🔗 Share this article

The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.

He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.

"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."

After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.

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

"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.

"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

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

"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he added.

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."

Formative Years

Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.

He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.

Musical Partnership

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

Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling millions of copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Career Highlights

Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.

But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.

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

During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

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

However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.

Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.

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

"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.

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

"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."

The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.