Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
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 his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews 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 bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
