🔗 Share this article

The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.

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

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

Health Struggles

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

"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."

Following contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time 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."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence 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, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".

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

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

Brought into the world 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 of age.

He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to 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 spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.

Career Highlights

Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.

But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.

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

Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.

Almond went on to have a prosperous 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 enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing 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.

Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.

He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.

"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.

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

"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."

The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.