Soft Cell musician Dave Ball dies aged 66
Electronic music pioneer Dave Ball, one half of Leeds synth-pop legends Soft Cell and successful acid house act The Grid, has died 66.
The Blackpool-born musician passed away peacefully in his sleep at his London home on Wednesday. He was 66.
Singer Marc Almond, Ball’s musical collaborator of 46 years and Soft Cell bandmate, led the tributes, describing him as a “wonderfully brilliant musical genius”. What turns out to be Ball’s final appearance with the band came only weeks ago at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames, where Soft Cell headlined in front of over 20,000 fans.
Formed when electronic musician Ball and singer Almond were both art students at Leeds Polytechnic in 1979, Soft Cell helped to define the sound of British music in the 1980s and beyond. Their 1981 debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret changed the course of pop and paved the way for an avalanche of synth-based duos, including Yazoo, Eurythmics, Pet Shop Boys and Erasure, while bringing something deliciously dark to the table.
Their second single, Tainted Love, topped the charts in the UK and in 17 countries around the world. It was also certified as Britain’s best-selling single of 1981 and made the Guinness Book of Records as the single that spent the longest time on the US Billboard chart.
A fan of northern soul and Kraftwerk, Ball had moved from Blackpool to Leeds to study fine art and first worked with Almond when he supplied an electronic backdrop to a piece of Almond’s improvised performance art, accidentally establishing a winning template that would cast Almond as the outgoing showman and lyricist and Ball as his quiet, poker-faced foil – a foil who went on to become a fearless sonic innovator.
Between 1982 and 2021, Soft Cell released four more studio albums – The Art Of Falling Apart, This Last Night In Sodom, Cruelty Without Beauty and *Happiness not included – plus what is considered as one of the first remix albums Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing. Ball and Almond also secured four more UK Top Ten singles in Bedsitter, Torch, What!, and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, with Ball also helping to create extended, 12-inch mixes of the singles, often splicing segments of tape together with razorblades, to give the band a decisive, club-friendly edge.
Their 2018 reunion concert in front of 20,000 fans at The O2 in London was intended as a grand farewell. Instead, in true Soft Cell style, it unwittingly provided the launching pad for a glittering resurgence that saw the band re-establish their live credentials. The duo celebrated the 40th anniversary of Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret by taking their acclaimed 1981 debut on tour in the UK and America.
Since those memorable anniversary shows, they have also headlined Hampton Court Palace, Audley End’s Heritage Live and Blenheim Palace and played live in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Spain and at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Most recently the band had been back in the studio working on what will be their sixth – and now, sadly, final – studio album. Named after the legendary 1980s New York nightclub Danceteria – a venue which once hosted a Soft Cell album launch – the album is due to be released in spring 2026 via a new global deal with Republic Of Music. The final mixes were completed only days before Ball’s passing.
Away from Soft Cell, Ball was also one half of The Grid alongside esteemed musician and producer Richard Norris, with whom he enjoyed a string of chart successes in the 1990s, including the Top Three single and international hit Swamp Thing. An in-demand songwriter, producer and remixer, he worked with music superstars such as David Bowie, Kylie Minogue, Pet Shop Boys and Erasure as well as alternative artists such as Psychic TV and Gavin Friday.
In full tribute to Ball and his recent purple patch of songwriting and production, Soft Cell’s upcoming releases will remain as scheduled. This includes a super deluxe reissue of Soft Cell’s classic 1983 album The Art Of Falling Apart, a six-CD boxset complete with new remixes and dubs by Ball, and a Martin EP, which are both released next Friday, October 31 on Universal Music and Republic of Music respectively.
In a statement from Soft Cell’s publicist, they said: “Dave’s passing is announced with great sadness and affection for this gregarious, warm-hearted man of many musical talents. Dave is survived by his close family including his four children. We would like to respect Dave Ball's family's privacy at this very sad time.”