Dave Ball, who as one half of Soft Cell brought dark, cutting-edge synth-pop to the masses, has died aged 66. Representatives for the musician said he “passed away peacefully in his sleep at his London home on Wednesday”. No cause of death was given.
His partner in Soft Cell, Marc Almond, paid tribute, writing: “He was a wonderfully brilliant musical genius … 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”.
Born in Chester in 1959 to a single mother and named Paul, he was adopted and given the name David Ball, and raised in Blackpool alongside an adopted sister, Susan. The resort town rubbed off on Ball who cited its “showbizzy” side – “the funfairs and the craziness” – as an influence on his music career, as well as his father’s engineering background getting him interested in electronics. He cited hearing Kraftwerk’s Autobahn in 1975 as a “turning point” in his life.
After his father died of cancer, he left Ball some money which he spent on a guitar, soon trading it in for a synthesiser. He moved to study art at Leeds Polytechnic – “I was just desperate to get away and start my own life”, he said – where the first person he met was Almond. They formed the duo Soft Cell in 1979. Their cover of Tainted Love went to No 1 in the UK in 1981, and became the second-biggest seller that year after the Human League’s Don’t You Want Me. It also reached No 1 in 16 other countries, and was a US Top 10 hit.
After Soft Cell, Ball had a successful and sustained collaboration with musician Richard Norris, as the Grid, formed in 1988. Their track Swamp Thing reached No 3 in the UK charts in 1993. Norris also paid tribute, writing: “Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band: the bond is very tight. That’s how it was”.
