Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance 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, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn'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".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments 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 a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
