🔗 Share this article

The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version 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 electronic music.

He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.

Health Struggles

During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.

"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."

Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from 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 warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.

"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.

"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.

"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn'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 being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.

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

Early Life

Brought into the world into a single-parent household 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 was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Creative Collaboration

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

Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.

The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.

Career Highlights

Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.

But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.

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

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

They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.

Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

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

Following a further break, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.

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

Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.

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

"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.

"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.

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

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