Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
