🔗 Share this article

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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.

He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.

"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."

Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.

"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed 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 very proud of our body of work.

"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".

"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.

"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

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

He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of units globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached 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 travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.

But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.

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

During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.

Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.

Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

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

He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.

"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out 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 mind from that time.

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

The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.