Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record 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 afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned 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.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
