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 team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit 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.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited 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 hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
