Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born 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 was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing 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 September 30, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
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 hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
