oh)
Distorted affection (vocalization)
Now I know I've got to
I understand that I must
You don't really want any more from me
You're not truly interested in me anymore
To make things right
To correct our relationship
You need someone to hold you tight
You require someone to embrace you tightly
And you think love is to pray
You believe that love is a religious act
But I'm sorry, I don't pray that way
Unfortunately, my beliefs and values differ from yours
Don't touch me please
I implore you not to touch me
I cannot stand the way you tease
I find your playful actions irritating and frustrating
I love you though you hurt me so
Despite the pain you cause me, I still love you
Now I'm gonna pack my things and go
I'm planning to collect my belongings and leave
Touch me, baby, tainted love
Physical contact with me, but our love is distorted (vocalization)
Tainted love
Corrupted and damaged affection
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION
Written by: Edward Cobb
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind