Soft Cell’s 1981 synth-pop hit “Tainted Love” is a remake of a 1964 Gloria Jones song. Jones’ song was a B-side to “My Bad Boy’s Comin’ Home,” a Motown single that flopped.

Jones’ “Tainted Love” blew up in the UK’s Northern soul scene in the ’70s after British club DJ Richard Searling bought a used copy on a trip to the US. After “Tainted Love” got a boost from the Northern soul scene, Gloria Jones recorded a new version in 1974, but it failed to chart.

When Soft Cell decided to give the song a go in 1981, they changed the key and slowed the tempo. They worked with producer Mike Thorne to create the electronic arrangement for the song.

Thorne told Sound on Sound:

You could smell the coke on that second, Northern soul version, it was really so over-ramped and so frantic. It was good for the dance floor, but I didn’t like the record…when Soft Cell performed the song I heard a very novel sound and a very nice voice, so off we went.