Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring 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 enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out 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 head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
