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 duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming 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 a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
