Tainted Love

Among the 1980s’ most famous one-hit wonders is British duo Soft Cell, whose only song to hit Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart was “Tainted Love.”  Exactly 30 years ago today, “Tainted Love” reached its peak position of number eight.  More indicative of the song’s success, though, is that it spent a total of 43 weeks on the Hot 100.  In significant part because of changes to the method for calculating the Hot 100, quite a few songs have eclipsed that mark in the three decades since, but at the time, the 43 weeks that “Tainted Love” spent on the chart set a record for longevity.

While Soft Cell only hit the U.S. Hot 100 once, they fared better in the U.K., with a string of top five hits from 1981-1982 beginning with a run at number one for “Tainted Love.”