Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success 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 innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks 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 wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"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 listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part 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, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time 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 explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
