Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "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 immense aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
