Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"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 remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, 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 O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"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 had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
