Overview
- Soft Cell’s official statement says Dave Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his London home on Oct. 22, with no cause of death disclosed.
- Ball and Marc Almond completed the duo’s sixth album, Danceteria, just days earlier, and the record is scheduled for spring 2026.
- Almond said Ball had been ill for a long time and had performed recently in a wheelchair, with his final show at the Rewind Festival weeks ago.
- Ball was a key architect of Soft Cell’s synth-pop sound, best known for the global hit Tainted Love, and later co-founded The Grid and worked with artists including Kylie Minogue.
- The band said Ball is survived by his close family, including four children, as tributes poured in from Almond and collaborator Richard Norris.