🔗 Share this article

The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.

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

Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.

Health Struggles

During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.

"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."

After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.

"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually 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 heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn'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 joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.

"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.

He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.

Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.

Professional Journey

Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.

But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.

"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

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

After another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.

However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.

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

"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," 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 1980s."

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