Dave Paul, the synth-pop hitmaker who played one half of the band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66 Dave Paul

Dave Paul, one of the members of Soft Cell who brought dark, sophisticated synth-pop to the masses, has died at the age of 66.

Representatives for the musician said that he “died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday.” The cause of death was not mentioned.

His Soft Cell partner, Marc Almond, paid tribute, saying: “He was an amazingly brilliant musical genius… Thank you Dave for being such a huge part of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.”

Born in Chester in 1959 to a single mother, Paul, he was adopted and given the name David Paul, and grew up in Blackpool with his adopted sister, Susan. Paul was attracted to this resort town, who cites its “surprising” side – “fun and crazy” – as an influence on his music career, as well as his father’s engineering background that got him interested in electronics. He cited hearing the sound of Kraftwerk’s Autobahn in 1975 as a “turning point” in his life.

After his father died of cancer, Paul was left with some money he had spent on a guitar, which he quickly replaced with a synthesizer. He went on to study art at Leeds Polytechnic – “I was desperate to get away and start my own life,” he said – where the first person he met was Almond. “There was a guy walking around with a leopard top, blonde hair, and spandex pants, and I thought, ‘He must be in the art department, he’s not an accountant,’ so I asked him, ‘Do you know where I’m registered?’” Paul later recalled.

They formed the duo Soft Cell in 1979. The flamboyant singer Almond was interested in pop, soul and 1960s songs, while the more conservative Paul was interested in synths and “machine music,” as he called it. “We were an odd couple: Mark, this gay guy who wore make-up; and me, an older guy who looked like a bouncer,” he told The Guardian in 2017, but this seeming separation led to a dynamic, surprising kind of pop.

Ball handed over a copy of their debut EP to BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel who played it on his show, and the duo were signed to the label Some Bizzare. Their first singles “A Man Can Be Lost” and “Souvenirs” flopped, but their next single was a sensation.

Tainted Love was a cover of a song by American soul singer Gloria Jones, which never achieved chart success but became well-loved in the northern soul scene in northern England; Almond said he was influenced by another version by English singer Ruth Swan. Their 1981 cover version of Soft Cell went to number one in the UK, becoming the second biggest seller of that year behind Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me”. It also reached number one in 16 other countries, and was a top ten hit in the United States. The success took Soft Cell by surprise, with Paul saying: “We were living in a dodgy little Leeds Housing Association flat, traveling on a Concorde.”

Tainted Love was the first of two consecutive UK top five hits, Bedsitter; Say hello, wave goodbye; Torch and what. Their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret went platinum in the UK, despite containing more modern fare than Tainted Love, with its lyrics referencing S&M, pornography and sexual frustration.

Follow-up single The Art of Falling Apart reached No. 5, but the hardcore duo split amicably in early 1984, releasing a poorly performing post-breakup album, This Last Night in Sodom. “We were taking a lot of dodgy substances and getting into weird shit,” said Paul, who became a father in his early 20s but found that drug addiction was “tearing me apart”.

After Soft Cell, Ball played with the short-lived groups Other People, Ornamental and English Boy on the Loveranch, and collaborated with Throbbing Gristle’s Genesis P-Orridge on the soundtracks to the films Decoder and Imagining October (the latter directed by Derek Jarman).

He then had a successful and sustained collaboration with musician Richard Norris, forming The Network in 1988. The duo, replaced by guest musicians, was born out of the acid house era and created great riffs influenced by cosmic psychedelia. By 1993, they had reached the top 30 in the UK with “Crystal Clear” and “Texas Cowboys”. Their next track Swamp Thing – backed by a high-speed banjo line – became an international hit and reached number three in the UK charts.

Norris also paid tribute, writing: “Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band: the bond is so close. That’s how it was with us… Thank you for the good times, the endless laughter, and your unwavering friendship. And most of all, thank you for the music.”

During the 1990s, Ball also worked as a producer for other artists, including Kylie Minogue, working on tracks for her 1997 album Impossible Princess including the Top 20 single Breathe.

Soft Cell reformed in 2000 for live dates, then released a new album Cruelty Without Beauty in 2002; Another northern cover of Four Seasons’ The Night brought them back into the top forty. “Whenever we got back together after long periods of separation, there was always that warmth and chemistry. There was a deep mutual respect that gave our shared songwriting its unique power,” Almond said in his tribute.

After more than 15 years, Soft Cell returned to recording in 2018 with two new songs, and released another album in 2022 entitled Happiness Not Included, which reached number seven in the UK Albums Chart. It was followed in 2024 by Happiness Now Complete.

Paul published his memoir E-Boy: My Life Inside and Outside of the Soft Cell in 2020. He suffered several fractures in a fall down some stairs in 2022, subsequently developed pneumonia and blood poisoning, and spent seven months in hospital including time in an induced coma.

Almond added that he and Paul had recently completed a new album for Soft Cell called Danceteria, named after the legendary New York nightclub they visited at the height of their fame.

“Dave was in a great place emotionally,” he said. “He was so focused and happy with the new album we completed just a few days ago. It’s so sad because 2026 was shaping up to be such a busy year for him, and I take some solace in the fact that he heard the finished recording and felt it was an amazing piece of work. Dave’s music is better than ever. His melodies and hooks are still unmistakably Soft Cell, yet he’s always taken it to the next level also. “

Mute Records founder and music producer Daniel Miller, who worked with Soft Cell in its early years, also paid tribute. “I was so moved by Dave’s vision and music…we’ve lost a real asset,” he said.