Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo 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 synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another 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 final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
