Soft Cell's Dave Ball Passes Away, Aged 66
Marc Almond described his longtime musical collaborator as a “wonderfully brilliant musical genius.”
Soft Cell (Credit: Andrew Whitton)
Dave Ball, the co-founder, songwriter, producer, and instrumentalist of the English synthpop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66, Consequence of Sound reports.
In a statement, representatives for Ball told The Guardian that the musician “passed away peacefully in his sleep at his London home” on Tuesday (21 October). At the time of publication, no cause of death has been revealed.
Soft Cell have enjoyed a nearly five-decade career with numerous hits, including a successful cover of Gloria Jones’ 1961 single, Tainted Love, as well as Bedsitter, Where Did Our Love Go, Torch, and more, with four of their albums released between 1981 and 1984 reaching the UK Top 20 Albums chart.
After Soft Cell parted ways in 1984, the band reunited for shows in 2000 and said they’d play their last UK show in 2018. Having stuck around, Soft Cell played huge shows in 2021 and 2023, and in April of this year, they performed their first-ever Australian shows, spotlighting their seminal album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, as well as a string of greatest hits.
Due to ongoing health issues, Ball was unable to perform for the said Australian shows. However, that news wasn’t publicised, with frontman Marc Almond addressing the matter during the concerts.
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The duo’s most recent albums, Happiness Not Included and a follow-up, Happiness Now Completed, were released in 2022 and 2024, respectively. According to Almond, Soft Cell recently completed a new album called Danceteria.
In addition to his career with Soft Cell, Ball has been part of the house duo/remix team The Grid, which created the 1994 global club hit Swamp Thing, and, throughout the ‘90s, established himself as a sought-after producer. He ended up working with Kylie Minogue on her 1997 album, Impossible Princess, and contributed to the track Breathe.
In 2020, Ball published the memoir, Electronic Boy: My Life in and Out of Soft Cell.
Marc Almond has shared a tribute to Ball on Instagram and on his (and the Soft Cell) websites, where he described his longtime musical collaborator as a “wonderfully brilliant musical genius.” He added, “Thank you, Dave, for being an immense part of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.”
You can read his tribute below.
It is hard to write this, let alone process it, but it is with the greatest sadness that the other half of Soft Cell, the wonderful brilliant musical genius David Ball, died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday night. As many of you are aware, Dave has been ill for a long while and his health had been in slow decline over recent years.
Yet he always came back with a determined spirit to continue his work in the studio and, although he has been unable to travel abroad, he has still been able to perform with me as Soft Cell on occasions in the UK. His last appearance was at the Rewind festival a few weeks ago, where we headlined to over 20,000 people, after which he was elated and given an enormous boost.
It's fitting in many ways that the next (and now the last) album together is called Danceteria as the theme takes us for a visit back to almost the start of it all, back to New York in the early 80's, the place and time that really shaped us. We always felt we were an honorary American band as well as quintessentially British. We have always been self referential to the Soft Cell story and myths and this album in many ways will close that circle for us.
I wish he could have stayed on to celebrate 50 years in a couple of years time. He will always be loved by fans who loved his music. It's a cliche to say but it lives on and somewhere at any given time around the world someone listens to, plays, dances, and get's pleasure from a Soft Cell song - even if it's just that particular two and half minute epic.
My thoughts are with his family at this time.
Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you.
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