Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success 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 seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
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 "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to 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 music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, 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, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in 2018, 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.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
