Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family 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 Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned 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.
However, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
