🔗 Share this article

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

Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.

He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

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

Health Struggles

During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.

"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."

Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", 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 significant aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

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

"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.

He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.

He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.

Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.

Professional Journey

Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.

But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.

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

Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

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

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

Yet, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.

He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.

"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.

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

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

The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.