David Ball and Marc Almond founded Soft Cell in 1979 and got their biggest hit song in 1981 with "Tainted love", a classic in the synth genre. None of the group's other songs could measure up to the bestseller, but Soft Cell is seen as a precursor to groups like Pet Shop Boys, Eurythmics and Yazoo.
The duo went their separate ways in 1984, but reunited in the early 2000s. Marc Almond reveals in his tribute on Instagram that Soft Cell just finished a new album, "Danceteria".
"It's so sad that 2026 would be such a positive year for him, but I'm strengthened by the fact that he had heard the finished record and thought it was really good", writes Almond.
Besides Soft Cell, David Ball collaborated with a long list of artists, including David Bowie, Kylie Minogue and Erasure.
