In a just released video, Soft Cell's 1981 megahit “Tainted Love” gets completely reinvented by neo-soul maverick Bilal, electronics genius Daedelus and classical virtuoso Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.

The result is a little bit jazz and a little bit funk-soul, with a whole lotta stomp. That, as it turns out, is far closer to the song's roots than its most popular form. The video premiered today on the VTech site and it included a history lesson:

“'Tainted Love' was originally composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of the Four Preps and originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964 as the B-side to 'My Bad Boy's Coming Home.' The original version was by no means a commercial success. In fact, it was a flop …

Watch, and read more, below.

“… However, in 1973, while British club DJ Richard Searling was on a trip to the U.S., he purchased a copy and found the Motown-influenced sound was a perfect match for the music movement with was growing in the U.K. club scene referred to as 'Northern Soul.' Searling took the song and popularized it. […] Several years later, Soft Cell … took the popular track and released a slower, synth and rhythm heavy version in 1981. It reached #1 on 18 different charts.”

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