# In 1964, Gloria Jones released a song that failed to chart. In 1981, a cover spent a record-breaking 43 weeks in the top 100

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1964-gloria-jones-released-a-song-that-failed-to-chart-in-1981-a-cover-spent-a-record-breaking-43-weeks-in-the-top-100/
- Published: 2026-10-24T20:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-24T21:10:19+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/in-1964-gloria-jones-released-a-song-that-failed-to-chart-in-1981-a-cover-had-spent-a-record-breaking-43-weeks-in-the-top-100/
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Gloria Jones’s original failed to chart.
- Northern soul clubs revived the song.
- Soft Cell’s cover spent 43 weeks on the US chart.

## Summary

Gloria Jones recorded ‘Tainted Love’ in 1964, but it was released as the B-side to another single in 1965 and failed to chart in the UK or US. The song later found an audience through northern soul clubs, then became a major pop hit when Soft Cell covered it in 1981.

DJ Richard Searling began playing Jones’s version in northern England in 1973, and it was re-recorded in 1976, but still did not chart. Soft Cell’s synthpop version reached number one in the UK and US, became the UK’s best-selling single of 1981 and spent a record 43 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100. Jones praised Marc Almond’s emotional performance, saying she preferred the cover to her own recording.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.