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| AllMusic | |
"Panic" and "Tainted Love" are songs recorded by British experimental music band Coil. These were released in 1985 through Some Bizzare in the UK and Wax Trax! Records in the US respectively, as the band's first single, and the sole one from their 1984 debut studio album, Scatology. Originally released on twelve-inch vinyl discs, the single was regarded as the first AIDS benefit release, and has been reissued several times on compact discs.
"Panic", co-written and co-produced by the band with JG Thirlwell, is the second track on Scatology, and explores the theme of an initiatory approach to experience, as well as the using of fear; its remixed version is featured on the single's A-side. "Tainted Love", originally written by Ed Cobb and popularly known after its recording by new wave duo Soft Cell, was included as the B-side, having been drastically re-arranged to reflect HIV/AIDS epidemic, emerged in the early 1980s. The music video for "Tainted Love", directed by the band's member Peter Christopherson and featuring Marc Almond, has caused a minor controversy during its release, and has been purchased by the Museum of Modern Art.