Dave Ball, a gifted producer and one half of the English synth-pop duo Soft Cell, whose iconic 1981 single “Tainted Love” became a defining anthem of the new wave era, has passed away at his London home at the age of 66.
Marc Almond, Mr. Ball’s musical partner in Soft Cell, announced his death on Thursday. While a specific cause was not disclosed, Mr. Almond shared in an online statement that Mr. Ball had been “ill for a long while and his health had been in slow decline over recent years.” Mr. Almond indicated he died on Tuesday, though the band’s official website listed Wednesday as the date of his passing.
Mr. Ball and Mr. Almond first joined forces to create Soft Cell in 1979 while they were both students at Leeds Polytechnic, now known as Leeds Beckett University, in England. Mr. Almond was a year ahead in their studies.
“He had heard me making bleepy noises on a synthesizer and asked me to do music for his performances,” Mr. Ball recounted in a 2017 interview with The Guardian. “These grew into proper songs.”
“Everyone in Leeds was into doom-laden stuff, but we wanted to do something more uplifting,” he added.
The band’s 1981 debut album, “Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret,” featured the hugely successful single “Tainted Love.” This track was a cover of a song originally recorded by Gloria Jones. It became a colossal hit in Britain, certified as the best-selling single of 1981, and impressively climbed to No. 8 on the Billboard 100 singles chart in the summer of 1982.
Soft Cell initially disbanded in 1984, but they subsequently reunited several times for tours and to produce new music.
Mr. Almond, who affectionately referred to Mr. Ball as “the heart of Soft Cell,” wrote on Thursday that despite his partner’s health struggles, “he always came back with a determined spirit to continue his work in the studio.”
“I’m proud of our legacy, and taking those breaks apart always kept the public interest going,” Mr. Almond reflected. “We weren’t around too much for people to get too tired of us.”
Mr. Ball elaborated on the band’s intermittent breaks in a 2023 interview with The Guardian, describing his creative collaboration with Mr. Almond as “a musical friendship, not a musical marriage.”
“We’re friends, but not friends that go, ‘Oh, hi, do you fancy going for a meal or a drink?’” he explained. “We have long breaks, don’t do anything together, then say, ‘Fancy doing some more?’ It seems to work out. We have a good creative and professional relationship, but we don’t live in each other’s pockets.”
David James Ball was born on May 3, 1959, in Chester, England. He was adopted as an infant by Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David. He was raised alongside his adopted sister, Susan, in Blackpool.
His identity as an adopted child influenced his self-perception, as he revealed in a 2020 interview with The Quietus.
“I’ve always been a bit of an outsider,” he confessed. “In my teens, I was terribly shy. I was quite happy to lock myself away.”
David’s musical interests began at school with the guitar. However, a significant turning point occurred in 1975 when he heard Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn,” inspiring him to switch to the synthesizer, an instrument he had first experimented with around 1972.
During a hiatus from Soft Cell in 1988, Mr. Ball co-founded the electronic dance music duo The Grid with musician and producer Richard Norris. They enjoyed a string of successful releases in the 1990s, notably the 1994 global hit “Swamp Thing.”
Beyond his band projects, Mr. Ball was also a sought-after songwriter, producer, and remixer, collaborating with influential artists like David Bowie, Kylie Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Erasure.
He is survived by his four children. Further details regarding his survivors were not immediately released.
Soft Cell’s sixth and final studio album, “Danceteria,” named after the famed 1980s New York nightclub, was completed just days before Mr. Ball’s passing, as confirmed by a statement on the band’s website. It is scheduled for release in spring 2026.
“In full tribute to Dave and his recent purple patch of songwriting and production, Soft Cell’s upcoming releases will remain as scheduled,” the statement affirmed.
Mr. Ball’s final major public appearance was in August at the Rewind Festival near Henley-on-Thames, England, where Soft Cell headlined for an enthusiastic crowd of over 20,000 attendees.
Following that performance, Mr. Almond shared that Mr. Ball “was elated and given an enormous boost.”