Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, 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 collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
