Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show 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, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually 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 uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, 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 farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
