Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success 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 founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time 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 take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence 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 created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, 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 changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché 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 unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
