🔗 Share this article

Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.

He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.

Recent Health Challenges

During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.

"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."

After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

Richard Norris 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 band, the bond is very tight," he added.

"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.

He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.

Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.

The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.

Professional Journey

Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.

But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.

"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."

During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.

However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.

Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.

He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.

"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.

"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.

"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."

The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.