Why 1981 was my Year for the Ages

We’ve all lived through those years in our lives – those golden, razzle-dazzle years when everything seems to come at us in an exhilarating, heady rush.

I had one of those years 40 years ago: 1981.

To understand why, let me take you back to 1980 and my appointment as a staff writer (under the pen name Betty Page) for Sounds in June of that year. Following that momentous event, I’d quickly built my reputation as the music paper’s New Romantics correspondent, having secured the first major interviews with Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran. That set me up for a whirlwind.

What followed was the year that British electronic pop conquered the world, and I went along for the ride.

In January 1981, New Romantic supergroup Visage (featuring Steve Strange and Midge Ure) found themselves in the top 10 with Fade to Grey, and Ultravox (also featuring Midge Ure) almost made it to No 1 with Vienna.

I also had my first encounter with an odd pair of art-school misfits from Leeds who called themselves Soft Cell, and a bunch of nervous teenagers from Basildon known as Depeche Mode. Soon after, I interviewed the new-look Human League, who had just recruited two teenage girls into their line-up. But the band I connected with the most was Soft Cell – Marc Almond and Dave Ball.

Sudden golden boys (and girls)

As 1981 progressed, I felt like the proud mum watching her children star in the school play. I’d enjoyed Visage bursting into the top 10, but positively glowed when Duran Duran’s debut, Planet Earth, reached No 12 in March.

Depeche Mode’s second single, New Life, was their breakthrough hit, reaching No 11 in June. But the anniversary closest to my heart falls on 7^th July, the official release date of Soft Cell’s make-or-break (as far as their record company was concerned) cover version of the Northern Soul classic Tainted Love.

Just after its release, I travelled to Leeds to interview Marc Almond. We sat down to look at the reviews, which (to put it kindly) were pretty dismissive. One described the single as “appallingly limp”. But I adored its stark simplicity, its humanity and emotion, and its poignant storytelling.

One of the reasons critics struggled with Tainted Love was Marc’s dramatic but imperfect vocal style. “Sometimes I go horribly off key,” he said, “but it doesn’t matter; it makes you more human. I dance, my bangles fall off, and – gasp – I sweat! Quelle horreur! I don’t relish looking an utter prat, but I’m going to enjoy myself and damn it if I don’t quite sing in tune.”

From the moment Soft Cell first appeared on Top of the Pops, Marc – skinny, nervy, dressed all in black – was embraced by every teenage misfit in the country. And the “appallingly limp” single he was miming to would go on to become a monumental hit, reaching No 1 in the UK and going on to sell more than 1m copies.

(It subsequently spent a then-record-breaking 43 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100, a feat that could never have been predicted by anyone involved in the making of the record.)

A couple of weeks after Tainted Love reached the top of the UK charts, I received a postcard from Marc. It was a kitsch Fifties-style pastiche of a woman with her head covered in mashed potato and sausages with the words “A Supper Smashing Hit!” underneath. “Well, No 1! Who would have thought it and what can you say, etc, etc,” Marc wrote. “Hope you got the champagne c/o Phonogram – if not there will be hell to pay! Sudden golden boys get their own way, you know!

“You were there first though, Betty,” continued the excitable singer, “a big thanks for the unrelenting support, giving us a good review when it wasn’t the thing to do. Hope to see you soon. Off to the States next week to do the LP and next single. Love Marc.”

So, Tainted Love, a minimal electronic pop song recorded by half a band – one that I had championed when no one else did – became the biggest-selling single in the UK in 1981* – outdoing Spandau Ballet, Visage, the Human League, and even Adam and the Ants. (And yes, I did get that bottle of champagne from Phonogram.)

A Year for the Ages

The year didn’t let up on the excitement levels. I was invited to go to New York with Spandau Ballet; witnessed Prince’s debut London gig and met him backstage; attended the hottest nightclub launch in town (Steve Strange and Rusty Egan’s Club for Heroes); got a name-check on the sleeve of Soft Cell’s debut LP; interviewed Japan (the band); and ended the year by travelling to Japan (the country) and being treated like visiting royalty by the Japanese record company that paid for the trip.

I really should have sent Marc a postcard saying: “Sudden golden girls get their own way, you know.”

So, thank you, 1981, for being a standout year into which I crammed many life-changing experiences.

Happy 40^th anniversary to Tainted Love**. And happy 40^th anniversary to my Year for the Ages. What was yours?

*The figures were later revised to establish the Human League’s Don’t You Want Me as the best-selling single of the year. No problem – I loved that single too.

** I believe a 40^th anniversary edition of Tainted Love is due to be released very soon. Yay!