"Tainted Love" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of The Four Preps. It was originally recorded in 1964 by Gloria Jones, and was re-recorded by Ruth Swann in 1975 in a version which influenced, more closely than the original, the 'feel' of the subsequent electro-pop chart-topping cover version which brought the track to the attention of a wider audience. It attained worldwide fame after being covered by Soft Cell in 1981. It has since been covered by numerous other groups/artists.