Soft Cell, 'Tainted Love'
The year: 1981.
The song: A cover of an old tune by UK northern soul singer Gloria Jones, Soft Cell's synth heavy pop version rocketed to number one in its native Britain in 1981and soon took the whole world by storm. Think of the song and you can't help but be transported back to the tortured hair and lurid outfits of the '80s.
The aftermath: Though 'Tainted Love' has since been re-covered by scores of artists — Rihanna sampled it in her 2007 hit 'SOS' — Soft Cell never came close to matching its success, and broke up three years after its release.
