Dave Ball dead: Soft Cell legend dies as devastated bandmate pays tribute to 'genius'

Soft Cell legend Dave Ball has died at the age of 66 following years of ill health. The group are most famous for their 1981 hit Tainted Love and their 1982 song Say Hello, Wave Goodbye. The news was confirmed in a lengthy social media post by his bandmate Marc Almond. "It is hard to write this, let alone process it, but it is with the greatest sadness that the other half of Soft Cell, the wonderful brilliant musical genius David Ball, died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday night," he wrote.

"As many of you are aware, Dave has been ill for a long while and his health had been in slow decline over recent years. Yet he always came back with a determined spirit to continue his work in the studio and, although he has been unable to travel abroad, he has still been able to perform with me as Soft Cell on occasions in the UK. His last appearance was at the Rewind festival a few weeks ago, where we headlined to over 20,000 people, after which he was elated and given an enormous boost," he continued.

He went on to say it was "most heartbreaking" explaining Dave had been in "a great place emotionally" as the band had just finished work on their new album Danceteria.

"I listened to the complete album for the first time yesterday. It makes me so sad as this would have been a great uplifting year for him and I can take solace that he heard this finished record and felt it was a great piece of work. Dave's music is better than ever - his tunes, his hooks unmistakably Soft Cell. Yet he always took it to a different level," Marc penned.

"The pair of us have been on a journey together heading on for 50 years with ups and downs, successes and failures, though to us it was never failure, just all part of the adventure, and it was one hell of an adventure. We were very obnoxious and difficult in the early days, two belligerent art students wanting to do things our way even if it was the wrong way.

"We were naive and we made mistakes. We have always been a bit 'chalk and cheese' as they say but that's maybe why the chemistry worked so well. When we came back together after long periods there was always the warmth and chemistry, deep respect for each other that gave a strength to our song writing together," he continued.

He went on to offer condolences to the family and say he wished Dave "could have stayed on to celebrate 50 years in a couple of years time" signing off with: "I wouldn't be where I am without you".

Fans of the band were devastated by the news and flooded the comments with their own tributes. "I am so unbelievably sad right now my heart is broken. Thank you "Sir" Dave Ball for all the wonderful music, but for So So So much more...the moment I first heard "Tainted Love" on the radio... that changed my life forever... for the better," one wrote.

"Absolutely floored at this news. Soft Cell have been there for me for over 40 years. I always felt Dave's music was up there with the very best and has a timeless quality which makes it as pertinent today as it was in the 80s..Bless you Dave. God speed," another added.

A third chimed in: "What an absolute loss to the music world, to you and his family. I feel blessed that I had so many chances to see you both performing in Soft Cell. I hope he knew how much his fans loved him. Such sad news. RIP Dave Ball x."