https://rollingstone.com.br/musica/dave-ball-da-inovadora-dupla-de-synth-pop-soft-cell-morre-aos-66-anos/

Dave Ballthe producing half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell — remembered most for her cover of the 1981 new wave classic “Tainted Love” — died on Wednesday of natural causes. He was 66 years old.

“He will always be loved by fans of the Soft Cell who love your music — and your music and memory will live forever,” said the vocalist Marc Almond in a statement. “At any moment, somewhere in the world, someone will be feeling pleasure listening to a song from Soft Cell. Thanks, Davefor being an immense part of my life and for the music he gave me. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.”

When the Soft Cell disbanded in the mid-1980s, ball formed the electronic music group The Grid next to Richard Norris. Together, they created global success.”Swamp Thing”, in 1994.

“Dave It was part of my musical life for many years,” he said. Norris in note. “Being in a duo is different from being in a band: the bond is very strong. And it was like that for us. We went through so many extraordinary and transformative experiences together. Thank you, Dave. Thank you for the good times, for the endless laughs, for your unshakable friendship. But most of all, thank you for the music.”

Soft Cell emerged when ball and Almond met as art students at Leeds Polytechnicin 1977. Before they became friends, ball I already knew the reputation of Almond on campus as a bold performance artist. “His main performance was called Mirror Fucking”, he said ball to the The Guardian in 2017. “He would stand naked in front of a full-length mirror, cover himself in cat food and have sex with himself. This provoked a lot of reaction. He heard me making electronic noises on a synthesizer and asked me to create tracks for his performances. These tracks ended up becoming real songs. Everyone in Leeds he was doing dark things, but we wanted something more upbeat.”

They played their first shows at Leeds Warehousewhere Almond I worked in the left-luggage office. “That’s how we got our chance, really,” he said. ball to the The Yorkshire Evening Post in 2021. “We thought we were millionaires! It was like: damn, you can make money with this.”

The mother of ball loaned them £400 to record their debut EP, Mutant Momentsin 1980. In the same year, they played at Futurama Festivalat Queens Hall. Behind the scenes, ball handed over a copy of the EP to DJ John Peelfrom the BBC Radio 1which soon touched him in the air. Shortly afterwards, they signed with the independent label Some Bizarre. “That’s where it all started, really,” he recalled. ball. “After that came a long and treacherous road.”

A key moment on this road happened when Almond heard the DJ Warehouse play “Tainted Love”, originally recorded in 1964 by soul singer Gloria Jones. ball and Almond They decided to put their own spin on the song. “When we started working on our version, it sounded distorted and strange,” he said. ball to the The Guardian. “That suited us. We were an odd couple: Markthis gay guy with makeup; and I, a big guy who looked like security.”

“Tainted Love” was released a few weeks before the premiere of MTVin the summer of 1981. The timing couldn’t be better: the new network desperately needed content, and the clip aired without stopping. The song reached number one in several countries, boosting sales of the debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.

The following singles — “Bedsitter”, “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye”, “Torn” and “What” — were big hits in England, but had little impact in the United States. Soft Cell went on hiatus in 1984, after releasing just two more albums. Four years later, ball formed the The Grid with Norris. The project kept him busy through the 1990s, until the wave of 1980s nostalgia led to reconciliation with Almond and the meeting of the Soft Cell in 2000.

The duo became a constant presence at 80s festivals across Europe and released the albums Cruelty Without Beauty (2002) and Happiness Not Included (2022). His last show took place on August 16, at Rewind Festivalin Henley-on-Thames, England, next to UB40, ABC, Squeeze and Big Country.

Soft Cell he had also recently finished a new album. “It’s so sad, because 2026 would be a year of great achievement for him — but I find some comfort in knowing that he heard the finished album and thought it was a great piece of work,” he said. Almond. “The music of Dave It’s better than ever. Its melodies and hooks remain unmistakably Soft Cellbut he always took everything to another level.”

“He was a brilliant musical genius, and we were both on this journey together for almost 50 years,” he continued. Almond. “In the early days, we were insufferable and difficult—two stubborn art students who wanted to do everything our way, even if it was the wrong way. We were naive and made mistakes, although we never really saw it that way. It was all part of the adventure.” Dave and I have always been very different, but perhaps that was precisely why our chemistry worked so well.”

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