Soft Cell's Marc Almond pays tribute to 'genius' bandmate Dave Ball

Soft Cell star Dave Ball has been praised as a "wonderfully brilliant musical genius" by his bandmate Marc Almond, following his death aged 66.

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Ball's death was confirmed last week, with Almond, 68, saying he wished his musical partner, who died days after completing the band's final album, would have "stayed on long enough to celebrate our 50 years together in a couple of years' time".

Almond said: "It's 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. Dave's music is better than ever.