Soft Cell Tainted Love Album: Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret A-side: "Tainted Love" / "Where Did Our Love Go" B-side: "Memorabilia" / Tainted Dub Released: July 17, 1981 (UK) Released: January 16, 1982 (US) Recorded: December 1980 Songwriter: Ed Cobb Although Soft Cell had several hits in the UK, they only charted once in the USA. A Rolling Stone's readers poll of the Top 10 One-Hit Wonders of All Time, dated May of 2011, ranked "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell at number 5 . It's listed at number five on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980s and number 2 on their all-time 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders,