Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully 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 music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated 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 all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence 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 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".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered 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 Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital 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 music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
