Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"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 growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared 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 O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the 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 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
