Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an positive 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", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence 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 "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in 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 changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, 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 monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, 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 band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
