Kelly Clarkson took it old school on Monday’s (June 28) Kellyoke, dipping all the way back to 1981 for a spirited run through Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love.” The beloved tune from the British synthpop duo of singer Marc Almond and multi-instrumentalist David Ball was given the full band treatment, with Clarkson standing center stage to belt out the lovelorn lyrics.
“Sometimes I feel I’ve got to run away/ I’ve got to get away/ From the pain you drive into the heart of me/ The love you share/ Seems to go nowhere/ And I’ve lost my light/ For I toss and turn I can’t sleep at night,” Clarkson sang as her band dug in with a bouncy, retro arrangement featuring big drums, some wicked keytar and crunchy flying V guitar on a set blazed with red and white blinking lights.
Kelly, as always, made it her own with her own lil bit of Southern soul — and a flip of the gender pronouns — possibly introducing a whole new generation to the signature song from Soft Cell’s platinum debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which hit No. 1 around the world and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Soft Cell’s take was a cover of a song originally recorded by T-Rex singer Marc Bolan’s girlfriend and “Queen of Northern Soul” Gloria Jones in 1964. The synthpop duo’s version peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1982, and spent a total of 43 weeks on the chart.
Check out Clarkson’s “Tainted Love” Kellyoke cover below.
