Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented 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 music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
