Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release 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 completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
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 songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
