{"id":49883,"date":"2025-10-23T16:50:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T16:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/23\/david-ball-half-of-eighties-synth-pop-duo-soft-cell-dead-at-66\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T16:50:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T16:50:00","slug":"david-ball-half-of-eighties-synth-pop-duo-soft-cell-dead-at-66","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/23\/david-ball-half-of-eighties-synth-pop-duo-soft-cell-dead-at-66\/","title":{"rendered":"David Ball, Half of Eighties Synth-Pop Duo Soft Cell, Dead at 66"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tDavid Ball, the production half of groundbreaking Eighties synth duo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/soft-cell\/\" id=\"auto-tag_soft-cell\" data-tag=\"soft-cell\">Soft Cell<\/a>, best remembered for their 1981 New Wave classic cover of \u201cTainted Love,\u201d died on Wednesday of natural causes. He was 66. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cHe will always be loved by the Soft Cell fans who love his music and his music and memory will live on,\u201d Soft Cell singer Marc Almond said in a statement. \u201cAt 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\u2019t be where I am without you.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Soft Cell - Tainted Love (Official Music Video)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XZVpR3Pk-r8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tWhen Soft Cell initially dissolved in the mid-Eighties, Ball formed the electronic dance group the Grid alongside Richard Norris. They created the global hit \u201cSwamp Thing\u201d in 1994.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cDave has been a huge part of my musical life for many years,\u201d Norris said in a statement. \u201cBeing in a duo with someone is different from being in a band: the bond is very tight. That\u2019s how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave. Thanks for the good times, the endless laughter, your unwavering friendship. Most of all, thank you for the music.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Grid - Swamp Thing (Official Music Video)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FFvvLuomw0Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tSoft Cell formed when Ball and Almond met as art students at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977. Before they became friends, Ball was aware of Almond\u2019s reputation around campus as a daring performance artist. \u201cHis main piece was called Mirror Fucking,\u201d <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2017\/mar\/20\/how-we-made-tainted-love-mark-almond-dave-ball-interview\">Ball recalled to <em>The Guardian<\/em> in 2017.<\/a> \u201cHe\u2019d be naked in front of a full-length mirror, smearing himself with cat food and shagging himself. It provoked quite a reaction. He had heard me making bleepy noises on a synthesizer and asked me to do music for his performances. These grew into proper songs. Everyone in Leeds was into doom-laden stuff, but we wanted to do something more uplifting.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ editors-pick-module lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThey played their earliest gigs at Leeds Warehouse, where Almond worked in the coat-check room. \u201cThat\u2019s how we got the break, really,\u201d Ball told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk\/whats-on\/arts-and-entertainment\/soft-cell-we-thought-we-were-millionaires-when-we-did-our-first-paid-gig-in-leeds-3430252\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><em>The Yorkshire Evening Post<\/em> in 2021.<\/a> \u201cWe thought we were millionaires! It was like, blimey, we can actually make some money out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SOFT CELL \u2013 Mutant Moments E.P. \u2013 1980 \u2013 Full 7&#039;&#039; EP [Unofficial vinyl]\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WfaFVGhEIbQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tBall\u2019s mother loaned them \u00a3400 to record their debut EP <em>Mutant Moments<\/em> in 1980. That same year, they played the Futurama Festival at Queens Hall. Backstage, Ball slipped a copy of their EP to BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel. He played it on the air. Before long, they signed a deal with indie label Some Bizarre. \u201cThat was the beginning of it, really,\u201d Ball recalled. \u201cThen it became a very long and treacherous road.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tA key moment on that treacherous road took place when Almond heard the DJ at the Warehouse play \u201cTainted Love,\u201d which was originally recorded in 1964 by soul singer Gloria Jones. Ball and Almond decided to put their own spin on the classic. \u201cWhen we started on our own version, it felt twisted and strange,\u201d Ball told <em>The Guardian. <\/em>\u201cThat suited us. We were a weird couple: Marc, this gay bloke in makeup; and me, a big guy who looked like a minder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cTainted Love\u201d was released just weeks before MTV hit the airwaves in the summer of 1981. The timing couldn\u2019t have been better for Soft Cell since the fledgling network was desperate for content, and they played it nonstop. The song shot to Number One all across the planet, driving sales of their landmark debut LP<em> Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Soft Cell - Bedsitter  (Video) HD\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/t7utU_pS6O0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tFollow-up singles \u201cBedsitter,\u201d \u201cSay Hello, Wave Goodbye,\u201d Torn,\u201d and \u201cWhat\u201d were smashes across England, but they made little impact in America. And Soft Cell went on hiatus in 1984 after releasing just two more albums. Four years later, Ball formed the Grid alongside Norris. The dance group act kept Ball very busy throughout the Nineties, but a growing Eighties nostalgia movement caused him to reconcile with Almond and reform Soft Cell in 2000. <\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Soft Cell - Tainted Love \/ Where Did Our Love Go (Radio 2 in the Park 2023)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QyI975M9FK4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe duo became a regular presence at Eighties festivals across Europe, and released the LP <em>Cruelty Without Beauty<\/em> in 2002 and <em>Happiness Not Included<\/em> in 2022. Their most recent gig took place on August 16 at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames, England, where they shared the bill with UB40, ABC, Squeeze, and Big Country.<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules trending-in-article lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tSoft Cell also recently finished a new LP. \u201cIt\u2019s 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,\u201d Almond says in a statement. \u201cDave\u2019s music is better than ever. His tunes and hooks are still unmistakably Soft Cell, yet he always took it to the next level too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cHe was a wonderfully brilliant musical genius and the pair of us have been on a journey together for almost 50 years,\u201d he continues. \u201cIn 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\u2019s why the chemistry between us worked so well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/david-ball-soft-cell-dead-66-1235452803\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>David Ball, the production half of groundbreaking Eighties synth duo Soft Cell, best remembered for their 1981 New Wave classic cover of \u201cTainted Love,\u201d&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":49884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop","article","has-excerpt","has-avatar","has-author","has-date","has-comment-count","has-category-meta","has-read-more","thumbnail-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}