🔗 Share this article

Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.

He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.

Health Struggles

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

"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."

Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."

Heartfelt Messages

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

"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."

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 group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.

"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Formative Years

Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.

He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

The track was also featured 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 peaked at number two in the following year.

Career Highlights

Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.

But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.

"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."

Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.

Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.

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

However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.

He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.

"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.

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

"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."

The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.