I woke up to Tainted Love this morning.

[ForeverAutumn]

The song, not my marriage. ;)

It was just starting to play on the radio as I woke up. I was lying in bed listening to it and thought that this must be the roots of Franz Ferdinand and The Killers and other current like-minded bands.

I've never heard anything else by Soft Cell. And this wasn't the type of music that would have found it's way to my player at the time. So, I guess I never really thought about where this current sound came from. But I could really see the connection.

Or maybe I just dreamt that there was a connection. :)

Comments?

[Mike]

It's still a great song which has stood the test of time with Marc Almonds camp vocals and synth sounds but still doesn't sound dated to my ears. It's a cover version of a soul song but I can't remember who did it originally. Soft Cell's influences came from the British Northern Soul sound but they only had one good album in them IMO and Marc Almond has lived pretty well off it ever since.

But when I listen to Soft Cell I hear the influences of Roxy Music and Kraftwerk, with that cabaret novelty side. They were essentially a keyboard synth duo where as FF and the Killers are a guitar band.

There's a plethora of new bands around at the moment sounding like a blend of late 70's punk and 80's new wave all rolled into one and sounding pretty good at it too.

It's that 20 year cycle which never fails to take hold now and then. My theory is it's the now established movers and shakers in the industry who are causing it. Think about it, kids who were in their teens in the 80's will now be in their late 30's early 40's they are just re-living their youth and influences and it's not just music it's in fashion, art and design etc.

Cheers
Mike

[skewiff]

Gloria Jones a.k.a. Mrs. Marc Bolan( a bad driver to be sure) made the original of Tainted Love.
I agree it doesn't sound dated, although I prefer Say Hello Wave Goodbye. Do you know if Marc Almond recovered from his bike accident?

Tony

[Mike]

Wow I didn't know that Marc Bolans wife eh, the old mini was a good little car to drive but not so good for tree felling.

I think I heard on the news a few weeks back he is making a full recovery.

Cheers
Mike

[Jim Clark]

As the registered Professor Emeritus In Abstentia on all things Soft Cell, I'd have to suggest you were in fact dreaming. That the lustful duo never found an audience with you suggests that you may in fact be of remarkable character and a pillar of moral virtue. However, it remains to be seen how you differentiate yourself from the other garden variety wall flowers of the time, or plant stands for that matter. If you were into music at a more tender age, perhaps your were one of the stoners??? I don't begrudge you choices, silly mistakes of youth and all. The weirdos into Soft Cell were looking for something different and a guitarless approach couldn't have possibly been more different. One's man blasphemy is another's nirvana. Soft Cell was a remarkable mixture of cabaret, camp, and perverse sexuality. In a single word-Decadence (of the worst kind). Ah, but Marc is not without the charms needed to woe his unsuspecting prey. Torch songs remain the true measure of his talent, and in that he has few peers.

One album??? Oh come now good sir, surely you jest. The legacy they leave behind is just slightly blemished by the come back album that should have been reworked, if not reconsidered althogether.

Impact on the music world is yet another matter. I fear it's not what you might think. Other than some bickering with the Pet Shop Boys (not withstanding their own peculiar sexual preferences), a bit of foreshadowing to suggest the "coming" of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, and similar oddities of the 80's (Erasure, Culture Club, Bronski Beat...), very little outside of the world of electro clash or synthpop can find their way back to the leecherous boys of Soft Cell. The world is poorer as a result.

jc

[Gav_2000]

Do you know if Marc Almond recovered from his bike accident?

Tony

I think he must be recovering as he performed live for the first time since the crash a few weeks ago and his record company are re-releasing his last album in some countries which he is promoting. I understand he needs more operations/physio on an arm/shoulder injury but he's certainly getting better.

I must confess that the reason I know this is because Radio 2 was on at my mum's house and he was being interviewed.