Dave Ball, of UK Synth-Pop Duo Soft Cell (‘Tainted Love’), Dies at 66
by Best Classic Bands StaffDave Ball, the musician who teamed with singer Marc Almond to form the British synth-pop duo Soft Cell in 1979 and achieved worldwide acclaim with their 1981 hit, “Tainted Love,” died in his sleep on Wednesday (Oct. 22, 2025) at age 66, just days after the duo had completed a new album. The news of Ball’s death was announced on the band’s website. Almond, who teamed with Ball off and on for 46 years, described his partner as a “wonderfully brilliant musical genius.”
“It is hard to write this, let alone process it, as Dave was in such a great place emotionally,” wrote Almond. “He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago. It’s so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work. Dave’s music is better than ever. His tunes and hooks are still unmistakably Soft Cell, yet he always took it to the next level too. He was a wonderfully brilliant musical genius and the pair of us have been on a journey together for almost 50 years. In the early days we were obnoxious and difficult, two belligerent art students who wanted to do things our way, even if it was the wrong way. We were naive and made mistakes, although we never really saw them as such. It was all just a part of the adventure. Dave and I were always a bit chalk-and-cheese, but maybe that’s why the chemistry between us worked so well.
“Whenever we came back together after long periods apart there was always that warmth and chemistry. There was a deep mutual respect that gave our combined songwriting its unique power. We laughed a lot, and shared a sense of humour, and a love of film, books and music. Dave had shelves full of books and an array of wonderful and surprising musical references. He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I’m very proud of our legacy.
“It’s fitting in many ways that our next (and now our last) album together is called Danceteria, as that theme takes us back to New York City in the early 1980s where a good many of our musical ideas were formed. That was a time and place that really shaped us. As well as being quintessentially British, we always felt that we were also an honorary American band. We’ve been invested in the Soft Cell myths and stories, and Danceteria will now stand as an album that brings everything full circle for us. I just wish that Dave could have stayed on long enough to celebrate our 50 years together in a couple of year’s time. He will always be loved by the Soft Cell fans who love his music and his music and memory will live on. At any given moment, someone somewhere in the world will be getting pleasure from a Soft Cell song.
“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.”
Formed when Ball and 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 electronic pop and paved the way for an avalanche of synth-based duos, including Yazoo (aka Yaz), Eurythmics, Pet Shop Boys and Erasure. Their second single, “Tainted Love” b/w “Where Did Our Love Go,” topped the U.K. chart and in 17 other countries around the world and was certified as Britain’s best-selling single of 1981.
Related: 13 timeless early ’80s British earworms
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. The pair also earned four more U..K Top 10 singles with Ball also helping to create extended, 12-inch mixes of the songs, 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 U.K. and America.
Soft Cell’s recordings are available in the U.K. here, in the U.S. here and in Canada here.
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