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

The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.

He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.

Recent Health Challenges

At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.

"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."

After contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".

"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.

"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.

He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.

He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.

Professional Journey

Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.

But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase 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 bands."

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following another break, 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 large venue on September 30, that year.

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

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

He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.

"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.

"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.

"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."

The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.