Pop
Marc Almond grateful for 'final act' with late Soft Cell bandmate Dave Ball
Marc Almond is thankful that the late Dave Ball convinced him to make two more Soft Cell albums after they had planned to bow out back in 2018.
Marc Almond is glad that Soft Cell carried on following their proposed farewell gig at London's 02 Arena in 2018.
The Tainted Love band had been set to bow out when Almond and the late Dave Ball performed a 30-song set to a sell-out crowd, but the former is grateful that his bandmate, who died aged 66 in October 2025, convinced him to make the albums Happiness Not Included and Danceteria.
In an interview with Classic Pop magazine, Almond said: "At the time, that O2 show was meant to be our farewell.
"Then Dave sent me some more music a year-and-a-half later, saying: 'Would you consider doing an album?' And the music was so great, I thought: 'Here we go again!'
"Then we weren't going to tour Happiness Not Included, but Dave said it'd mean a lot if we did some live shows.
"I'm so happy we got to have that final act together. We got two albums I'm so pleased with, that add to Soft Cell's legacy. And working with Dave, that was always fun."
However, Almond considers that Say Hello, Wave Goodbye band's 02 gig to be the "pinnacle of (his) career".
The 69-year-old singer recalled: "It was three hours long and some of it was shonky, but we always were an electronic punk band. There was real love in the room for us.
"Singing Say Hello, Wave Goodbye to an audience lit up by their phones, with Dave next to me, it was magical.
"That moment was the pinnacle of my career. It was overwhelming. I thought: 'This is the moment I'll always remember. Everything after this? It's extra cherries.'"
Ball passed away last year following years of ill health and Almond recalled fearing the worst when Soft Cell performed what turned out to be their final gig at the Rewind Festival in Surrey in August 2025.
He said: "I could tell Dave was in a bad way. He looked ashen, more ill than I'd seen him in a long time, I thought: 'Oh no, this doesn't look good.'
"On stage, Dave was always in his own world. He was still playing some good stuff, but I kept looking over and could tell that he was struggling a little.
"I came away from Rewind thinking: 'I can't see us doing another gig.'"
