Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album 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 few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given 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 sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
