Soft Cell's Musical Force Dave Ball Dies, Aged 66

Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.

He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.

Recent Health Challenges

During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.

"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."

Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "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."

Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".

"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.

"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.

He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.

Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.

Career Highlights

Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.

But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.

"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."

Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.

Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.

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

Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.

He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.

"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.

"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.

"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."

The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.