🔗 Share this article

Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo 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 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.

He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home 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

At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.

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

Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.

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

"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said 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 listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

"Thank you 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 your influence."

Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".

"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.

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

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.

He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.

The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.

Career Highlights

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

But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.

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

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

They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring 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 long-lasting collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.

Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball recently described the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.

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

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

"Our latest tracks 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 finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.